Wednesday's MAC Men's Basketball Results

Bowling Green, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University men’s basketball team shot 62 percent from the floor in the second half and the Falcons rolled to a 71-58 Mid-American Conference victory over Central Michigan Wednesday night in the Stroh Center.

The win snapped a two-game home losing streak for the Falcons and pushed the team’s conference record back to .500 at 3-3. Four players scored in double-figures for Bowling Green and six players had at least six points.

Bowling Green never trailed in the final 32 minutes, took a 10-point lead into the half and led by as many as 20 in the second half. Central Michigan closed the game on a 9-2 run to get the deficit down to 13, but the Falcons used an impressive shooting performance in the second half to put the game away.

Leading 31-21 at the half, the Falcons made six of their first seven shots in the second half to push the lead to 17. Two of those shots were Dee Brown three-pointers, the latter of which gave Bowling Green a 48-31 lead with 14:55 to play. 

Central Michigan did use a 10-2 run to get back to within single digits but the Falcons answered with an identical 10-2 run, capped off by an A’uston Calhoun lay-up, that made it 60-43 with 7:06 left.

Scott Thomas’ third three-pointer of the game gave Bowling Green its largest lead at 69-49 with 2:09 left before the Chippewas closed the game with a 9-2 run.

Thomas, Calhoun, and Jordon Crawford all finished with 14 points and Calhoun added 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the year. Crawford played an excellent game running the offense and had seven assists to go with only two turnovers. Bowling Green committed just 11 turnovers in the game, two less than Central Michigan.

Brown added 12 points, making 2-of-4 three-pointers, while Torian Oglesby came off the bench to score eight points on 3-of-3 shooting and block two shots. Cam Black finished with six points, three rebounds, three blocked shots, and three steals.

Thomas had yet another all-around game to go with his 14 points. He made 3-of-7 three-pointers, added eight rebounds, four steals, and two assists. It is his third consecutive game with at least four steals.

The one area that Central Michigan dominated came on the boards. The Chippewas held a 41-29 rebounding edge and grabbed a remarkable 25 offensive rebounds. That is the most the team has allowed in the five-year Louis Orr era. Those 25 offensive rebounds turned into a 27-13 Central Michigan advantage on second-chance points.

Bowling Green shot 51 percent from the floor for the game and held Central Michigan to 37 percent shooting. The Falcons also had their best night of the year from the line, making a season-high 18 free-throws and shooting a season-best 86 percent (18-of-21).

With the loss, Central Michigan falls to 7-12 on the year and 2-4 in MAC play. Bowling Green improves to 9-10 overall and evens its league record at 3-3. The Falcons will face Eastern Michigan, a team that is 9-11 overall and 4-2 in MAC play, Saturday in Ypsilanti at 6 p.m. That game will be televised regionally on SportsTime Ohio.

KENT, Ohio – A little home cooking maybe was all the Golden Flashes needed on Wednesday night.  After losing two games on the road last week, Kent State (13-6; 3-3 MAC) rebounded in a big way posting a 90-56 Mid-American Conference win over Northern Illinois (2-16; 1-5 MAC) at the M.A.C. Center.  

 

Freshman Kris Brewer (Memphis, Tenn.) scored a career high 15 points to lead five Golden Flashes in double figures as Kent State built a 21-3 lead to start the game and refused to let up.

 

Adding 14 points and six rebounds in only 19 minutes, senior forward Justin Greene (Brooklyn, N.Y.) started the second half exploiting Northern Illinois’ inside game.  Greene scored five points for the Golden Flashes within the first five minutes of the second stanza and continued his strong play on the defensive end of the court.

For there it was Kent State’s perimeter shooting that put the game out of reach.  Junior guard Randal Holt (Cleveland, Ohio) hit a 3-pointer with just under 17 minutes to play to put the Golden Flashes up by 32 points. Holt’s three was only part of Kent State’s hot touch from beyond the arc as the team would hit six of its next seven over the next eight minutes of action.  Holt led the way hitting three, three-pointers as he finished with 14 points while matching career highs with six assists and four steals.  

In all the Golden Flashes connected on 11-24 from three, including 7-15 in the second half when junior forward Brian Frank (Gainesville, Fla.) joined the party in the closing minutes with his first career triple.  Junior forward Chris Evans (Chesapeake, Va.) (14 points) & senior guard Carlton Guyton (Chicago, Ill.) (11 points) also finished in double figures for Kent State.

  

After dropping two straight conference match ups on the road, Kent State started strong against the Huskies.  The Golden Flashes’ dominant offensive first half and eight steals led to a 49-23 lead at halftime.  Kent State turned the Huskies’ 14 turnovers into 17 first half points.  The Golden Flashes finished the half shooting 18-of-28 from the field.   

 

The win snaps the team’s two-game losing streak and improves their record to 8-1 at the M.A.C. Center this season.

 

The Golden Flashes will return to the road this weekend when they face Toledo at 7 p.m. on Saturday.  Follow the action live on the radio at WNIR 100.1 FM or listen online at www.kentstatesports.com.  

