MAC Men’s Basketball Daily Recap: 12/18/16

UFC Knights 80, Miami 73 (OT)

Tacko Fall had 31 points and 10 rebounds for the Knights. Fall is a 7’6, 300 pound center from Senegal. I highly recommend watching him play if you haven’t yet. He is one of the more entertaining players I have seen.

He helped the Knights jump out to an early 11 point lead. Miami fought back, and kept it close most of the game.

Rod Mills Jr. hit a jumper with 35.8 seconds left, to tie the game, sending it to overtime. Mills Jr. also hit a three with 59 seconds left in overtime, to pull within 2, 73-71. Matt Williams and Chad Brown hit a pair of free throws each, with a quick score by Michael Weathers in between, and the Knights were able to hold on for the victory.

Michael Weathers lead the Redhawks in scoring with 15 points, and he added 3 rebounds and 4 assists.

Tacko went 11-12 from the floor, improving on his nation leading 81.6% field goal percentage. He was 9-12 from the charity stripe.

Not surprisingly, the Knights held the rebounding edge, 47-28. Neither team shot particularly well, with the Knights shooting 42.6%, and the Redhawks 38.5%.

The Knights moved to 8-3 on the season, while the Redhawks dropped to 5-6. Despite the loss, my faith is growing in the Redhawks by the game.

Miami takes on 4-9 Tennessee Tech on Thursday, the 22nd.

San Jose State Spartans 77, Bowling Green Falcons 76

New road game, same story. Bowling Green went down big in the second half, fought back, and fell in the end in an exciting game. I can’t help but think games like this will help the Falcons once the MAC season starts.

After 4 missed free throws late, the Falcons were able to pull ahead by one. Jalen James drove to the basket and missed a contested layup type of shot, but Brandon Clarke was there for the tip in (BOX OUT), to give SJSU the lead with 1.2 seconds left. A Zack Denny prayer wasn’t answered, and the Falcons dropped 5th road game of the season, in 5 tries.

Zack Denny and Wes Alcegaire had 16 each for the Falcons, and Denny added 7 rebounds. Ismail Ali had a good game, scoring 12 points and dishing out 7 assists before fouling out. Dylan Frye added 10 points, and the freshman from Pembroke Pines Florida is starting to be a regular contributor.

For the Spartans, Brandon Clarke scored 24 points on 9-12 shooting, and pulled down 14 rebounds, both game highs.

Bowling Green shot 45.3% from the field, and an impressive 53.3% from three. SJSU shot 50 from the field, and 43.8% from beyond the arc. They could only make 14-24 free throws, but were able to make up for it with a 41-28 rebounding edge.

The Spartans moved to 6-4 on the season, while the Falcons dropped to 4-7.

The Falcons next host 0-9 Alabama A&M on Thursday, the 22nd.

Wright State Raiders 68, Kent State Golden Flashes 63

You can find a complete game recap here.

Washington Huskies 92, Western Michigan Broncos 86

Some petty WMU fans probably wanted to win this game, because they felt Washington’s schedule wasn’t much more difficult than the Broncos in football. The Broncos were undefeated, and the Huskies were not, and made the playoffs. “You play to win the game” as the great Herm Edwards once said.

Well, you can lump me into that crowd, even though I am not a WMU fan. I really wanted WMU to win this game, for two reasons. 1, I wanted them to stick it to the power. I feel WMU football wasn’t given enough credit. 2, I predicted WMU basketball to do much better than they have performed so far this season.

Do you know who else wanted wanted WMU to win this game? Tucker Haymond. It was a homecoming for him. Oh, and he had something to say about it, since he actually played in the game. How did he respond?

28 points, a career high. He went 7 of 10 from three point land. Going into the game, you ask? 3-18 from beyond the arc.

Even though they lost, this was the WMU team I excepted at the start of the season. Haymond scoring. Wilder being a gamer, scoring 14 points, while dishing 10 dimes and reeling in 7 rebounds. Lamont and Dugan putting in solid minutes in the paint, both scoring and rebounding. They did.

The young wing players being athletes and contributing, and they did. Brandon Johnson and Bryce Moore threw in a combined 24 points.

If WMU can bottle this performance, they can compete in the MAC.

The Broncos play UCLA Wednesday Night.