Last week in the Mid-American Conference…The Road to Cleveland and the 2012 FirstEnergy MAC Men’s basketball Tournament started to heat up with the first round of intra-divisional games.
Bowling Green provided the biggest shock of the first round as they defeated Ohio in the first MAC game to be played at the Stroh Center. Akron came from behind late to defeat Miami while Buffalo defeated Kent State for the fourth consecutive time in Western New York.
In the West Division, Central Michigan showed very little rust as it walloped Toledo at home. Ball State got back to December form with a victory over Western Michigan while Eastern Michigan ended a three-game losing streak with a win at Northern Illinois
Intra-divisional play continues this week. Among the big games are Ball State at Toledo Ohio vs. Buffalo and Akron and Kent State against Miami.
Here is a look back and a look ahead for all 12 MAC men’s basketball teams as they begin the second week of conference play
EASTERN DIVISION
AKRON (9-6, 1-0): The Zips only game last week was their MAC opener Saturday at Miami, where they came from behind to defeat the Miami Redhawks, 65-60, for their sixth win in the last seven games. Junior G Quincy Diggs came off the bench to lead UA in scoring with 14 points while sophomore transfer G Brian Walsh added 12. Nick Harney, just reinstated by the team last week, added 11 off the bench. Fifth year senior F Nikola Cvetinovic leads UA in both scoring (10.1) and rebounds (6.2) while sophomore G Alex Abreu leads in assists at 4.2 per game. The Zips continue their road swing on Wednesday night at Bowling Green before heading home to face the Ohio Bobcats Saturday afternoon in a nationally televised tilt (ESPNU)
BOWLING GREEN (7-7, 1-0): The Falcons played their inaugural MAC game at the Stroh Center and came away with a 67-57 win over the Ohio Bobcats. The victory ended a stretch in which BG lost four of the previous five. It was the Falcons first home game since December 7 when they defeated Malone. Guard Jordon Crawford led four BGSU players in double figures with 16 points, five assists, and two steals as the Falcons shot 52 percent from the field for the game. The one downer from the game was that F Torian Oglesby finally missed a shot from the field, ending his consecutive streak at 26. F A’uston Calhoun leads BGSU in scoring at 12.9 while Scott Thomas leads in rebounds at 64. Crawford leadd in assists at 3.9. The Falcons play Akron at home on Wednesday before heading to Kent State on Saturday to battle the Golden Flashes.
BUFFALO (8-4, 1-0): The Bulls returned home to Alumni Arena after two road losses at Brigham Young and Temple, UB returned on Wednesday night and routed Buffalo State 111-59 in their first home game since they defeated Youngstown State back on December 10. Senior F Mitchell Watt led five UB players in double figures with a career-best 22 points and pulled down nine rebounds. Saturday, UB opened MAC play with a victory over the Kent State Golden Flashes 66-65 in a game that saw 12 ties and 11 lead changers, with neither team leading as much as five points. Sophomore F Javon McCrea led all scorers in the contest with 25 points while Titus Robinson came off the bench to score 14. Watt added 10 with eight rebounds and four blocked shots. McCrea leads in scoring at 17.8 (third in the MAC) with Watt leading in rebounds at 7.8 and Jarrod Oldham leading in assists at 6.5 per game. UB makes the long trip to Athens on Wednesday and then head to Miami on Saturday to battle the RedHawks
KENT STATE (10-4, 0-1): The Flashes returned home to the MAC Center for the first time since December 3 as they beat NAIA opponent Shawnee State (Mid-South) for their 10th win of the season, using a 9-0 run midway through the first half to take the lead for good. Four KSU players scored in double figures, led by seniors F Justin Greene and G Carlton Guyton, each scoring 15 points. Saturday, KSU journeyed Interstate 90 to Buffalo and for the fourth consecutive time they lost to the Buffalo Bulls, 66-65. It was a game that saw 12 tied and 11 lead changes before the home team took the lead for good with 1:45 remaining. Greene led the Flashes with 16 points while senior G Michael Porrini added 13 with three assists. Greene and G Randal Holt leads KSU in scoring at 11.6 with Greene leading in rebounds at 6.6 boards and Porrini in assists at 3.8. The Flashes return home this week for a pair of games as Miami comes to the MAC Center on Wednesday, followed by the Falcons of Bowling Green on Saturday.
MIAMI (4-9, 0-1): The RedHawks began 2012 with a trip to “Music City USA” dropping a narrow decision to the SEC Vanderbilt Commodores 69-62 as freshman G Brian Sullivan scored a career high 24 points, connecting on eight three-pointers. Saturday, Miami returned to Millett Hall but fell to the Akron Zips 65-60. The RedHawks absorbed their fourth loss in the last five games despite 23 points and 14 rebounds from Julian Mavunga. Sullivan backed up his performance at Vanderbilt by adding 14 points. Mavunga leads the MAC in both scoring (19.7) and rebounds (10.7). Quinten Rollins leads the Hawks in assists at 2.8. Miami heads to Kent State on Wednesday night to battle the Golden Flashes before returning home Saturday to face Buffalo.
