MAC Wrap: Lots of Saturday shooty hoops

With football still at the forefront of our attention through next week, basketball might be just a bit overshadowed. We're staying in the loop still, so trust us on that! Here's a recap of Saturdays games.

The Winners

Northern Illinois 100 Eureka 52

The Huskies unfairly put it on the Red Devils in a blowout home victory. No Huskie starter played more than 20 minutes and the bench netted 62 of the team's points. Freshman Marshawn Wilson led the way as he scored 17 points. That marked his third double digit scoring effort on the year.

Ball State 78 Longwood 67

Franko House and Ryan Weber combined for 31 points as the Cardinals went on the road and snatched their second consecutive victory. Sean Sellers saw limited time in a non-starting role and scored just 7 points but it was enough for the Cardinals to grab another win.

Ohio Bobcats 93 Norfolk State 71

Ohio bounced back from a disappointing loss to Tulsa and displayed a dominant offense throughout in the team's second game of the Paradise Jam. Freshman Gavin Block contributed 19 points in 25 minutes of play, handed out 6 assists and grabbed 6 rebounds while Treg Setty contributed an efficient 16. Oh, and can't forget that Jaaron Simmons had 13 assists of his own on a night that the 'Cats totaled 25 in that category.

Kent State 79 Marist 72

Jimmy Hall posted 27 points and 10 rebounds in Kent State's duel with Marist. The Red Foxes' Brian Parker and Khalid Hart combined to score 57 points but it wasn't enough to beat the home court Flashes. Hart hit 7 triples for Marist but it was better passing from KSU that helped win the day. The Golden Flashes ended with 17 assists.

Buffalo 86  NC A&T 68

A 51-point second half highlighted Buffalo's impressive win Saturday night. Four Bulls added at least 16 points, and they were CJ Massinburg, Jarryn Skeete, Lamonte Bearden, and Rodell Wigginton. It was an impressive win for a team coming off consecutive losses to good teams in Old Dominion and St. Joseph's. The Bulls were quite active on the offensive boards and took advantage of 21 offensive rebounds to pile up second chance points throughout the night.

The Losers

Loyola 69 Toledo 62

Toledo has yet to find a complementary scoring option to assist Nathan Boothe. The big guy was forced to jack up 24 shots, and finished with 29 points. Jonathan Williams took 17 shots himself 15 points. 4 turnover's compounded Williams's inefficient night.

North Dakota 77 Bowling Green 59

The Falcons leaned on Spencer Parker and Zack Denny in this losing effort as the two scored 28 together. The newly anointed Fighting Hawks (THEY SHOULD BE THE NODAKS), jumped out to a 30-17 lead before BG chipped away to pull things close at a score of 41-40 early in the second half. North Dakota slowly pulled away from that point on, with Quinton Hooker assisting on several Adam McDermott 3-pointers to help spread the gap. Hooker scored 25 himself on the night.

Florida Atlantic 75 Miami 69

Logan McLane's 13 points proved not nearly enough as the RedHawks fell on their own court on Saturday. Miami was outrebounded 35-21 as the starters combined to grab just 5 rebounds. Eric Washington was the only starter to register an assist (he had 7 of them) on top of 11 points.

UNC Wilmington 80 Western Michigan 76

The Broncos fell in their visit to Trask Coliseum despite shooting nearly 12 percentage points higher from the field than the Seahawks. WMU left points: at the free throw line (20-31), and in the hands of the opponent, (18 turnovers). Thomas Wilder finished with a nice stat line of 12 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists. Tucker Haymond and Anthony Avery Jr. contributed 19 and 14 points respectively.

The Best Performances

• Jimmy Hall did what Jimmy Hall often does. He put THE BALL IN THE HOLE. Hall notched 27 points and10 rebounds in Kent State's win over Marist.
• Nathan Boothe netted 29 of the Rockets 62 points in their Saturday loss to Loyola. But Boothe shouldn't have to take 24 shots. We all knew Toledo would struggle this year after losing so many scorers, now someone else will have to step up and fulfill an important role under Boothe and Jonathan Williams.
• Jaaron Simmons shook off his turnover troubles in Ohio's win over the Spartans. Simmons dished out 13 assists and turned the ball over just twice.