Saturday's MAC Men's Basketball Results

OXFORD, Ohio--An inspired effort by the entire Miami University men's basketball team resulted in a thrilling 66-61 win over a tough Belmont team on Saturday afternoon at Millett Hall. Four RedHawks scored in double figures, led by senior forward Julian Mavunga's fifth double-double of the season and 19th of his career.

The win halted a four-game losing skid for the RedHawks, who improve to 3-5 on the season, while the Bruins drop to 7-4.

Mavunga recorded yet another double-double, totaling 17 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore forward Jon Harris and sophomore guards Josh Sewell and Quinten Rollins all reached double figures in scoring--notching 12, 12 and 11 points, respectively--and Harris also grabbed eight boards, a career-high.

As a team, Miami looked as good as it has all season. While Mavunga played a season-low 14 minutes in the first half, the RedHawks still took a five-point lead into halftime, allowing Miami's biggest offensive threat to come into the second half well rested.

After Belmont opened up the game with a 6-0 lead, Miami rattled off nine unanswered points, sparked by a Sewell 3-pointer at 15:19 and capped by a sophomore center Drew McGhee jumper at 13:20 to give the RedHawks a 9-6 edge.

Belmont came back and grabbed the lead, 13-11, and held a 17-16 edge with 6:52 to play. Miami then went on a 12-0 charge to capture a 28-17 lead with 4:20 to play off a pair of free throws by Harris. He accounted for six of the RedHawks' points during their 12-point surge.

The Bruins outscored the RedHawks 9-3 over the remaining minutes of the half to cut the Miami advantage to five points heading into halftime, 31-26.

A Belmont jumper just over a minute into the second half shrunk the RedHawks' lead to three, but an 8-0 run from 13:50 to 9:37 in the second half pushed the Miami advantage to 13 points, 50-37. McGhee scored four of the RedHawk's points during the run.

With 5:15 to play, Belmont again closed within three points after a 6-0 run, 54-51. A Rollins jumper put the Miami lead back at five with 4:56 to play, 56-51, but a Belmont 3-pointer with 4:04 to play put the Bruins within two, 56-54.

Rollins hauled in a huge defensive rebound with 1:37 to play and sunk a big layup and was fouled with 1:03 remaining. Rollins missed the ensuing free throw, but Mavunga pulled down another huge defensive rebound and was fouled with 48 seconds remaining. Mavunga sunk both charity tosses to give Miami a 62-56 lead.

Rollins hit one of two free throws with 38 seconds left to give Miami a 63-56 lead. JJ Mann sunk a trey for Belmont with 31 seconds left to cut the Miami lead to four, 63-59.

Miami got the ball back on a jump ball under the Belmont basket as Mavunga tied up the ball to give the RedHawks the possession. He sank both free throws to give Miami a 65-59 lead. After Kerron Johnson added two free throws for Belmont, Mavunga added another freebie of his own for good measure. A last ditch effort by the Bruins to claw their way back proved unsuccessful, and the RedHawks came out on top by a score or 66-61.

Mavunga's 12 made free throws gave him 334 made free throws for his career, moving him into 10th place all-time in Miami history.

Johnson added a team-high 17 points for Belmont and also led his team in rebounds with eight. Their 61 points this afternoon was the fewest the Bruins have scored so far this season.

Miami returns to action hosting Evansville at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 20. 

KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Western Michigan men's basketball team shot at a torrid pace from the field and controlled the tempo of the game, downing the Duquesne Dukes 85-71 in front of nearly 3,000 fans at University Arena on Saturday. Winners of two straight, the Broncos improve to 3-7 on the season, including a 3-0 mark at home. 

The Broncos shot 54.0 percent from the field, including a 10-of-22 (.455) mark from beyond the three-point arc, in running up 85 points on the Dukes. Junior Nate Hutcheson had one of his best games in a Bronco uniform, dropping a career-high 24 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field and a perfect 8-of-8 day at the free throw line. Demetrius Ward shot 6-of-11 from the field for 15 points, and also added five rebounds. Defensively, the Broncos out-rebounded the Dukes 37-23, and collected more offensive rebounds (13) than the Dukes did defensive rebounds (11).

WMU got big contributions from the bench as well, with junior Brandon Pokley contributing a dangerous touch from the outside. Pokley went 4-of-5 from three-point range and finished with a career-best 16 points in 28 minutes of work. Shayne Whittington came off the bench to provide nine points, five rebounds, and a block.

