Saturday's MAC Men's Basketball Results
Ohio 81, UNC-Asheville 62
Toledo 59, Sam Houston 58
Bowling Gren 73, Morehead State 60
Ball State 71, Southern Illinois 62
North Dakota State 86, Western Michigan 73
Texas A&M CC 49, Central Michigan 47
College of Charleston 80, Kent State 73
Oral Roberts 67, Akron 61
South Dakota State 86, Buffalo 65
Green Bay 54, Eastern Michigan 49
SIU-Edwardsville 64, Northern Illinois 62
Stories courtesy of MAC Sports Information Departments
Ohio 81, UNC-Asheville 62
Boxscore
ATHENS, Ohio - Walter Offutt matched his career-high with 19 points to lead Ohio to a convincing 81-62 victory over UNC-Asheville in the annual BracketBuster game Saturday night. It was the 15th home win of the season for the Bobcats, setting a program record.
Ohio never trailed as it cruised to its eighth win in the last 10 games. With the win, Ohio improved to 21-6 overall and 15-1 at the Convo. The Bobcats shot 15 percentage points higher than its season average, connecting at 58 percent for its second-highest mark of the season (62% at Wright State)
Offutt (Indianapolis, Ind.) was one of three players to finish in double figures. Freshman guard Stevie Taylor (Gahanna, Ohio) scored 12 points and sophomore guard Nick Kellogg (Westerville, Ohio) finished with 10 points.
Junior forward Ivo Baltic (Kansas City, Mo.) pulled down a team-high seven rebounds and junior guard D.J. Cooper (Chicago, Ill.) dished out eight assists. Cooper's eight assists were the most he's had this season since Dec. 10 against Portland.
The Bobcat defense smothered the UNC-Asheville attack that came into the game ranking 4th in the nation in scoring (82.3) and 11th in the nation in field goal percentage (49.0). Ohio held the Bulldogs to 34 percent shooting, 5-of-24 from beyond the arc.
Ohio jumped out to an 8-1 lead and never looked back as the Bobcats held UNC-Asheville without a field goal until the 13:44 mark of the first half. When the Bulldogs scored their first field goal, which made the score 8-3, they probably didn't realize it would be as close as they would get the rest of the evening.
The Bobcats immediately went on a 12-3 run to open up a 20-6 lead with 8:45 to go in the game. Taylor scored eight points during the stretch, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers.
Ohio took a 34-18 lead into the locker room. The Bobcats held UNC-Asheville to just 21 percent shooting. Offutt led all first half scorers as he poured in 12 points. Ohio's bench also provided a large boost, out-scoring their counterparts from the visiting side 16-1.
The Bobcats outscored UNC-Asheville 17-13 over the first 10 minutes of the second half to open up a 20-point lead. In the final 10 minutes, Ohio's lead never fell below 14 points as it went on to secure the victory.
Ohio shot an incredible 73 percent from the field in the second half as freshman forward TyQuane Goard (Charleston, W. Va.) scored seven points and grabbed five rebounds, while redshirt sophomore Nick Goff (Columbus, Ohio) scored the first five points of his career.
Redshirt sophomore Jon Smith (Columbus, Ohio) chipped in with five points, five rebounds and three blocks. The Bobcats improved to 11-1 when Smith grabs five or more rebounds.
The Bobcats return to action on Wednesday as they head north to take on Buffalo. The game is set to tip-off at 7 p.m.
Toledo 59, Sam Houston 58
Boxscore
HUNTSVILLE, TX - Strong defensive play down the stretch and back-to-back jumpers from junior G Curtis Dennis in the closing minutes helped UT come away a thrilling 59-58 road triumph over Sam Houston State in a Sears BracketBuster contest in Johnson Coliseum.
The victory was the Rockets' second-straight road win and improved UT's overall record to 13-14 overall heading into Wednesday evening's home matchup vs. Central Michigan. The Rockets are currently tied for third place in the MAC's West Division and have three of their final four regular-season contests at home.
"We won this game on the defensive end and took care of the ball a lot better than we have been doing," Toledo Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. "We're continuing to get better and that's a big key for us with just four games remaining. We didn't play great today, but we played hard, weathered the storm and did enough things needed to win a road game."
