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MAC West Mid-Week Report

MAC basketball mid-week recap from February 13, 2009

Central Michigan (7-15, 4-6 MAC)

Despite riding a three game losing streak into their Tuesday night game against Miami, Central Michigan came out and made a strong statement to the rest of the MAC by grabbing a thrilling 57-55 victory.

Senior center Marcus Van was a dominate force in the paint for the Chippewas, scoring 18 points and snagging a game-high 7 boards.

After an intense first 20 minutes of action the Redhawks held a 28-27 lead heading to the lockers. CMU came out firing to start the second half going on a 12-3 run that left the score at 39-31 with 13:38 to go. Powered by a game-high 24 points by Michael Bramos the Redhawks regained the lead 49-47 at the 6:40 mark. The contest tilted back and forth down the stretch, before junior guard Jordan Bitzer gave CMU the lead for good on a tough floater in the lane with just 32 seconds remaining. Miami failed to convert in their final two possessions and the Chippewas recorded a hard-earned win after consecutive heart-breaking losses to Buffalo and Bowling Green. CMU forced the Redhawks into 16 turnovers and bothered Miami’s guards with tight defense all evening long.

Up Next: It’s back to the road for the Chippewas Saturday night when they visit Kent State. Central Michigan will look to keep Marcus Van on a roll in the paint against KSU’s undersized roster. Games against the MAC East usually are bad news for MAC West members, but CMU has already won against the east…twice. I’m not sure there’s another team in the MAC West that has been as consistently competitive against MAC East foes as the Chippewas. It’s not ludicrous to believe that CMU should have won ALL four of their inter-conference contests this season. Still, beating Kent State at home is a tall task for any squad and Central Michigan will have to continue to show balanced offense and tight defense if they want to pick up their second straight win. The game is set for a 7:00 p.m. (EST) tip.

Northern Illinois (6-16, 2-8 MAC)

Northern Illinois suffered a gut-wrenching 86-83 double-overtime loss on Tuesday night against Kent State. Freshman guard Mike DiNunno may have pushed himself to the top of the MAC Freshman of the Year list with a game-high 23 points, six assists, a four steals on the night. The Huskies seemed to have the game almost wrapped up, leading 65-61 with 41 seconds left, but KSU’s Tyree Evans found the bottom of the net with a three to pull the Flashes within one. After two free throws from Dinunno and one from KSU’s Al Fisher, NIU turned the ball over with 14 seconds left. The Flashes responded with two Mike McKee foul shots and the game moved to OT seconds later. It took a half-court effort from DiNunno in the first extra session to extend the game after NIU went down 74-71 with less than five seconds to go. In the second overtime DiNunno once again tried to propel the Huskies to their biggest win of the season with a three pointer that gave them the lead at 79-76. KSU responded however, with their own three from Jordan Mincy. Tyree Evans hit a pair of free throws with 20 seconds left to give KSU an 83-82 lead that DiNunno and NIU couldn’t overcome. Sophmore guard Darion Anderson put in another strong effort for the Huskies scoring 16 points and grabbing a game-high nine boards.

Up Next: Northern Illinois will be at home Sunday afternoon when they match-up against Akron in a game that is sure to challenge the young NIU squad. After the heart-breaking 2OT loss to Kent State it’ll be interesting to see if guards Mike DiNunno and Darion Anderson can step up again and carry their team to a win for the first time in seven games. The Huskies aren’t as talented as Akron and they don’t have a dominating inside force on the glass, but they play with heart and determination at home. I don’t expect NIU to win this game, but I’m interested to see if they can keep it close after the emotional drain of Tuesday night.

Western Michigan (8-15, 5-5 MAC)

Western Michigan pulled even in conference play on Wednesday night, defeating Ohio in convincing fashion 76-62. The Broncos shot a net-scorching 63% from the field in the second half to pull away from the outgunned Bobcat squad. Junior guard David Kool made the most of his match-up with MAC POY favorite Jerome Tillman, scoring a game high 24 points while shooting 4-7 from behind the arc. WMU also benefited from a strong team performance on the boards, out rebounding Ohio 28-20 for the contest. Senior guard Shawntes Gary continued his strong play in conference by dropping in 14 points on 5-6 shooting from the field. The Broncos held a 34-28 advantage heading to the lockers, but by the 13:43 mark of the second half the lead had increased to 52-37 on a smooth three pointer from senior guard Michael Redell. Wednesday night’s home win broke a four game skid for WMU.

