No. 23 Miami Earns 24th Straight Win in MAC-SBC Matchup at Marshall
Saturday’s Men’s Basketball Results
Ball State 73, Louisiana Monroe 68
No. 23 Miami 90, Marshall 74
Northern Illinois 75, Georgia State 75
Troy 79, Akron 69
Arkansas State 91, Bowling Green 74
South Alabama 81, Buffalo 69
Louisiana 85, Central Michigan 80
App State 65, Eastern Michigan 60
Southern Mississippi 66, Kent State 65
Coastal Carolina 94, UMass 91 (3OT)
Old Dominion 78, Ohio 72
James Madison 73, Toledo 71
Texas State 77, Western Michigan 61
Recaps courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments
Ball State 73, Louisiana Monroe 68
Box Score
MONROE, La. – The Ball State men’s basketball team got out to a strong start and rode a balanced offensive attack to a 73-68 win at Louisiana Monroe on Saturday afternoon at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
The Cardinals led 22-7 midway through the first half after a Juwan Maxey 3-pointer, and Kayden Fish hit a layup in the closing seconds of the opening period to give the visitors a 36-27 advantage going into halftime.
Ball State (8-15) held at least a four-point lead for the balance of the second half, but the Warhawks (4-21) stayed within single digits in the late stages of the contest. Fish, Devon Barnes, Davion Hill and Juwan Maxey made free throws for the Cardinals in the final five minutes to help maintain the lead.
The Cardinals swept the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge after previously topping Louisiana 75-64 in the season opener back on Nov. 3.
Fish posted a team and career high 17 points on 6-for-10 shooting from the field and 5-for-6 at the free throw line while collecting six rebounds. Hill tallied 14 points, four assists, three rebounds and three assists. Elmore James IV (13 points, two steals) and Armoni Zeigler (11 points, six rebounds, two assists) were the other two in a quartet of Cardinals in double figures scoring.
James IV made all four of his field goal attempts in the second half, including a jumper at the 7:07 mark to put the visitors ahead 62-52.
Maxey hit a pair of triples on the afternoon and finished with seven points, and Barnes contributed six points, including going 4-for-4 at the foul line in the final minutes of the contest, and six rebounds.
Ball State won the rebounding battle 37-33 and held edges in points in the paint (40-26) and second chance points (16-12). The Cardinals committed two more turnovers (14-12) than the Warhawks but enjoyed a 38-6 edge in bench points led by Fish and Hill.
The visitors went 43.5 percent (27-62) from the field, 31.3 percent (5-16) from distance and 77.8 percent (14-18) on free throws. Louisiana Monroe made 37.5 percent (18-48) of its free throw attempts including 11.1 percent (2-18) on 3-pointers while going 83.3 percent (30-36) at the foul line.
Ball State returns home to host Buffalo on Wednesday night following the three-game road swing.
No. 23 Miami 90, Marshall 74
Box Score
HUNTINGTON, W. Va. – The Miami University men’s basketball team (24-0, 11-0 MAC) rolled to a 90-74 win at Marshall (15-9, 7-4 SBC) in the MAC-SBC Challenge on Saturday. Eian Elmer led the RedHawks with 18 points and nine rebounds, while Peter Suder (17), Antwone Woolfolk (15), Luke Skaljac (12) and Almar Atlason (10) added double digits for Miami. Noah Otshudi led the Thundering Herd with 23 points.
The RedHawks jumped out to a 16-7 lead behind three deep shots from Elmer. The Thundering Herd looked to close in on the RedHawk lead at 18-13 before a pair of layups from Justin Kirby and Trey Perry made it a 22-15 ball game. An offensive rebound from Kirby led to a driving layup from Suder, and Atlason went on to bury a three plus the foul to put the score at 28-16 with 10 minutes remaining in the first half.
A second-chance layup from Woolfolk, a deep triple at the left wing from Elmer and a Kirby layup down the right lane capped off a 15-1 run for the Red and White at 35-16. Atlason sank his second three, and Skaljac connected on his second traditional three-point play of the afternoon to put the RedHawks ahead 41-17. A combination of layups from Woolfolk and Suder sent the RedHawks into the break with a 49-31 advantage.
Woolfolk began the second half with two layups, and Skaljac penetrated the lane where he found a wide-open Brant Byers from the left corner for three to remain ahead 56-36. The Thundering Herd answered by cutting their deficit to 10 points at 59-49 with 12:21 to play. The RedHawks responded with six straight points to calm the Marshall crowd.
