Thursday's MAC Men's Basketball Results
Bowling Green 61, Florida International 53
Ohio State 69, Miami 40
Florida Gulf Coast 83, Toledo 80
Virginia Tech 71, Eastern Michigan 50
Wright State 60, Central Michigan 42
Utah State 81, Kent State 62
Stories courtesy of MAC Sports Information Departments
Bowling Green 61, Florida International 53
Boxscore
Miami, Fla. – The Bowling Green State University men’s basketball team overcame a 10-point first half deficit to defeat FIU 61-53 Thursday night. Scott Thomas finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and four steals for the Falcons.
Thomas’ double-double was the first of the season for any Falcon and he came up just two points shy of 1,000 for his career. Jordon Crawford added 15 points, four steals and three assists, while Torian Oglesby had 11 points and four rebounds off the bench. Oglesby was 5-for-5 shooting and has now made 16 consecutive field goal attempts over the past five games.
Bowling Green never led in the first half and fell behind by as many as 10 points late in the period. Jeremy Allen’s dunk with 5:15 to play in the first half gave FIU a 25-15 lead but the Falcons closed with a 10-4 run. Crawford’s free-throws with five seconds remaining made it 29-25 Panthers at the break.
The Falcons shot only 28 percent in the opening half and were outrebounded 19-14. Bowling Green stayed in the game by turning the ball over only four times and holding FIU without a three-pointer made.
In the second half, Bowling Green made a concerted effort to get inside, scoring 22 points in the paint after just 10 in the first half. With that focus, the Falcons shot 58 percent from the floor and also took over on the boards, holding a 20-12 edge in the last 20 minutes.
FIU held a 35-29 lead in the second half before Crawford made a lay-up and then added two free-throws 90 seconds later. James Erger then scored on a baseline jumper to tie the game at 35-35. The Falcons finally took their first lead of the contest on Dee Brown’s lay-up with 10:30 to play. The two teams took turns grabbing the lead back until Thomas’ jumper with 7:19 to play.
He followed that bucket with a three-pointer to make it 46-42 and Bowling Green never trailed again. FIU did get within three on Allen’s three-pointer with 2:59 to go but Crawford scored on a step-back jumper with the shot clock running down on the next possession. While that shot was a dagger, Calhoun’s thunderous tip-dunk on the Falcons’ next trip down the floor was the exclamation point.
With the loss, FIU falls to 3-9 on the season. Bowling Green improves to 6-5 overall and gets its first road win on the third game of a current five-game road stretch. The Falcons will be back in action Wednesday at Duquesne at 7 p.m.
Ohio State 69, Miami 40
Boxscore
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Senior forward Julian Mavunga scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, but No. 2 Ohio State used a big second half and took advantage of 18 Miami turnovers to pull away for a 69-40 win Thursday night at Nationwide Arena. With the loss the RedHawks fall to 3-7 while the Buckeyes move 12-1.
Mavunga led all scorers and recorded his seventh double-double of the season and 21st of his career as he came close to maintaining his season average of 20.3 points per game and 10.8 rebounds per game.
Ohio State took advantage of early cold shooting by the RedHawks to jump out to an 11-0 lead at 16:19 of the first half as the Buckeyes hit five of their first six shots. Miami got on the board with a four-footer in the paint by junior forward Drew McGhee on an assist by sophomore guard Quinten Rollins 4:15 into the game.
The RedHawks closed to within 13-6 on a driving layup by Rollins with 11:17 to play in the first half before the Buckeyes used an 11-4 run over the next 6:30 to open up a 14-point lead with 4:47 left in the first.
Miami used strong defense to limit Ohio State's open looks in the first half, holding the Buckeyes to a season-low 26 points and outrebounding OSU by an 18-13 margin. The RedHawks, however, also put up a season-low for first-half points with 17, thanks in large part to 12 turnovers.
Miami closed to within seven points early in the second half at 26-19, but Ohio State answered with an extended 29-8 run that lasted more than nine minutes. After starting out 1-for-6 in the second half, the Buckeyes rattled off 11-consecutive field goals, including two from beyond the arc, to take a 55-27 lead with 9:43 to play in the game.
The RedHawks worked hard to limit sophomore forward Jared Sullinger, the preseason National Player of the Year, to 11 points, but senior guard/forward William Buford and sophomore forward Deshaun Thomas scored 18 and 15 points, respectively, to lead the Buckeyes.
Mavunga finished 8-for-14 from the field and 4-for-5 from the free throw line, adding three blocks and one assist to his 20 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman Brian Sullivan was 3-for-5 for field goals, including 2-for-2 from behind the three-point line, to finish with eight points, four rebounds and one steal.