Up Next: Western Michigan faces another big test on Saturday night when they travel to Oxford for a match-up with Miami. If the Broncos want to steal a win in the unfriendly confines of Millett Hall they’ll need another POY caliber performance from David Kool. WMU shot 54.5% from the field against Ohio, overshadowing a mediocre defensive performance by the Broncos that saw an even 50% shooting clip from the Bobcats. WMU won’t be able to rely on many TO’s against Miami’s steady offense and will be challenged to match the Redhawks physicality on both ends of the floor. The game is set to for 7:00 p.m. (EST) tip.

> Check out the MAC basketball standings here @ VanDelay Sports

Toledo (4-20, 2-8 MAC)

Toledo suffered another conference defeat on Wednesday night, falling 59-54 to arch-rival Bowling Green in front of a crowd of 5,421 in Savage Arena. Three players scored in double digits for the Rockets. Senior guard Jonathan Amos lead the charge with 21 points and 11 rebounds while sophomore forward Justin Anyijong and senior guard Tyrone Kent contributed an additional 11 and 10 points, respectively. BGSU headed into the half up 33-24 after shooting a steady 53.8% from the floor in the first 20 minutes. The Falcon lead stood at 50-39 with 5:24 left in the game before the Rockets went on a 9-0 tear to pull within a bucket with just over three minutes left in the game. BGSU responded quickly with a layup and three pointer eventually beating Toledo to the finish-line in a hard fought contest that was a reflection of each team’s pride, not record. Wednesday night’s loss was the sixth straight for the Rockets who have continued to show great effort and intensity during a season that has dragged along from one disappointment to the next.

Up Next: Things don’t get any easier for Toledo on Saturday afternoon when they travel to Athens for a battle against Ohio in the always dangerous Convocation Center. Justin Anyijong will have to assert himself inside as both a scoring and rebounding force if the Rockets want to hang with the Bobcats. Guards Johnathan Amos and Tyrone Kent will be expected to carry the scoring load for UT, but Ohio matches up fairly well defensively on the outside against the talented duo. The game is set for a 2:00 p.m. (EST) tip.

Ball State (10-12, 5-5 MAC)

Ball State put up a tough performance on the road Wednesday night before falling 63-55 to Akron. The Cardinals hung with the Zips in almost every category throughout the contest, but found themselves on the wrong end of a lopsided 28-10 FT attempt margin. Senior guard Rob Giles stepped up once again for BSU scoring 17 points on the evening. The Cardinals trailed 34-27 at the half despite shooting 60% from behind-the-arc during the first 20 minutes. The second half saw the Zips maintain this small lead until a furious 8-0 run by BSU cut the lead to 52-50 on a quick three pointer by Rob Giles at the 3:52 mark. Back to back layups by Chris McKnight and Nate Linhart pushed the lead back to six for Akron and sealed the Cardinal’s third straight conference loss. Freshman forward Jarrod Jones continued to produce for BSU scoring nine points and snagging a game-high 12 rebounds.

Up next: Ball State will be back in action Sunday afternoon when they welcome Buffalo into Worthern Arena for a contest between the MAC’s two division leaders. The Bulls are currently riding a nine game win streak and will offer the Cardinals their toughest conference game of the season. BSU needs to feed Jarrod Jones the ball inside early and often if they want to counter the stellar guard play of Buffalo. The Cardinals MUST play with some swagger at home if they want to end their three game losing streak this weekend. This game isn’t a given for Buffalo, but Ball State will have to play their most complete game of the season to topple the streaking Bulls. The game is set for a 2:00 p.m. (EST) tip.

By Damian Caudill
VanDelay Sports Staff Writer
Published February 13, 2009