Mid-American Conference Tournament Recaps

Bowling Green, OH (SportsNetwork.com) – Anthony Henderson scored a game-high 20 points as the Bowling Green Falcons took down the Ball State Cardinals, 88-75, in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament at the Stroh Center.

Jehvon Clarke responded with 19 points for the fifth-seeded Falcons (20-10), followed by Zack Denny and Delvin Dickerson with 16 and 12 points, respectively, off the bench.

Bowling Green will be back on the floor Wednesday versus eighth seed Eastern Michigan in the second round of the tourney.

The 12th-seeded Cardinals (7-23) were paced by Bo Calhoun with 17 points in a reserve role, followed by Jeremiah Davis with 16, Sean Sellers 13 points and Franko House 10 in the losing cause.

Everything went right for BGSU in the first half as the team shot 58.6 percent from the floor, including 6-of-10 behind the 3-point line, and a near-perfect 10-of-11 at the free-throw line, all while turning the ball over just once, en route to a 50-34 advantage at intermission.

In the second half, again the Falcons shot the ball well from the floor (11- of-22) and at the charity stripe (13-of-16) and while the visitors were able to close the gap with 56.0 percent accuracy from the field, the deficit was simply too great for Ball State.

Bowling Green, which turned the ball over only seven times on the night, won the rebounding battle by a 31-22 margin.

Final Score: Eastern Michigan 62, Miami-Ohio 61 (OT)

Ypsilanti, MI (SportsNetwork.com) – A layup by Brandon Nazione in the final minute of overtime proved to be the difference as the Eastern Michigan Eagles slipped by the Miami-Ohio RedHawks, 62-61, in the first round of the Mid- American Conference Tournament at the EMU Convocation Center.

Nazione finished the contest with eight points and seven rebounds, shooting 4- of-5 from the floor for the eight-seeded Eagles (20-12) as they survived the close call. Raven Lee accounted for 19 points before fouling out, followed by Anali Okoloji and Mike Talley with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Next up for the Eagles is a date with fifth-seeded Bowling Green in the second round of the tournament on Wednesday.

The ninth-seeded RedHawks (13-19) were paced by Willie Moore with 17 points, shooting a perfect 3-of-3 behind the 3-point line, while Zach McCormick tallied 12 points off the bench and Logan McLane came within a rebound of a double-double with his 10-point effort.

Miami shot an impressive 54.2 percent from the field in the first half and held the hosts to only 2-of-9 beyond the arc in the frame, but six turnovers by the RedHawks limited the visitors to just a four-point lead at the break, 33-29.

In the second half both sides had trouble finding the basket, with Eastern Michigan connecting on only nine field goals, including 2-of-10 beyond the arc, and Miami 7-of-21 from the floor.

With under nine minutes remaining in regulation the RedHawks owned what seemed to be a commanding 52-40 advantage, but from there the visitors were outscored 14-2 to close out the second half and headed to overtime, thanks to a 3- pointer by Lee with just over 10 seconds to play.

In the extra session Miami made only 1-of-6 shots from the floor and missed a pair of 3-pointers, allowing EMU to steal away the decision.

Final Score: Akron 76, Northern Illinois 52

Akron, OH (SportsNetwork.com) – Deji Ibitayo scored a game-high 18 points, leading four players in double figures, as the Akron Zips defeated the Northern Illinois Huskies, 76-52, in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament at James A. Rhodes Arena.

Reggie McAdams accounted for 15 points off the bench for seventh-seeded Akron (19-13), followed by Kwan Cheatham with 12 points and Antino Jackson 10.

With the victory Akron advances to the second round of the tournament on Wednesday to face sixth seed Western Michigan.

The 10th-seeded Huskies (14-16) were paced by Aaric Armstead and Anthony Johnson who produced 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Akron shot a sizzling 60.0 percent from the field in the first half, including 8-of-14 behind the 3-point line, in order to establish an overwhelming 48-20 lead at the break.

After failing to convert any one of six attempts from 3-point range through the first 20 minutes of action, NIU was just 3-of-9 on the perimeter in the second half and 7-of-14 at the free-throw line, en route to the 24-point defeat.

The Zips survived 16 turnovers by hitting on 51.0 percent of their field goal tries and 14-of-30 from long range.

Final Score: Western Michigan 82, Ohio University 74

Kalamazoo, MI (SportsNetwork.com) – David Brown erupted for a game-high 34 points as the Western Michigan Broncos held off the Ohio University Bobcats, 82-74, in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament at University Arena.

Brown, who also cleared seven rebounds to tie for the team lead in that department, converted a stellar 8-of-14 shots from 3-point range for the sixth-seeded Broncos (20-12). Thomas Wilder tacked on 18 points and five assists off the bench for a WMU squad that is into the second round of the tourney on Wednesday and will take on seventh-seeded Akron.

The 11th-seeded Bobcats (10-20) were led by Maurice Ndour who registered a double-double with 28 points and 11 rebounds, adding three blocked shots and a pair of steals, followed by Stevie Taylor with 25 points in the losing effort. Antonio Campbell led all players on the glass with 12 rebounds.

Ohio led for all of the first half, moving out to an 18-4 advantage just over seven minutes into the meeting, but owned only a 33-31 edge at the break. The Broncos struggled with just 33.3 percent shooting from the floor in the period.

In the second half WMU jumped to 54.2 percent accuracy and also made good on all but three of 22 chances at the free-throw line in order to battle back for the victory.

Western Michigan knocked down 12-of-27 (.444) on the perimeter and outscored the visitors at the charity stripe, 22-15, all while turning the ball over just six times.

Categorized in: NCAA Basketball