Notes and recaps in a forgettable night of MAC basketball:
BGSU 61, Florida International 53 — Well, let's lead with the win, I suppose. Even if it's against a team coached by Isiah Thomas. FIU held an uncomfortable lead for much of the game before getting back in the game and registering a 12-point advantage in the second half.
Scott Thomas had one of those games you'd think he'd do more often: 18 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and four steals. Jordon Crawford rose from the grave with 15 points and four steals of his own. And after two tough road games, the Falcons avoid their first losing record of the season, snapping back to 6-5, but this nasty road trip is only 60 percent over. Games at Duquesne and UT-San Antonio remain before MAC play opens against OHIO.
Utah State 81, Kent State 62 — Sadly, it wasn't as close as the final score indicated. It was much worse. They were routinely down by about 25 to 30 points all night. Despite having four fewer turnovers and 13 more offensive rebounds, KSU shot a dismal 5-for-24 from the 3-point line (Devereaux Manley tacked on some treys at the end) and Utah State routinely made baskets and free throws en route to an easy win.
USU has a decent record and an impressive win over Brigham Young but they did lose to such illustri as Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, which remains their only win of the season. Mark Henniger knocked down some free shots and a layup to finally break the double-digit threshold for the Flashes to finish with 11 points to go with five rebounds (all offensive).
Pretty sure KSU is done going into Utah for a while.
Florida-Gulf Coast 83, Toledo 80 — Depending on your opinion of UT's strength as a team, this is still a bad loss. FGCU gets their first-ever win against a MAC team (their only other game was Toledo last year, and somehow they lost that) even though the Rockets washed away an 11-point halftime deficit by tying it with 10 minutes to play, and from then on it was back-and-forth. They had three looks at the basket on the final play but clanked all three shots to tailspin back down to 7-5. Julius "Juice" Brown had a career-best 29 points and seven assists while Rian Pearson added a double-double of 11/12. Dominique Buckley scored 16 points augmented by 4-for-8 shooting on threes.
Wright State 60, CMU 42 — It looks like they're getting tired, but CMU should've been a bit more in this game. It was one of those slow-burn games where the Chips kept drifting further and further from WSU's pace with every passing four minutes. Trey Zeigler was well-guarded and only got off six shots and five points. Derek Jackson led CMU with 13 points.
Virginia Tech 71, EMU 50 — A lame shooting night by the Eagles yet again doomed them against a better opponent. Darrell Lampley and Antonio Green both contributed 13 points apiece but the team finished just 28 percent from the floor.
#2 Ohio State 69, Miami 40 — Looks like the Buckeyes went deer-huntin' again. Julian Mavunga was left to forage for himself and wound up with 20 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks. Half the points, possibly none of the blame. Yeah, that's about right.
Women's games:
Buffalo 69, Oakland 65 (OT) — Good close win for the Bulls, who don't have many of any variety this year, but it almost was not to be. With a three point lead on the final possession, Oakland went up for a layup on the final second, and WAS FOULED ON THE PLAY. No reason that should happen. OU hit the free throw to force overtime, which thankfully Buffalo dominated. Senior guard Brittany Hedderson had a career day with 39 points and 11 rebounds, her first double-double since the opener against Niagara. Nytor Longar had a double-double as well of 12 and 12 not to mention clinching free throws with :07 left to give themselves a four-point lead.
Detroit 73, WMU 64 — The Titans of the Horizon League basically iced this game with a 15-0 run to finish the first half, doubling up the Broncos 40-20 at intermission. From then on it was a game of catch-up that they just couldn't win. Michelle O'Brien led WMU with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
NIU 47, Indiana State 43 — We need a name for a basketball game won despite scoring under 50 points. I'll think about this one. Kim Davis led the Huskies with 16 points and nine rebounds while Amanda Corral supplemented that with 15. Not really sure how you win with just a 30.2 eFG%, but they figured it out.
Today's games:
6:00 p.m. — Ball State at Morehead State
7:00 p.m. — North Carolina A&T at OHIO
7:00 p.m. — WMU at Oakland
Women's games: none until December 27 (Toledo at Northwestern)