Last night in MACsketball:
Western Michigan 63, Idaho State 60 — Yay, an actual win in this odd Utah tournament! Mostly this was a back-and-forth match, and it looked to be a rather even matchup all the way through. Matt Stainbrook finished with a hearty double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds, as well as two blocks, and the sparsely-used Alex Wolf scored 12 points off the bench. Bonus kudos go to Mike Douglas for draining all four free throws in the final 30 seconds, which might as well have been the difference in the game. And WMU becomes the second team, behind Ball State, to not have a losing record (6-6). Western Michigan's next game: Friday, 12/31 vs. Eastern Illinois
Miami of Florida 69, Akron 61 — The loss was to be expected. But after digging themselves into a 22-point hole, the Zips burrowed out the best they could with a 16-0 run. Fourteen of those points were consecutively netted by Brett McKnight, who finished with 20 points on the game. Unfortunately, training by six was the optimal result of that second half SUUUUURGE. All day UA had trouble defending a 6'10", 300-pound behemoth named Reggie Johnson and in the end, Akron's cold shooting put them away for good. Still, it's a hell of a second-half effort against a team with a shot at the NCAAs. Akron's next game: Wednesday, 12/29 vs. Arkansas Pine Bluff
And that's all the games until Monday! Now open your presents. You've waited long enough.