The Broncos trailed in the early portion of the contest, as the Dukes opened up on an 88-3 run to begin the game. However, David Brown would slice the lead to 8-6 after dropping a three-pointer from the corner, and Hutcheson would tie the score with a pair of free throws at the 16:14 mark. Those scores would come as part of an impressive 17-3 run for the Broncos in the first half; Ward would score on a lay-up to make it 10-8 and give WMU its first lead of the night, a lead they would not relinquish for the final 35 minutes of play.

Pokley drained his first three-pointer of the day at the 14:33 mark to give the Broncos a 13-10 lead, and one possession later Mike Douglas would hit a jumper to make it a five-point difference. Douglas finished the game with 13 points, five assists, and a game-high seven rebounds. Ward would hit back-to-back threes midway through the half, including a triple at the 10:47 mark to make it 21-11 and cap the run. Pokley would hit a pair of free throws with a minute remaining in the half to give the Broncos their largest lead of the half at 44-25.

It was smooth sailing the rest of the way for the Broncos, who never allowed the Dukes to pull within 10 points in the second half. Hutcheson gave the Broncos their biggest lead of the afternoon at the 12:15 mark of the second half, draining a trey to make the score 61-41. The Dukes would make things interesting late in the half when Kadeem Pantophlet hit a three-pointer with 5:19 remaining, slicing the WMU lead to just 11 points. 

However, on the very next possession, Pokley delivered what may have been the dagger, drilling a three-pointer to push WMU's lead back to 14 points. The Dukes would never quite muster the strength for another surge, and the Broncos wrapped the game with a Hutcheson dunk with 45 seconds remaining.

The Broncos conclude a three-game home stand on Tuesday when they host the Winthrop Eagles at University Arena.  Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

DAYTON, Ohio -- D.J. Cooper scored 20 points, one shy of his season-high, and grabbed nine rebounds while Ivo Baltic added a season-high 15 points as Ohio defeated Wright State 82-54 on Saturday night. The Bobcats moved to 9-1 and are off to the best start in a season since 1940-41.

Cooper and Baltic each made 7-of-9 field goal attempts as the Bobcats shot 61.7 percent (29 of 47), their best offensive performance of the season. Reggie Keely added 11 points for Ohio (9-1), which has won six games in a row. Keely has now scored in double figures seven times this season for the Green & White.

The Bobcats, who have won four straight in the series with Wright State, have held their past three opponents to fewer than 55 points each. This was also the third-straight team to shoot under 40 percent in a contest against the Bobcats.

Ohio used a 20-5 run in the first half to break the game open and claim a 34-13 lead with 3:51 remaining in the half. The Bobcats improved to 9-0 this season when leading at halftime. Keely led all scorers at the break with nine points as Ohio shot 59 percent and Wright State went 3-of-13 at the charity stripe. Meanwhile, the Bobcats went 13-of-18 in the first 20 minutes.

Ohio led by at least 18 points the entire second half and once again showed the offensive balance Head Coach John Groce has been looking for with 10 players in the scoring column.

Cole Darling scored 11 points for Wright State (4-8), which shot only 38 percent (19 of 50) from the field.

This was the fourth-straight road win for the Bobcats, the best start to a season away from Athens since the 1954-55 squad won a quartet of games away from The Convo.

Ohio out-rebounded Wright State by seven and also won the turnover battle, forcing 21 mistakes from the home team. The Bobcats scored 30 points off Raider miscues.

The next game for the Bobcats is Tuesday night at 8 p.m. EST at Northern Iowa. After that, Ohio is home on Friday, December 23rd for a game against North Carolina A&T at 7 p.m.

AKRON, Ohio – Nikola Cvetinovic finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds to help Akron to a 91-69 victory over Florida A&M in a non-league men’s basketball game on Saturday at Rhodes Arena. 

 

Cvetinovic, who went 4-for-9 from the field, registered his seventh career double-double in 23 minutes as starter. He was one of five Akron (5-5) players to post double-digit points. Quincy Diggs had 16 points in 17 minutes off the bench, while Zeke Marshall scored 13 and Demetrius Treadwell and Adedeji Ibitayo had 11 apiece for the Zips, who won for their second game in a three-day stretch. 

 

Ibitayo’s point total was a career best.  Marshall added nine rebounds and three blocked shots.

 

UA led 48-19 at the half and pushed its advantage over 30 points on several occasions in the second period, going up by as much as 37 (78-41) with 6:40 to go in the contest.

 

Akron shot 46.9 percent (30-of-64) from the field for the game and held Florida A&M (2-9) to 36.8 percent (25-of-68) from the floor.