As a team, Miami shot 32.6 percent overall and 14.3 percent for three. Ohio State finished with a 44.8 field goal percentage and shot 26.7 percent from long distance. The Buckeyes outrebounded the RedHawks 34-33 and turned the ball over just five times.
Next up for Miami is a home game against William & Mary on Thursday, Dec. 29 at 7 p.m. at Millett Hall.
Florida Gulf Coast 83, Toledo 80
Boxscore
FORT MYERS, FL – A tremendous performance from freshman G Julius Brown couldn’t lift Toledo to a victory on Thursday evening as the Rockets suffered an 83-80 setback at Florida Gulf Coast.
Brown poured in a season-high 29 points and dished out seven assists to lead UT. He converted 10-of-15 field-goal attempts, including seven treys for the most by a Rocket since Nick Moore buried seven vs. NIU on Jan. 8, 2003.
Sophomore G Rian Pearson was another key contributor for Toledo with 11 points and 12 rebounds for his third double-double of the season.
“Juice and Rian were the only two guys who truly competed for us from start to finish tonight,” Toledo Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. “Those two guys really brought a lot of energy and excitement and did a lot of the little things that can help a team win.”
Also scoring in double figures were junior G Dominique Buckley (16 pts.) and junior G Curtis Dennis (12 pts.).
Florida Gulf Coast featured a balanced attack with senior G Christophe Varidel, freshman G Dante Holmes and freshman G Bernard Thompson each scoring 16 points.
The Eagles shot 50.8 percent from the field and limited UT to a 45.2 FG%. The Rockets knocked down a season-high 11 treys but were hampered by 13 first-half turnovers.
“They were casual turnovers (in the first half) which are simple to correct,” Kowalczyk said. “You can’t turn the ball over like we did against a team that shoots and scores as well as Florida Gulf Coast. We got beat in a shootout tonight.”
Those miscues played a key role in Toledo trailing by a 46-35 margin at halftime but that turned around following intermission.
“Our effort in the second half was tremendous,” Kowalczyk said. “We battled and clawed and did everything that we didn’t do in the first half. I thought we out-toughed them in the second half, but it was too little too late.
UT tied the score at 60-60 on a Dennis jumper midway through the second stanza. Brown then put the Rockets up 64-62 at the 9:16 mark with his final three-point bomb, but Varidel answered with a four-point play on the Eagles’ next possession.
The contest remained tight the rest of the way with Buckley’s trey giving UT its last lead, 77-76, with 2:27 remaining. Dennis’ layup with 1:21 tied the score at 80-80 but that was the Rockets’ final points of the game.
After Holmes hit a pair of free throws to give FGCU an 82-80 lead with 1:02 left, Brown nearly gave the Rockets a one-point lead. His three-point attempt with 39 ticks looked good but went in-and-out.
UT had three opportunities to tie the score in the closing seconds but couldn’t get its shots to fall.
The Rockets will now take a short holiday break before returning to action against Cleveland State on Wednesday, Dec. 28. Tip-off time for the contest is 8:00 p.m.
Virginia Tech 71, Eastern Michigan 50
Boxscore
BLACKSBURG, Va. ¬(EMUEagles.com) — The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team saw its offense stall out in a 71-50 loss to the Virginia Tech Hokies here Thursday, Dec. 22, in a non-conference game played in Cassell Coliseum.
Head Coach Rob Murphy's Eagles, now 5-7 on the season, scored just nine points in the first half, but turned in a better effort in the second half, scoring 41 points in the second half.
Senior guard Darrell Lampley (Linden, N.J.-Linden-Lakeland C.C.) and senior guard Antonio Green (Inkster, Mich.-Dearborn Heights Robichaud) both scored 13 for the Eagles while sophomore guard Austin Harper (Grand Haven, Mich.-Grand Haven-Glen Oaks C.C.) added nine.
Virginia Tech, now 10-3 on the year, had two players in double figures led by Erick Green with 12 and Cadarian Raines added 10.
The Eagles finished the game making 16-of-57 field-goal attempts and 6-of-25 triples while Virginia Tech was making 24-of-53 shots from the field and 7-of-22 from beyond the arc. The home squad would record a commanding 43-31 edge on the boards.
The two teams traded threes to start the game with Virginia Tech's Jarell Eddie hitting a long-range shot at the 17:55 mark with EMU's Lampley connecting on a triple to tie the game at 16:04.
The EMU zone defense kept the Hokies at bay through the first nine minutes, with the home team holding a slim 11-9 advantage at the 11:22 mark when EMU senior center Kamil Janton (Tarnow, Poland-Bartlett (Ill.) scoring on a reverse layup.