OHIO (12-3, 0-1): The Bobcats saw their nine-game winning streak come to an end Monday night as they fell to the Robert Morris Colonials (Northeast) at the Convocation Center. Ivo Baltic led the Cats with 14 points, along with Reggie Keely, who scored his 14 all in the second half. Junior guard D.J. Cooper added 13 and seven assists. Saturday night at Bowling Green, the Falcons pulled an upset, 65-57, in the first MAC regular-season game at BG’s new Stroh Center. Cooper led the Cats with 15 points while Baltic added 14. Walter Offut added 11 and five rebounds. Cooper leads the Cats in scoring at 14.1 per game and in assists at 6.3 (third in the MAC) with Keely leading in rebounds at 5.5. Ohio returns to action on Wednesday night as the Buffalo Bulls come to the Convocation Center before heading up to Akron to battle the Zips in a nationally televised contest (ESPNU)
WESTERN DIVISION
BALL STATE (9-4, 1-0): The Cardinals won both of their games last week on their home floor at Worthen Arena. On Wednesday night, BSU routed the Florida A&M Rattlers (MEAC), 70-55, as senior F Jerod Jones recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 15 points and 22 rebounds. Senior G Randy Davis added 14 and sophomore F Chris Bond also scored 14. Saturday night, the Cardinals opened their MAC schedule with a 78-69 victory over Western Michigan as four BSU players scored in double figures, led by Jones with 20 points. It was the seventh time this season he scored 20 points or more in a game. Jones is second to Miami’s Julian Mavunga in both points (18.0) and rebounds (8.4). Davis is tied for the lead in assists at 6.5 with Buffalo’s Jerrod Oldham. BSU heads to Toledo on Tuesday night to battle the Rockets before returning home on Saturday to face Eastern Michigan.
CENTRAL MICHIGAN (6-8, 1-0): The Chippewas won their only game last week as they routed Toledo in the MAC opener at McGuirk Arena, 85-69. Sophomore G Trey Ziegler scored 19 points as CMU ended a three-game losing streak and a stretch of six losses in seven games. The Chips shot 55 percent from the field and four players scored in double figures. Ziegler has proven to be productive across several key stats. He leads CMU in scoring (16.7), rebounds (6.4) and assists (2.8). The Chips have a pair of road games this week. The first is Wednesday night at Eastern Michigan. The second is Saturday in DeKalb for a battle with Northern Illinois
EASTERN MICHIGAN (6-9, 1-0): The Eagles opened MAC play on Saturday with a 47-40 win at Northern Illinois, breaking a three-game losing streak., It was EMU’s first road win since December 20 at Radford. Darnell Lampley led the Eagles with 16 points. Lampley leads the Eagles in scoring at 14.4 and in assists at 2.3 while Jamell Harris leads in rebounds at 6.3 caroms. EMU resumes play Wednesday night as Central Michigan comes to the EMU Convocation Center. The Green and White head to Ball State to battle the Cardinals Saturday.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS (1-12, 0-1): The Huskies picked up their first win for head coach Mark Montgomery on Monday night as they rallied from a five-point halftime deficit to defeat Roosevelt University 72-46 at the NIU Convocation Center. Sophomore C Anton Christian led NIU with 14 points while senior F Tim Toler added 12. Saturday night, they fell to Eastern Michigan, 47-40, with Toler pacing the Huskies with 11 points. Toler leads the Huskies in scoring at 11.1 and rebounds at 5.3 while Zach Miller leads in assists at 2.4. NIU gets back into action on Wednesday night as they head to Kalamazoo to battle Western Michigan before returning home on Saturday to face Central Michigan
TOLEDO (8-7, 0-1): The Rockets split their two games to open the 2012 portion of their schedule. The first game turned into one of the most lopsided wins in school history -- a 107-43 rout of Indiana-Northwest at Savage Arena in. It was their largest margin of victory since they defeated Wright State in 2003. Sophomore F Rian Pearson collected his fourth double-double of the season with 19 points and 13 rebounds. On Saturday, they traveled to Mount Pleasant and fell to the Central Michigan Chippewas, 85-69. Pierson led all scorers in the contest with 20 points. Four UT players scoring in double figures. Pearson leads the Rockets in scoring at 16.3 and rebounds at 8.4 (third in the MAC). Julius Brown leads in assists at 5.4. UT faces Ball State at home on Tuesday night before heading to Kalamazoo on Saturday to battle the Western Michigan Broncos
WESTERN MICHIGAN (6-9, 0-1): The Broncos split their two-games last week as they finished the non-conference portion of their schedule with a 72-61 home win over the Milwaukee Panthers (Horizon). Four players scored in double figures, led by Matt Stainbrook with 21 points. Demetrius Ward, coming back into the lineup following an injury, added 17 as WMU won its fourth consecutive game at home. The Broncos opened MAC play on Saturday as they fell at Ball State ,78-69. Ward led the attack with 16 and Stainbrook chipped in 14. Stainbrook leads the Broncos in scoring at 13.5 pts and 6.9 rebounds while Mike Douglas leads in assists at 4.2 WMU has a pair of home games this week as Northern Illinois comes to University Arena on Wednesday night, followed by the Toledo Rockets on Saturday.
There you have it, your weekly MAC checkup as intra-divisional play continues with some super matchups early in the week, especially in Toledo, where Jerrod Jones and Ball State battles Rian Pearson and the Rockets. Over in the East, Buffalo and Javon McCrea head into Athens to battle D.J. Cooper and the Bobcats
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