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10 MAC teams saw action Saturday. I said if Miami won, I would change my opinion. They did, and I did. Instead of the bottom dweller, I have moved them up more toward the middle of the pack. Michael Weathers continues to impress. Here are the recaps of that game, and the rest of the action.
Bowling Green beat Detroit Mercy 74-61
The game was a lot closer than the score indicated, which isn’t a good news for BGSU. Detroit Mercy isn’t a good team. What is good news, however, is that their two freshman guards, Dylan Frye and Rodrick Caldwell, combined for 31 points. Frye had a break-out type game, going 7-11 while scoring 18.
Wes Alcegaire scored 16, and Zack Denny added 10 points and 8 rebounds.
Jaleel Hogan scored 16 for the Titans, and Gerald Blackshear added 12 points and 9 rebounds.
BGSU missed 12 of 25 free throws, and were out rebounded, 39-34. That tells me they might not be as focused as they should have been for the game, which might work out in the log run, because it certainly helped build the confidence of the two freshman.
Western Michigan beat James Madison 74-67
Off the court issues might have played a factor in this game. Regardless, the Broncos were able to get the W. Thomas Wilder hit a 3 with 6 seconds left in the first half to put the Broncos up, 35-33.
James Madison was not deterred, and ended up building up a 7 point lead with 9:05 left, and still led by 7 with 5:34 left, when Reggie Jones made a couple steals to close the gap. He then made a couple of jumpers, threw in a couple rebounds and made some free throws to help put WMU up for good.
Jones ended with 24 and 8 boards, while Thomas Wilder added 22 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.
Tom Vodanovich had 18 for the Dukes, and Jackson Kent added 16 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists.
WMU out rebounded the Dukes, 37-28.
Buffalo beat Coppin State 87-52
Buffalo loves their jumpers. Against Coppin State, they 15-30 from three, and 27-54 from the floor. With that kind of shooting, they can compete with just about anyone. It’s too bad they wasted that kind of shooting on a team that hasn’t won this season.
Willie Conner was 8-13 from three, and scored 28 for the Bulls. The Bulls went deep into their bench, with 6 non-starters recording points.
The Eagles got 13 from starter Tre’ Thomas, and Dejaun Clayton added another 13 off the bench.
The Bulls out rebounded the Eagles, 45-31 and also had 21 assists to the Eagles 9.
Ball State beat Eastern Kentucky 91-86, in OT.
Taylor Persons scored in the final minute of overtime to redeem himself for missing a couple free throws with 3 seconds left in regulation.
The game was close the entire time, with neither team getting more than a 4 point lead in the second half.
For the Cardinals, Sean Sellers led all scorers with 32 points on 10-14 shooting. He was an en fuego 7-10 from three. Taylor Persons added 21 and Trey Moses scored 18 and had 14 boards. Franko House added 9 points and 12 rebounds.
For the Colonels, Asante Gist scored 19 and Nick Mayo added 17. Dillon Avare added 15 off the bench.
Ohio lost to Iona 79-75
The Bobcats lost for just the second time this season.
OU jumped out to an early lead, and lead the entire first half. They went into the locker room with a 6 point lead. The second half was a battle, where Iona pulled out the win at the end.
I almost included this game in my weekly preview, because Iona is a solid team. In the end, both teams were the virtual statistical equals.
Jaaron Simmons led the Bobcats with 22, and Antonio Campbell added 16 points and 9 rebounds.
For the Gaels, Jordan Washington with 30 points, and Jan Svandrlik added 19 off the bench, 18.2 points over his season average.
Illinois beat Central Michigan 92-73
The full recap is available here.
Miami beat IUPUI 71-68
Calling it a huge win is a bit of a stretch, but there are certainly some redeeming qualities here for the Redhawks. Jordan Rinard has a nice recap of the game you can read here.
Kent State downs NJIT 87-71
The Flashes picked up the win as NJIT presented little resistance with the score at 47-24 at one point in the first half.
Kent State was very efficient on the offensive end Saturday as it shot 50% from the field, including 10-23 from three-point range and a perfect 13-13 from free throw line. The 26 points off the bench shouldn’t go unnoticed either, as well as the 39 rebounds in the game.
Jaylin Walker and Jimmy Hall carried KSU on the night with a combined 55 points and 15 boards, as Walker was 6-10 from three-point land and Hall tallied four assists in the game.
Kent continues its home stand on the 18th when it hosts Wright State.
Akron fades late at Gonzaga 61-43
In what was a nip-and-tuck affair throughout, the Zags took control late in the second half as they coasted to a win. Akron was able to cut its deficit to 31-28 with 15:11 left in the game, but the team’s struggles on the offensive end (went over seven minutes without scoring in the second half) kept it from pulling off a huge upset.
To say the Zips had a rough shooting night would be a big understatement as the team shot 26.7% from the floor and went 6-14 from the free throw line. Gonzaga functioned a bit smoother on offense as it hit 40% of its shots and made 17-20 attempts from the charity stripe.
Isaiah Johnson had a near double-double with 11 points, nine rebounds, and three assists while Jimond Ivey also had a strong showing with 10 points, seven boards, and an assist. However, the Bulldogs’ Przemek Karnowski had a great all-around game with a team-high 14 points, eight rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal.
The Zips look to get back to their winning ways Saturday when they host Marshall.