Sophomore F Reese Holliday paced the Rockets' attack with 14 points, shooting 6-of-7 from the field and 2-of-3 from the perimeter. Also scoring in double figures were sophomore G Rian Pearson (12 pts., team-high seven reb.) and freshman G Julius Brown (12 pts., six reb., team-high eight asst.)
Toledo committed a season-low nine turnovers in the contest in addition to dishing out 18 assists. UT edged out the Bearkats in the shooting department by a 45.3-44.2 margin.
Senior F Steven Werner registered a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds to pace the Bearkats with junior G Konner Tucker sharing team scoring honors with 14 points.
But it was junior G Curtis Dennis (8 pts., 4 asst.) who gave the Rockets the lead for good with a pair of jumpers with the game tied at 51-51 with less than three minutes to play. Brown then fed Holliday for a layup to give UT a 57-53 advantage with 50.5 seconds remaining.
SHSU was able to climb within a point at 57-56, but Brown knocked down a pair of free throws for a three-point cushion with 14.0 ticks left. Tucker then missed a three-point attempt, but Marcus James tipped it in to reduced UT's lead to one, 59-58, with 4.6 seconds showing on the clock.
Brown then missed the front-end of a one-and-one with 2.6 seconds left, but the ensuing Bearkats' shot from beyond halfcourt was short.
Bowling Green 73, Morehead State 60
Boxscore
Bowling Green, Ohio – Scott Thomas scored a career-high 28 points and doubled his career-best with eight three-pointers as the Bowling Green State University men’s basketball team beat Morehead State 73-60 Saturday for the annual Sears BracketBusters series.
In all, BGSU made 14-of-26 three-pointers and shot 57 percent from the field as the Falcons blitzed a Morehead State team that was only allowing 61.9 points per game this year. Thomas made 8-of-15 three-pointers, one shy of a school record, Jordon Crawford was 3-of-4 from long range, and Dee Brown connected on 3-of-5 three-point attempts.
Brown scored 19 points to give him 991 for his career, just nine away from becoming the second Falcon this season to reach 1,000 career points.
Crawford directed the offense by handing out 12 assists and Bowling Green assisted on 21-of-28 total baskets. He added three steals and had just three turnovers, including two on the team’s first two possessions of the game.
Morehead State jumped out to a 9-3 lead as Bowling Green turned the ball over on its first three possessions and got just a Thomas long-ball in the first 3:30. Thomas, though, took over by knocking down two more threes in the next minute to tie the game at 9-9. Crawford added a three-pointer and Brown connected on a lay-up with 13:18 to go on the Falcons’ first non-three-point attempt.
Bowling Green still led 23-20 when Torian Oglesby started a 7-0 run with a dunk, followed by another Thomas three-pointer and two Jehvon Clarke free-throws to make it 30-20. Thomas, in fact, made six of his threes in the first half as Bowling Green went into the break with a 43-29 lead.
Morehead State actually cut the deficit down to single-digits early in the second half, getting to within nine at 50-41. Bowling Green answered with a 12-0 run that put the game away, getting a Thomas lay-up followed by two Brown lay-ups and a Crawford three-pointer. Brown’s three-pointer with 8:13 to go put BGSU up 62-41 and gave head coach Louis Orr the opportunity to use his bench the rest of the way.
Along with his 28 points, Thomas had four rebounds, four assists and three steals. Cam Black scored just two points but shared team-high honors with five rebounds and added three blocks and two steals. A’uston Calhoun had five rebounds and Torian Oglesby came off the bench to score six points on 3-of-3 shooting.
Morehead State held a 26-25 rebounding edge and had three less turnovers than the Falcons’ 17. Bowling Green did hold a 9-0 advantage on fastbreak points but BGSU went to the line just four times, making three free-throws.
With the loss, Morehead State falls to 15-14. Bowling Green improves to 14-12 overall, equaling the team’s win total in each of the past two seasons. The Falcons will play at Akron Wednesday at 7 p.m. in a return to Mid-American Conference play. BGSU is 7-5 in league play and Akron leads the MAC at 11-1.
Ball State 71, Southern Illinois 62
Boxscore
MUNCIE, Ind. – Four players scored in double figures to lift the Ball State men’s basketball team to a 71-62 non-conference victory over Southern Illinois Saturday afternoon in a Sears BracketBusters showdown at Worthen Arena.
