 Last week in the Mid-American Conference…The first round of intra-divisional play ended with the Akron Zips leading the way in the Eastern Division with a 4-1 record. The Ohio Bobcats and Buffalo Bulls were right on their heels at 3-2. In the West, co-leaders Ball State Cardinals and Eastern Michigan Eagles remain tied after both fell against MAC East foes last night.
Here is a look at all 12 MAC Men’s Basketball Teams after the first round of divisional play
EASTERN DIVISION
AKRON (5-1, 13-7): The Zips saw their four-game winning streak come to an end on Wednesday when they fell at Buffalo 82-70. Fifth year senior F Nikola Cvetinovic and junior G Quincy Diggs led UA with 17 points each. Cvetinovic he became the 39th player in UA history to score 1,000 points in his career. Saturday at home, UA used a 28-6 second half run fueled by four consecutive three-pointers to down arch rival Kent State 84-75 to move atop the Eastern Division with a 4-1 record. Sophomore F Nick Harney came off the bench to score 21 points. UA will try to stay on the winning track when it travels to Central Michigan Saturday
BOWLING GREEN (2-3, 8-10): The Falcons ended a two-game losing streak Wednesday night as they traveled to Oxford and defeated the Miami RedHawks, 65-57, as G Jordon Crawford had a career-best 25 points, going 10-of-13 from the field while leading four BGSU players in double figures. Saturday, the Falcons returned home to face Buffalo in a game that saw 10 ties and 10 lead changes. It came down to Jordon Crawford’s attempt to tie the game, and that was swatted away by the Bulls Mitchell Watt to preserve a 68-66 decision. A’uston Calhoun led all scorers in the game with a career-high 29 points. BGSU remains home on Wednesday to face Central Michigan before making the short trek to Ypsilanti to battle Eastern Michigan Saturday
BUFFALO (4-2, 11-6): The Bulls ended a two-game losing streak on Wednesday with an 82-70 win over Akron. Four players reached double figures, led by guard Zach Filzen with 21 points. Saturday, the Bulls made the long trek to the Stroh Center in Bowling Green and held onto defeat the Falcons 68-66. Senior F Mitchell Watt blocked Jordon Crawford’s game-tying attempt in the final seconds. Watt and JaVon McCrea led UB (16 points each) with Tony Watson coming off the bench to add 11. McCrea is third in MAC scoring at 16.6 points per game and was named Eastern Division Player of the week for the second consecutive time. Jerrod Oldham leads the MAC in assists at 6.3 per game. UB defended home court with a 65-47 win over West Division co-leader Easter Michigan Tuesday will now the long trek to DeKalb to battle Northern Illinois Saturday.
KENT STATE (2-3, 12-6): The Golden Flashes saw their two-game winning streak end on Wednesday night when they traveled to Athens and fell to the Ohio Bobcats, 87-65. Chris Evans led KSU with 18 points. Senior G Michael Porrini added 14 and senior F Justin Greene chipped in 10. Saturday night the Flashes fell at Akron, 84-75, thanks to a barrage of four consecutive three-pointers by the Zips. G Randal Holt scored a career-best 27 points. KSU is home Wednesday to Northern Illinois and then heads to Toledo for Saturday’s tilt.