Marshall trailed by less than 10 points at 65-56 for the first time since the first half with just over nine minutes to go on the game clock. Free throws from Atlason, Elmer and Suder, as well as a steal from Skaljac that led to a fast break layup by Kirby, helped Miami regain control at 73-58. Woolfolk found Elmer on a back cut to the rim for a reverse layup, and Skaljac knocked down a mid-range jump shot at 77-61. Skaljac went on to dish the ball to Kirby in the right corner for a shot from behind the arc at 80-64. Miami used a collection of tough finishes at the rim to seal a 90-74 victory against the Thundering Herd.
Miami returns home for a contest against Ohio in the Battle of the Bricks on Friday, Feb. 13 at 9 p.m. on ESPN.
Northern Illinois 75, Georgia State 75
Box Score
ATLANTA, Ga. – Makhai Valentine (Munhall, Pa./Steel Valley) scored 23 points, including 5-of-6 from three, as the Northern Illinois University men’s basketball team outlasted Georgia State, 75-74, on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 7) at the GSU Convocation Center. Dylan Ducommun (Geneva, Switzerland) added 13 points and Taj Walters (Bronx, N.Y./Moravian Prep) added 12 as the Huskies earned a victory in the MAC/Sun Belt Challenge.
NIU (8-14) made 11 triples in the contest, shooting 47.8 percent (11-of-23) from beyond the arc, while holding Georgia State to just 4-of-20 (20 percent) from three.
Gianni Cobb (Chicago, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor) and Valentine each knocked down a pair of triples in the opening five minutes as the Huskies built an early 14-7 advantage. Georgia State answered with the next four to trim the Huskie lead to three with 14:22 to play in the half.
After a basket by Daemar Kelly (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Hills) put the Huskies in front by five, 16-11, Georgia State (9-16) used a 12-2 run to take a 23-18 lead with just over eight minutes to play in the half.
NIU was within three after a bucket from Ducommun, but the Panthers then used an 8-2 burst to push their advantage to 31-22 with a little less than four minutes to play before the intermission.
A triple from Ducommun ignited a 10-2 run for the Huskies to close the half. Walters made a pair of free throws and Hassan ‘Tre’ Washington (Providence, R.I./Prise Academy) finished at the rim to bring NIU within three. After Georgia State made a basket, Ducommun hit another three at the buzzer to cut the Panther lead to 37-35 at the half.
Cobb, Ducommun and Valentine each had eight points in the opening 20 minutes to lead the Huskies. Micah Tucker had eight points to lead Georgia State. NIU was 6-of-13 (46.2 percent) from beyond the arc in the first half.
Walters scored NIU’s first eight points to start the second half as the Huskies took a 43-41 lead less than two minutes into the second stanza.
Leading by one, Georgia State used a 6-0 burst to take a 56-49 lead. Valentine ended the Panther run with a corner triple to bring the Huskies within four, 56-52, with 12 minutes to play.
Valentine’s fourth triple of the afternoon pulled the Huskies even at 58 just before the midway point of the half and a pair of free throws from Valentine gave NIU a 62-61 lead with 7:34 left.
The NIU lead was still one when Walters made a pair of free throws with 4:19 remaining, giving the Huskies a 68-65 advantage. Georgia State pulled even at 68 before Valentine knocked in his fifth triple of the contest with 1:22 left, giving NIU a 71-68 lead.
Following a free throw from the Panthers that cut the NIU lead to a pair, Ducommun finished off glass to give the Huskies a 73-69 lead with 41 seconds to play.
NIU still led by four, 75-71, with 26 seconds left after the two teams exchanged a pair of free throws. Georgia State then split a pair of free throws and, following a NIU turnover, made two more to pull within one, 75-74, with 7.2 seconds left.
After a Georgia State foul, NIU missed the front end of a one-and-one. The Panthers raced the length of the floor but a pull-up three at the buzzer was no good as the Huskies survived for the road victory.
Tucker and Jelani Hamilton each finished with 16 points for Georgia State. Malachi Brown added 11 points and Christian Beam finished with 10.
NIU will return to league play on Wednesday, Feb. 11, when the Huskies host Bowling Green. Game time against the Falcons is scheduled for 7 p.m.