 

The Zips opened the game by scoring five early points to force a Rattlers’ timeout just 18:52 into the game. UA kept the pressure on and pushed their lead to 26-11 at the 8:37 mark thanks to a 13-2 run after the opponent closed to 13-9 with 15:01 left in the half.

 

The Zips closed the first period by scoring 22 of the final 30 points to take a 48-19 lead into the locker room.  Cvetinovic and Marshall led all scorers with 11 points in the half while Diggs pitched in with 10 points. 

 

The Zips will continue their homestand on Monday, Dec. 19, when they play host to Youngstown State at 7 p.m. ET at Rhodes Arena.  The game will serve as the sixth annual Teddy Bear toss.  Fans are encouraged to bring a teddy bear to throw onto the court at halftime to be collected by the Salvation Army.

TOLEDO, OH - Junior G Dominique Buckley tied his career high with 21 points and sophomore F Reese Holliday grabbed a career-best 14 rebounds to help Toledo (7-3) register an 86-77 triumph on Saturday night over Horizon League foe Youngstown State (6-4).  The contest was played before a season-high 4,661 fans in Savage Arena.

Sophomore F DeLino Dear also contributed a season-high 13 points to the Rockets' cause, while junior G Curtis Dennis tallied nine points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals in his Rocket debut. Also posting double-digit point totals were freshman G Julius Brown (15 pts., seven asst., five reb.) and sophomore G Rian Pearson (12 pts., five reb.).

YSU also placed four players in double figures with junior G Blake Allen leading the way with a game-high 22 points. Sophomore G Kendrick Perry added 19 points and five assists.

Toledo outshot the Penguins, 44.4%-40.9%, and shot 46.7 percent from three-point range and 85.2 percent (23-of-27) from the charity stripe. The Rockets also out-rebounded YSU, 46-33, for their largest advantage vs. an NCAA Division I opponent this season.

The Rockets appeared to take control of the contest late in the first half thanks to an 18-2 spurt for a 33-16 advantage with 3:37 remaining in the opening stanza. YSU scored the last five points of the half though to reduce its deficit to 39-28.

Toledo started the second half slowly, and sophomore G Nate Perry's trey six minutes into the second half reduced the Penguins' deficit to a single point, 49-48.

UT never let the visitors regain the lead, and a big momentum boost for the Rockets came when senior F DuShawn Brooks fouled out when he was whistled for his fourth personal foul and a technical foul with 9:25 remaining. UT was leading 56-55 at the time and Buckley and Holliday hit two free throws apiece to give the Rockets a five-point cushion.

Toledo then extended it to 68-55 on a layup and three-point play from Dear and a three-point bomb from freshman G Ryan Majerle.

The Rockets return to action on Tuesday, Dec. 20 with a 7:00 p.m. matchup against Norfolk State (7-4) in Savage Arena.

DEKALB, Ill. -- Freshman wing Abdel Nader (Skokie, Ill./Niles North) scored a team-high 14 points but the Northern Illinois men’s basketball team fell, 62-49, to Southern Illinois on Saturday afternoon at the NIU Convocation Center. 

Sophomore guard Aksel Bolin (Asker, Norway/Asker) nearly recorded a double-double, scoring nine points and grabbing a career-best 12 rebounds. Senior forward Tim Toler (Indianapolis, Ind./Avon/Danville Area CC) added 12 points. 

“It was a tough game,” said NIU head coach Mark Montgomery. “I thought our guys did a great job of fighting back, down eight at halftime. Unfortunately we just could not get over the hump. I thought we did a great job of rebounding the basketball and we got to the free-throw line, but we committed too many turnovers. We just couldn’t hold on to the basketball or get the key stops when we needed to.”

Southern Illinois shot 42.2 percent (19-of-45) from the field while holding NIU to 29.2 percent (14-of-48) shooting. The Salukis outscored the Huskies 25-8 off of turnovers.

SIU scored the first four points of the contest before a Toler triple from the corner and an old-fashioned three-point play by freshman forward Keith Gray (Chicago, Ill./Brooks Academy) gave the Huskies a 6-4 lead with 16:14 to play in the first half.

Nader scored the next five for the Huskies and the teams traded baskets until the Salukis took a 15-11 advantage. A basket by Bolin and a pair of free throws from Nader tied the game, 15-15, at the midway point of the half.

With the Huskies leading, 18-16, Southern Illinois went on a 10-0 run to take a 26-18 lead with 3:48 to play before the intermission. 