“This is obviously what we have been waiting to see,” head coach Billy Taylor said. “It was great to see our guys come out and play so well today. What stood out to me, was our unselfishness. We moved the basketball, got dribble penetration and made the extra pass to find open shooters. That ball movement spurred our offense and got our guys going today.”
Senior guard Randy Davis (Plymouth, Ind./Plymouth) led the BSU attack with 19 points to help the Cardinals snap a seven-game losing streak and improve to 13-12 overall this season. Davis, who is among the national leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio, also dished out three assists while not committing a turnover.
Also scoring double-digit points for the Cardinals were sophomore guard Tyrae Robinson (Gary, Ind./Bowman Academy) with 14, sophomore guard Jesse Berry (Lafayette, Ind./Jefferson) with 13 and senior forward Jarrod Jones (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) with 10. Jones and freshman forward Aaron Adeoye (Marion, Ill./Marion) tied for team-high honors with eight boards apiece, including five offensive boards for Adeoye.
Southern Illinois (8-20) senior Mamadou Seck led all players with 26 points and 11 rebounds. Kendal Brown-Surles and Dantiel Daniels also scored in double-figures for the Salukis with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
The Cardinals offense was key in the win, as they connected for a 45.7 (21-for-46) effort from the field, including a 56.0 (14-25) rate of success in the first half. BSU hit 10-of-20 three pointers in the contest, including 3-for-6 efforts from both Davis and Berry. On defense, Ball State limited the Salukis to a 40.7 (22-for-54) effort from the field, including a 30.0 (6-for-20) mark from behind the arc.
The two teams battled back-and-forth during early in the game with Southern Illinois taking an early 14-8 lead as Seck scored eight early points for the.
The Cardinals started to heat up from out the outside and broke the game open as they scored 17 straight points on their way to a 24-2 run to take a 32-16 lead. Ball State hit five three-pointers in the beginning of the run Davis hit the first two followed by threes from Jauwan Scaife (Muncie, Ind./Muncie Central), Berry and Robinson to force Southern Illinois into a timeout.
The Cardinals kept attacking as it went to work scoring in the paint down the stretch of the first half. Berry scored on a drive in the paint while Adeoye scored on an offensive put-back. Jones capped the first half with back-to-back baskets, including a thunderous dunk after driving down the center of the lane.
Ball State went into the locker room with a 32-16 lead after hitting 56.0 percent (14-of-25) from the field and 62.5 percent (5-of-8) from three-point land. The Cardinals also out-scored the Salukis 18-8 in the paint and held a 16-12 rebounding advantage. Robinson led the Cardinals with nine points in the first half while Davis chipped in eight points.
Southern Illinois finished the first half shooting 40.9 percent (9-of-22) from the field and 42.9 percent (3-of-7) from long range. The Salukis were forced into nine first half turnovers in which the Cardinals scored 11 points off the miscues. Seck led SIU with nine points while Brown-Surles added nine points late in the half.
SIU scored the first six points of the second half on back-to-back three-pointers before the Cardinals answered with an 11-3 run to take a 48-31 lead. Once again, the Cardinals used the three-point shot as Berry hit and pair and Davis capped the run with a deep three-pointer.
Southern Illinois was not done though as it kept fighting and posted a 9-2 run to pull within five points at 57-52 with 5:21 left in the game. The Cardinals got a big basket on its ensuing possession as Jones nailed a three-pointer to extend it to a three-possession game.
The Salukis narrowed the lead back to five at 60-55 with 3:33 left and the Cardinals were in need of a big possession. Jones launched a deep three-pointer as the shot clock was winding down that was off the mark, but Adeoye was there for the offensive put-back to give the Cardinals breathing room. Ball State sealed the victory as it was 9-of-12 from the field, including a pair of free throws by Davis and Adeoye in the final 29 seconds.
Ball State returns to Mid-American Conference play Wednesday night as it travels to Kalamazoo, Mich., for a divisional showdown against Western Michigan. Game time is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised by SportsTime Ohio.
North Dakota State 86, Western Michigan 73
Boxscore
FARGO, N.D. – The Western Michigan men’s basketball team started out hot in their Bracketbuster contest, but were unable to keep up the positive momentum in falling 86-73 to North Dakota State in Fargo on Saturday. With the loss, the Broncos fall to 11-16 on the season. They will return to action on Wednesday when they host Ball State.