From that point on it was all Hokies in the second half as the home team ran off 16 unanswered points to take a 27-9 lead into intermission.
EMU made just 3-of-21 field-goal attempts in the first half for 14.3 percent and also lost the battle of the boards, 18-13. Virginia Tech, meanwhile, was hitting 9-of-18 attempts and 3-of-9 triples. Green led all scorers in the first 15 minutes with eight while Lampley's three topped the Eagle effort.
The Hokies began the second half much like the first ended, on a 6-0 run for a 33-9 lead before Lampley finally broke a 11:54 scoreless drought going all the way back to the 11:22 mark of the first half with two free throws.
Green would then hit a long three and a 12-foot jumper to put a little life back into the EMU offense, making it 45-20 with 13:10 left in the game.
The Hokies would build a 27-point lead, 61-34, with 5:31 left, but the Eagles managed to cut it to 21, 71-50, at the end.
The Eagles will now have a short break before heading to California, Dec. 29-30, to play in the Carrier Classic in Santa Clara. Eastern will meet host Santa Clara University in the first game, Dec. 29.
Wright State 60, Central Michigan 42
Boxscore
DAYTON, Ohio - Central Michigan's offense could only muster a season-low 42 points in an 18-point road loss at Wright State on Thursday night, 60-42.
CMU was playing its 10th road game in an 11-game stretch and it showed.
The Chippewas (5-8) shot just 35 percent from the floor and 18 percent from the arc going 3-for-17.
"We were a team that was ready to go home for Christmas," head coach Ernie Zeigler said. "We had bodies here but minds and souls were already gone.
"It was a really disappointing loss. They were tougher, more physical. They just absolutely took out any and everything we were trying to do. We weren't poised enough or tough enough to put ourselves in a position to effectively do anything on offense."
Central jumped out to a 7-1 lead right away but soon after a 9-0 run by the Raiders soon after gave them their first lead of the game at 12-10.
CMU regained the lead on a 3-pointer by Olivier Mbaigoto which made it 19-17 with 7:34 to go in the first but the Chippewas did not score another field goal the remainder of the half as Wright State closed on another 15-4 run to take a 32-23 lead into the intermission.
Wright State held the Chippewas to just 1-of-10 shooting from 3-point range in the second half while the Raiders ballooned the lead to as many as 22 points.
Derek Jackson was the lone Chippewa to hit double figures as he led CMU in scoring for the first time this season with 13 points. Andre Coimbra had seven points and eight boards while Mbaigoto added seven points and four boards.
Vance Hall scored 13 off the bench to lead three WSU players in twin digits.
Wright State shot 46 percent from the floor and 41 percent from the arc, draining 9-of-22 3-point attempts.
The Chippewas are now idle until Jan. 7 when they open Mid-American Conference play at home against Toledo.
Utah State 81, Kent State 62
Boxscore
LOGAN, Utah – A hot shooting Utah State (8-5) team proved to be a little more that Kent State (8-3) could handle on Thursday night as the Aggies handed the Golden Flashes an 81-62 loss in the final game of the Athletes in Action Classic sponsored by Gossner Foods.
For the first time all season Kent State was outscored in the second half as Utah State shot 64 percent (12-25) in the second period and 56.6 (30-53) for the game. The Golden Flashes never really got going after falling behind early making just one of their first six shots. Kent State would finish the first half shooting 29.4 percent (10-34) including 0-9 from three.
Things went a little better from beyond the arc in the second half were the Golden Flashes made 5-15 including 3-5 from freshman Devareaux Manley (Oakland, Calif.), but it wasn't enough for Kent State which committed a season low eight turnovers.
Sophomore Mark Henniger (Massillon, Ohio) was the only player in double figures for the Golden Flashes with career highs of 11 points and five rebounds, which all game on the offensive end. Manley, senior guard Michael Porrini (Massillon, Ohio) and senior guard Carlton Guyton (Chicago, Ill.) each had nine points.
Senior forward Justin Greene (Brooklyn, N.Y.) had six points and five rebounds tonight and was named to the All-Tournament team after averaging 12 points and 8.3 rebounds for the three games.
The Aggies improved to 200-14 at home in the last 14 years with the win and were led by Kyisean Reed with 27 points on 12-13 field goals.
"Not sure we will be looking to come back to Utah anytime soon." said Kent State Head Coach Rob Senderoff. "Utah State is very, very good and we are just not where we need to be as a team right now. We got to find a way to get back to where we need to be. They deserve a lot of credit they played well and have been all three games this week. We have to go back home and regroup now and hopefully get better after the holiday."
Kent State will wrap-up a six game swing away from home after the Christmas holiday with a game at Arkansas State on Dec. 29.