NIU trimmed the Saluki lead back to five, 28-23, until Kendal Brown-Surles ended the first half with a three-pointer, giving SIU a 31-23 lead at the break. 

Brown-Surles led all scorers with 12 points in the opening 20 minutes; Nader led the Huskies with nine. Southern Illinois shot 40.7 percent (11-of-27) in the first half while Northern Illinois was held to 28 percent (7-of-25) shooting. 

A 10-0 Huskie run early in the second half tied the score, 35-35. Nader opened the run with a basket, he later added a triple and redshirt sophomore Antone Christian (Nashville, Tenn./Martin Luther King Magnet) capped the run with a jumper from the short corner with 13:54 left in the second half. 

Southern Illinois responded to the Huskie run with an 8-0 burst of its own, giving the Salukis a 43-35 lead with 11 minutes to play, forcing an NIU timeout. The Saluki run reached 17-0 as SIU took a 52-35 lead with just over seven minutes to play. 

Brown-Surles led SIU with 19 points and five steals. Jeff Early chipped in 13 points and Mamadou Seck grabbed a team-best 10 rebounds. 

NIU will play its final game of the 2011 calendar year on Tuesday, Dec. 20, when the Huskies host Valparaiso at the NIU Convocation Center. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.

East Lansing, Mich. – No. 21 Michigan State used a 20-3 second-half run to blow open a tie basketball game and defeat the Bowling Green men’s basketball team 74-60 Saturday. The Falcons trailed by just two points at the half and the game was tied at 35-35 when the Spartans pulled away with the run.

 

Bowling Green used a dominant rebounding effort in the first half to overcome a poor shooting night and the Falcons stayed with Michigan State throughout the opening 20 minutes. In the second half, the Spartans’ defensive pressure picked up and Bowling Green struggled through an eight-minute scoring drought. Freshman Jehvon Clarke was a bright spot in the second half, though, scoring 12 of his career-high 14 points in the final 10 minutes as Bowling Green tried to get back into the game.

 

While Michigan State is known as one of the top rebounding teams in the country year-in and year-out, Bowling Green dominated the glass in the first half. The Falcons had 13 offensive rebounds and took 11 more shots than Michigan State, which helped Bowling Green overcome 37 percent shooting in the first half. Jordon Crawford had 10 points, three rebounds, and three assists in the first 20 minutes and A’uston Calhoun added eight points and six rebounds. Torian Oglesby came off the bench for six points and six rebounds during the first half.

 

Neither team led by more than four points in the first half, but Bowling Green built a 9-5 lead on a Crawford three-pointer. Michigan State answered back with five straight points and eventually took a 17-13 lead on an Adreian Payne jumper. The Falcons used an 8-2 run on three-pointers from Scott Thomas and Crawford to take a 21-19 lead. The two teams answered each other on every occasion throughout the remainder of the half and Bowling Green tied the score on two Craig Sealey free-throws with 12 seconds left. Derrick Nix was fouled with 1.2 seconds remaining, though, and made both charity shots to give Michigan State a 35-33 lead at the break.

 

Calhoun scored on the Falcons’ first possession of the second half to tie the game but that’s when Bowling Green went into an offensive slump, making just one field goal over the next eight minutes. Michigan State used a 9-0 run and followed it up with an 11-0 spurt after Bowling Green scored three straight to build a 55-38 lead.

 

From there, the Bowling Green freshmen took over. Chauncey Orr, Anthony Henderson, and Clarke scored 16 of the Falcons’ final 22 points. The Falcons cut the deficit to 10 on an Oglesby dunk with 4:47 to play but Michigan State got four offensive rebounds on its next possession and finally scored to end any comeback hopes.

 

Clarke scored his 14 points in just 12 minutes of court time, making 4-of-5 shots and all five of his free-throw attempts. Calhoun ended with 12 points and seven rebounds, while Crawford finished with 11 points.

 

Bowling Green shot 38 percent from the floor for the game and made only 4-of-16 three-pointers. While the Falcons did make 8-of-10 free-throws, Michigan State went to the line 17 more times, making 19. The Spartans shot 47 percent from the field and knocked down 5-of-11 three-pointers.

 

Michigan State ended with a 39-37 rebounding edge and both teams had 15 turnovers. The Spartans held a slight 38-36 advantage in points in the paint.

 

Michigan State wins its ninth straight game to improve to 9-2 overall. Bowling Green falls to 5-5, including 0-4 on the road. The Falcons will head south for their next trip, playing at Florida International Thursday at 7:30 p.m.