Mike Douglas went off for 21 points on the strength of a strong three-point shooting performance in the first half, and Matt Stainbrook posted his team-high fourth double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
The Broncos started the game by attacking the Bison from the perimeter, stunning the crowd at the Bison Sports Arena by jumping out to an early lead and holding it through the remainder of the first half. Trailing 7-4 in the opening minutes, the Broncos cut the lead to one point when Stainbrook spun around Marshall Bjorklund and notched an easy lay-up off the glass.
The Broncos took the lead at the 16:40 mark when Demetrius Ward fired a three from just beyond the head of the key, making it 9-7; Nate Hutcheson would add a three one possession later to give the Broncos a 12-7 lead.
The Bison whittled the lead to one point when Taylor Braun hit a left-handed lay-up in the paint, but Douglas stretched the lead back up when he hit a long jumper to make it 14-11. He would hit a three-pointer at the 11:16 mark to give the Broncos a six-point lead, and would add one more at the 8:01 mark to give the Broncos a double-digit lead.
It would be part of a 7-1 run for the Broncos that gave them their biggest lead of the night; Stainbrook would record a tip-in lay-up to give the Broncos a 30-19 lead with 7:13 remaining.
Austin Richie would hit a baseline lay-up to give the Broncos an eight-point lead with 2:14 remaining in the first half, but from that point forward the Bison would control the tempo and push the Broncos back on their heels. NDSU went on a 9-1 run to open the second half, briefly taking a 35-34 lead before Flenard Whitfield hit a free throw at the 17:51 mark. The Bison took the lead for good at the 16:29 mark on a Dylan Hale jumper that made it 39-37; Hale would hit a three at the 12:27 mark to make it 52-42.
WMU would cut the lead to five points when Brandon Pokley hit a triple from the corner, making it 59-54 with 6:49 remaining; Stainbrook would convert a three-point play to make it just four points with 5:50 remaining. However, the Bison were able to pull away and reach another double-digit lead, finish the game 88-73.
Texas A&M CC 49, Central Michigan 47
Boxscore
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Trey Zeigler scored a game-high 22 points but Texas A&M-Corpus Christi outlasted Central Michigan to take a 49-47 win away in Saturday's Sears ESPN BracketBuster game.
At the midway point of the second half and with the game tied for the sixth time, the Chippewas (8-18) and the Islanders (5-21) traded leads for the next three and a half minutes. A three-pointer by the Islanders at the 7:18 mark sparked a 7-1 run and proved to be too much for a short-handed Chippewas team to overcome.
Central was never far out of reach, coming within one possession on several occasions and cutting the deficit to one with 49 seconds left. After forcing a ill-timed three-pointer on the Islanders' next possession, the Chippewas milked the clock for a last-second field goal attempt, but Derek Jackson was called for an offensive foul driving the baseline with five seconds remaining. The Islanders were then able to extend their lead back to five by converting all four free throws.
"We just couldn't make enough plays on offense to put ourselves in a position to win," said CMU head coach Ernie Zeigler. "We had a lot of great looks and our kids executed our stuff. We just didn't have that third guy to step up tonight."
The Chippewas were without starting point guard Austin McBroom and backup guard Finis Craddock, and lost Olivier Mbaigoto to an injury in the second half.
Zeigler went 8-of-16 from the floor and 6-of-8 from the line while Derek Jackson added 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting. John Morris led all players with six rebounds. No Islanders scored in double figures but all nine players found their way into the scoring column.
As part of the BracketBuster series agreement, Central Michigan will pay a return visit to Corpus Christi, Texas, next season.
College of Charleston 80, Kent State 73
Boxscore
KENT, Ohio – A feverish Kent State (19-7) rally in the final nine minutes wasn’t quite enough in an 80-73 loss to College of Charleston (17-11) in a Sears BracketBuster contest Saturday night at in the M.A.C. Center. The Golden Flashes had their second game winning streak stopped despite using an 18-1 run that brought the margin to within two points in the final four minutes after trailing by 19 points with nine minutes to go.
Junior Chris Evans (Chesapeake, Va.) posted his first career double-double at Kent State with a team high 16 points and 13 rebounds. Senior guard Carlton Guyton (Chicago, Ill.) also added 16 in the game but the Golden Flashes where unable to overcome an off night from beyond the arc and the absence of senior forward Justin Greene (Brooklyn, N.Y.) who missed the game due to injury.