MIAMI (1-4, 5-12): The RedHawks fell to Bowling Green on Wednesday night at Millett Hall, 65-57. It was their second straight loss and fifth in the last six games. Senior F Julian Mavunga was MU’s only player in double figures with 17 points. Saturday the Hawks were in Athens and squandered a six-point halftime lead, falling to the Bobcats, 69-65. Guard Brian Sullivan came off the bench to lead MU with 16 points. Mavunga was held to just seven points but did pull down 10 rebounds. The senior forward continues to lead the MAC in scoring at 17.8 and in rebounds at 9.6 per game. Miami returns home on Wednesday to face Toledo before heading to Western Michigan on Saturday
OHIO (3-2, 15-4): The Bobcats opened the week on Wednesday with an 87-65 romp over Kent State thanks to a 22-2 run early in the second half. Five players scored in double figures, led by forward Walter Offutt with 18 and junior guard D.J. Cooper with 18. The ‘Cats then came back from a six-point halftime deficit to defeat arch-rival Miami at the Convo, 69-65, on the day they retired Gary Trent’s number (34). Ivo Baltic led Ohio with 20 points while Cooper added 18 and three assists. Cooper is third in MAC assists at 5.7 per game. The ‘Cats complete a four-game homestand this week, beginning with Western Michigan on Wednesday night then Saturday facing Ball State
WESTERN DIVISION
BALL STATE (4-2, 12-6): The Cardinals bounced back from their loss on Saturday to Eastern Michigan with a 73-63 win at Central Michigan, fueled by career-highs from Tyrae Robinson (20) and Tyler Peck (17). BSU won despite F Jerrod Jones only scoring four points, but he had seven rebounds and G Randy Davis contributed 10 assists. BSU then headed into DeKalb and picked up a 75-65 win over Northern Illinois – BSU’s sixth win in the last seven games. Jones led four Cardinals in double figures with 17 points. He is second in the MAC both in scoring 16.9 and rebounds 8.4. Davis was named West Player of the Week and is second in MAC assists at 6.2 per contest. BSU, who dropped a 70-58 decision to East-leading Akron Tuesday night, heads to Athens on Saturday to battle Ohio.
CENTRAL MICHIGAN (2-3, 7-11): The Chippewas evened their MAC record Wednesday night when Ball State came into McGuirk Arena and BSU hung a 73-63 loss on Central. Guard Austin McBroom paced the Chips with 16 points while leading scorer Trey Ziegler was held to just six. Saturday, the Chippewas were in Kalamazoo and dropped a 64-61 decision to Western Michigan for their third consecutive loss. Ziegler led all scorers in the game with 19 points while Derek Jackson added 14. CMU heads into Bowling Green on Wednesday to battle the Falcons before returning home for Akron on Saturday.
EASTERN MICHIGAN (4-2, 9-11): The Eagles surprised Western Michigan with a 62-59 win Wednesday night in overtime. Antonio Green came off the bench to score 11 points as EMU won consecutive games for the first time since mid-November. Saturday, the Eatles made it three-straight in a low-scoring affair, defeating Toledo 41-38 as Quintin Dailey’s three-pointer with 3:05 remaining gave EMU the lead for good. Although they won, no Eagle scored in double figures; Darnell Lampley led them with nine points. EMU lost a chance to move into sole possession of the MAC West lead when it fell at Buffalo, 65-47, Tuesday. The Eagles return home Saturday for Bowling Green.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS (1-4, 2-15): The Huskies lost Wednesday night at Toledo, 71-51, as the Rockets used a 19-3 run late in the first half to bust the game open. No NIU player scored in double figures as they were led by G Stian Berg and Keith Gary, each with eight points each. NIU then returned home and fell to West Division-leading Ball State, 75-65, at the Convocation Center as Abdel Nader led the Huskies with 18 points. NIU heads to Kent State on Wednesday night before returning home to face Buffalo
TOLEDO (1-4, 9-10): The Rockets snapped a three-game losing streak Wednesday night as they routed Northern Illinois at Savage Arena, 71-51, as they shot 53.2 percent from the field en route to the victory. Curtis Dennis led UT with 18 points, Reese Holliday added 11. Rian Pearson only scored eight but pulled down nine rebounds. The Rockets then headed into Ypsilanti and in a low-scoring affair fell to Eastern Michigan, 41-38, with Pearson leading the score sheet with 12 points. The Rockets head to Oxford on Wednesday to face Miami before returning home for Kent State on Saturday
WESTERN MICHIGAN (3-2, 9-10): The Broncos traveled to Ypsilanti on Wednesday night and saw their two-game winning streak come to an end as Eastern Michigan stunned WMU in overtime, 62-59. Forward Nate Hutchinson led all scorers in the game with 21 points while F Matt Stanbrook added 12 along with seven rebounds. Saturday, the Broncos returned home and defeated Central Michigan, 64-61, using a 14-1 run at the start of the second half to take the lead for good. Hutchinson led four WMU players in double figures with 17 points while senior G Mike Douglas added 13 and four assists. That moved him into second place on the Broncos all-time assists list. WMU makes a long trip to Athens on Wednesday to battle Ohio before returning to University Arena on Saturday to face Miami
There you have it, your weekly MAC wrap-up as cross-divisional play continues tonight. Everybody gets in on the action Saturday.
|