OXFORD, OH – Toledo led from start to finish and turned away each Miami rally to pull out a 63-61 victory on Wednesday evening over the RedHawks in Millett Hall. The victory was the Rockets’ first in Oxford in 12 seasons and also put an end to a 27-game Mid-American Conference road losing streak. 

“We had a great 40-minute effort tonight,” said Toledo Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk. “We’ve been through so much with six losses on our final possession. We’re a young team that earned this win with some defensive stops down the stretch.”

The victory snapped a string of five-straight losses in games decided by three points or less, and lifted UT’s record to 2-6 in those contests this season.

Sophomore G Rian Pearson notched his fifth double-double of the season, finishing with a game-high 23 points and 10 rebounds. His effort on the boards helped UT control the glass with a 35-26 rebounding advantage.

“Rian’s a tough player who can do a lot of things out on the floor,” said Kowalczk, who notched the 150th win of his career tonight. “He had a great game, but what I was most happy about tonight was how he communicated and got other players involved.”

Junior G Curtis Dennis was UT’s only other double-digit scorer with 17 points, including a critical three-pointer with 1:00 remaining to give the Rockets a 63-58 lead. He also came up with a career-high four steals.

Senior F Julian Mavunga paced the RedHawks with 14 points and 11 rebounds, while freshman G Brian Sullivan contributed 13 points.

Toledo limited the hosts to a 40.8 FG%, marking the third-straight contest the Rockets have held their opponent under 41-percent shooting.

Pearson set the tone early for the Rockets, scoring the game’s first five points as UT jumped out to an 8-0 lead. Toledo built its lead to as many as 14 points, but the RedHawks scored the last eight points before halftime to reduce their deficit to 33-27.

Miami’s momentum carried over into the second stanza and UT saw its lead evaporate when sophomore G Quentin Rollins’ three-point play evened the score at 33-33 less than two minutes after intermission. 

Toledo immediately grabbed back control though with an 8-0 spurt for a 45-37 lead with 11;07 remaining. Miami made one last charge after Pearson’s two free throws put UT ahead, 58-49, with 4:46 left.

A Sullivan three and four points from Mavunga made it a two-point game, 58-56, with 2:28 remaining. Pearson and Mavunga exchanged baskets on the next two possessions before Dennis’ bomb put the Rockets up five. Miami sophomore F Jon Harris answered with a trey of his own though with 40 seconds remaining. UT came away empty on its next possession but a Dennis steal  prevented the RedHawks from getting a shot off at the buzzer.

ATHENS, Ohio - The Ohio University men's basketball team (16-4; 4-2 MAC) defeated Western Michigan University 56-51 Wednesday night in the Convocation Center improving its record to 11-1 at home. 

Junior guard D.J. Cooper (Chicago, Ill.) scored a game-high 18 points and pulled down five rebounds. Sophomore guard Ricardo Johnson (Covington, Ky.) added nine points and a season-high seven rebounds. Sophomore forward Jon Smith (Columbus, Ohio) led the Bobcats in rebounding as he grabbed eight boards. 

Austin Richie led Western Michigan as he came off the bench to score 16 points. Other significant contributors for the Broncos included Mike Douglas who scored 12 points and Shayne Whittington who added nine points and a game-high 13 rebounds. 

Ohio shot 35.3 percent from the field compared to the Broncos 30.2 percent effort. The Bobcats also shot 77.8 percent from the foul shot line. Defensively, Ohio forced Western Michigan into 17 turnovers. 

The Bobcats came out firing from the opening tip, hitting four of its first six shots, including 3-pointers from Cooper and sophomore guard Nick Kellogg (Westerville, Ohio), on the way to an early 10-1 lead. The Bobcats were just as sharp on defense during the run, forcing Western Michigan into committing five turnovers and holding them without a field goal until the 15:02 mark. 

Ohio continued to control the game gaining its largest lead of the day, a 15-point, 29-14 lead with 5:39 to play in the first half. Western Michigan wouldn't go away however, going on a 16-1 run to make it a 30-30 game as the teams entered the locker rooms for halftime. 

Cooper led Ohio at half, scoring 10 points and pulling in three rebounds. Junior forward Reggie Keely (University Heights, Ohio) added six points and Johnson led the team in rebounding, pulling in five boards. 

Richie led the Broncos scoring 11 points and Whittington added seven points and four boards. Western Michigan held the rebounding edge at half pulling in three more boards than the Bobcats (30-27). 

The teams traded baskets to start the second half with the Broncos taking a two point, 40-38 lead with 12:33 to play. Ohio answered going on a 14-6 run to retake the lead 52-46 with 5:55 remaining in the game. The Broncos failed to close the gap as Ohio went on to secure the victory. 

Cooper led the Bobcats in the second half scoring eight points and adding three assists and three steals. Johnson and junior guard Walter Offutt (Indianapolis, Ind.) each added five points for the Bobcats. Ohio shot 40.9 percent from the field and 30 percent from 3-point range in the second half. 

Douglas led the Broncos in the second half scoring seven points. Richie added five of his team-high 16 points for a Western Michigan team that outrebounded Ohio 38-27. 

The Bobcats return to action Saturday afternoon in the Convo as they face the MAC West Division leading Ball State Cardinals. The game is scheduled to begin at 11 am and will be televised on ESPNU.