Playing in front of the 2002 Elite Eight team which was honored at halftime, Kent State dominated the game in the early going taking a 17-5 lead in the first eight minutes of the game due in large part to the play of sophomore Mark Henniger (Massillon, Ohio) who earned the start in place of Greene. Charleston slowly started to catch up and catch fire from beyond the arc as the Cougars took a 36-33 lead at halftime. Nori Johnson did the majority of the damage hitting four three-pointers in the final 11 minutes of the half in which he totaled 16 of his game high 27 points.
Johnson continued his onslaught after the break hitting his fifth three of the game as part of a 9-0 run by Charleston to open the second period. The margin would then grow to as many at 19 before the Golden Flashes finally broke through. After missing its first 18 three-point attempts, Kent State hit its next four and six of 11 down the stretch, several of which came during the 18-1 run that brought the M.A.C. Center faithful to their feet and the Golden Flashes back into the game.
Junior guard Randal Holt (Cleveland, Ohio) hit three, three-pointers during the run before Guyton finished off the stretch with a fastbreak lay-up off a Holt steal to pull within two at 68-66 with 3:53 left. After a defensive stop, Kent State had the chance to tie the game, but a baseline jumper by sophomore guard Eric Gaines (Chicago, Ill.) was just off the mark. The Cougars scored on the other end, yet Kent State still hung close until the final 30 seconds when Charleston sealed the game at the line.
Kent State returns to Mid-American Conference play with road games at Miami on Tuesday and at Bowling Green next Saturday. Both games can bee seen on SportsTime Ohio. Follow the action on the radio at WNIR 100.1 FM or listen online at www.kentstatesports.com.
Oral Roberts 67, Akron 61
Boxscore
TULSA, Okla. – The Akron Zips dropped a 67-61 decision to Oral Roberts in the 2012 Sears BracketBusters event Saturday afternoon at the Mabee Center.
The loss snapped Akron’s eight-game winning streak. Alex Abreu led the Zips (19-8) with 13 points, four assists and one steal. Nikola Cvetinovic was the only other Zip in double figures with 11 points, four rebounds and two assists.
Akron closed the game shooting 41.4 percent (24-of-58) for the game, but connected on just 5-of-22 from 3-point range (22.7 percent).
The Golden Eagles held a 41-26 rebounding advantage as the Zips forced 15 turnovers to just 11 committed.
Dominique Morrison led ORU (25-5) with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Akron opened the second half by scoring seven of the first eight points of the half to close the gap to 34-29 with 18:06 left in the game. ORU responded and pushed its lead back to 12 (41-29) at the 15:30 mark.
Once again the Zips fought back, closing to within three points (43-40) with 13:15 left in the contest. Quincy Diggs sparked the run with five points in a 32-second stretch. Nearly a minute-and-a-half later, Akron trailed 45-43 (11:53).
Over the next four minutes, both teams trade buckets and points, with ORU unable to game a lead larger than three points. ORU was able to push its advantage to nine (60-51) with 4:43 left in the game.
The Zips fell behind early as the Golden Eagles grabbed a 16-8 lead with 11:49 to go in the first half. ORU shot 53.8 percent during the stretch and forced Akron to commit four turnovers.
Akron began to chip away at the ORU advantage, closing the gap to 16-11 (10:21), but the Golden Eagles would answer and extend their lead to 28-13 by the 4:42 mark. The Zips would answer.
UA would piece together a 9-0 run over the next 1:52 to close the gap to 28-22 entering the final media timeout of the half (1:31). ORU would score the next five points to take a 33-22 lead into halftime.
Nick Harney led the way in the half, scoring five points off the bench. The Zips shot 38.5 percent in the opening 20 minutes (10-of-26) and committed eight turnovers. ORU held a 22-11 advantage on the boards and also committed eight turnovers.
Akron returns to Mid-American Conference play on Wednesday when Bowling Green visits Rhodes Arena. Game time is set for 7 p.m. ET.
South Dakota State 86, Buffalo 65
Boxscore
BROOKINGS, SD – The University at Buffalo men’s basketball team couldn’t shake a sluggish start and lost to a very good South Dakota State, 86-65, in a Sears BracketBuster matchup at Frost Arena on Saturday afternoon.
South Dakota State (22-7) never trailed and shot nearly 50 percent from the field. Nate Wolters, the nation’s sixth leading scorer, was as good as advertised. The junior guard finished with 22 points, six rebounds and eight assists to help the Jackrabbits stay perfect at home this season.
"South Dakota State took us to the woodshed today,” head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. “We weren't physical at all. We weren't aggressive enough. They did a good job of spreading us out and doing what they do best. We didn't take them to the glass, pound it inside and do what we do best. In the end, when that happens, it's bad for Buffalo."
Mitchell Watt hit a pair of free throws with 7:04 left in the first half to make the score 21-18 in favor of the Jackrabbits. However, South Dakota State held the Bulls to without a point for over four minutes and was able to extend its lead to 31-18. The Jackrabbits led, 38-26, at the break.
Uncharacteristically, Buffalo did a poor job on the boards in the first half, getting outrebounded, 23-14, over the first 20 minutes. South Dakota State pulled down eight offensive rebounds and scored 10 second chance points.
Zach Filzen hit back-to-back three-pointers to cut the SDSU lead to 48-40 with 13:22 left. However, the Jackrabbits responded with consecutive treys of their own to regain a 14-point advantage and silence the UB threat.
South Dakota State shot 61 percent in the second half, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. The Jackrabbits also had a huge advantage at the free throw line, shooting 25-of-31 from the charity stripe compared to just 7-of-11 for the Bulls.
Watt finished with 15 points and eight rebounds to lead UB. Filzen had 13 points, including three three-pointers. Tony Watson also knocked down three treys en route to 11 points.
Buffalo (16-8) did a much better job in the second half, shooting 53 percent from the field and outrebounding SDSU, 17-12. But it was enough to overcome the slow start.
Buffalo will return home on Wednesday night to host Ohio at Alumni Arena.
Green Bay 54, Eastern Michigan 49
Boxscore
GREEN BAY, Wisc. (EMUEagles.com) — The last non-conference regular-season game ended on a sour note for the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team as the Eagles dropped a 54-49 decision to the Green Bay Phoenix here Saturday, Feb. 18, in the Resch Center in the annual Sears BracketBuster matchup.
Head Coach Rob Murphy's Mid-American Conference Eagles came back from an eight-point deficit with 3:42 left to cut the deficit to three, 50-47, with 1:48 left on a three-point field goal by senior guard Darrell Lampley (Linden, N.J.-Linden-Lakeland C.C.).
After two free throws by Green Bay's Keifer Sykes boosted the home team's lead back to five, Eastern senior guard Antonio Green (Inkster, Mich.-Dearborn Heights Robichaud) made two of three free throws with 24.3 seconds left to make it 52-49, but 7-foot-1 center Alec Brown would connect on two free throws with 21.5 left and Green Bay would hold on to post the five-point win.
Eastern, now 11-16 on the season, was led by Lampley with 13 points while junior guard Derek Thompson (Detroit, Mich.-Melvindale-SEMO) added 12 points.
Green Bay, which improved to 12-14 with the win, was paced by guards Sykes and Kam Cerroni with 10 points each. Brown had nine points with 13 rebounds.
Eastern shot 32.7 percent from the field, making 18-of-55 field goals and 6-of-21 triples for 28.6 percent. The Eagles made just 7-of-14 free throws for 50 percent and were out-rebounded, 41-29.
Green Bay shot 40 percent from the field, making 18-of-45 field-goal attempts and the Phoenix were red-hot from the free-throw line, making 15-of-18 for 83.3 percent.
The Eagles came out with a 4-0 run to start the game on a jumper by junior forward Jamell Harris (Euclid, Ohio-Euclid) and a layup by sophomore guard Austin Harper (Grand Haven, Mich.-Grand Haven-Glen Oaks C.C.).
The home squad would finally heat up enough on offense to take an 8-7 lead at the 11:38 mark on a layup by Brennan Cougill.
Thompson would then hit the first of two straight threes to give EMU a 10-8 lead with 10:22 left, but the Phoenix would run off the next six points for a 14-10 lead.
The Phoenix would built their advantage to as much as seven, 24-17, with 1:10 left in the half, but junior guard J.R. Smith (Fort Wayne, Ind.-Snider) would bury a long three from the top of the three-point arc to cut the lead to four, 24-20, with 52.6 left. Neither team was able to add any points the rest of the half.
EMU would shoot just 30.4 from the field in the first half, making 7-of-23 shots, but the Phoenix were only a little better as they made 8-of-23 for 34.8 percent. Green Bay turned in over 10 times in the half to nine for the Eagles and the home team held a big, 21-13, edge on the boards.
Green Bay came out of halftime with five answered points to forge a 29-20 lead before Harris quieted the crowd with a layup to make it a seven-point game, 29-22, with 16:07 left.
The Phoenix would built its lead back to 10, 38-28, but EMU had the answer once again, going on a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to three, 38-35, with the last three of that series coming on a triple from Thompson at the 6:40 mark.
The Eagles kept coming back late in the game, setting up the exciting last three minutes.
The Eagles will now prepare of their final four MAC games of the year, starting with two home contests next week in the Convocation Center. Eastern is slated to host Northern Illinois Wednesday, Feb. 22, and Ball State Saturday, Feb. 25.
SIU-Edwardsville 64, Northern Illinois 62
Boxscore
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. -- Mark Yelovich hit a turnaround jumper from the baseline at the buzzer to lift SIU Edwardsville to a 64-62 win over the Northern Illinois men’s basketball team on Saturday afternoon at the Vadalabene Center.
NIU trailed by five with 90 seconds to play but clawed back to even the game and appeared to have forced overtime until Yelovich’s 14-foot jumper spoiled the Huskie comeback. Yelovich finished with a game-high 22 points for the Cougars.
A layup by Yelovich put SIU Edwardsville in front, 62-57, with 1:35 remaining. On the ensuing possession, junior guard Tony Nixon (South Holland, Ill./Seton Academy) grabbed an offensive rebound, scored on the put-back and got fouled. Nixon finished the three-point play, pulling the Huskies within a pair, 62-60, with 1:15 left.
NIU appeared to get a stop on the next possession as a loose ball went out of play, originally called off of the Cougars. After an official’s conference, the call was reversed. SIU Edwardsville missed a pair of free throws and the lead remained two.
Sophomore forward Aksel Bolin (Akser, Norway/Asker) drove to the basket, scored and was fouled with 27 seconds to play. Bolin missed the free throw and the game remained tied, 62-62. That was the only free throw the Huskies missed as they went 12-of-13 from the charity stripe.
On the final possession, the Cougars appeared out of sorts and the ball was fumbled along the baseline with time winding down until Yelovich secured possession and made the game-winning shot.
Nixon and freshman wing Abdel Nader (Skokie, Ill./Niles North) each scored 12 points to lead the Huskies, Nader also grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.
“It was an unbelievable game,” said NIU head coach Mark Montgomery. “You have to give SIUE credit, they were down at the half and came storming back … what a finish. I’m trying to figure out how Yelovich made that shot because we doubled him, there was a fumbled ball … It was a good game played both ways, both teams played hard and the game could have gone either way.”
NIU led by as many as 12 in the first half, freshman guard Marquavese Ford (Saginaw, Mich./Saginaw) paced the Huskies with seven points before the intermission. NIU shot 55.6 percent (5-of-9) from beyond the three-point arc in the opening half; SIU Edwardsville shot 25.0 percent (4-of-12), but just 1-of-9 after starting the game 3-of-3. The Huskies outscored the Cougars 12-4 in the paint before the break.
The Cougars used a 7-2 burst to begin the second half to cut the NIU lead to five, 36-31.
After a basket by Ford pushed the NIU lead back to seven, SIU Edwardsville used a 9-2 run to even the game, 40-40. The Cougar run reached 11-2 as SIU Edwardsville took its first lead of the second half, 42-40.
NIU answered and took a three-point lead, 53-50, when senior forward Tyler Storm (Geneseo, Ill./Geneseo) connected on a pair from the charity stripe with 6:11 remaining.
Storm finished with six points, five rebounds and a game-high four assists.
An 8-0 run by SIU Edwardsville gave the Cougars a 58-53 lead with 4:21 to play in the contest. NIU pulled back within one on four consecutive free throws by Nader. Yelovich then made a pair of free throws and a layup to put the Cougars up 62-57 with 1:35 left.
NIU will return to conference play and continue its three-game road trip on Wednesday, Feb. 22, when the Huskies travel to Eastern Michigan. Game time against the Eagles is set for 6 p.m. CT.