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MAC West Mid-Week Report

MAC basketball mid-week recap from February 20, 2009

Toledo 71, Ball State 67

Toledo broke their seven game losing streak in a big way on Wednesday night with a four point home win over MAC West leader Ball State. A 33-26 halftime deficit wasn’t enough to keep the motivated Rockets (5-21, 3-9 MAC) from tallying their biggest conference win of the season. After an extremely uncharacteristic scoreless performance at Ohio last Saturday senior guard Tyrone Kent exploded for a game-high 26 points on 10 of 14 shooting from the floor. Ball State senior guard Rob Giles did all he could for the Cardinals (11-13, 6-6 MAC) scoring 22 points and grabbing 12 boards for his first career double-double. The Rockets took the lead for good 64-62 on a traditional three point play from Kent with 2:17 remaining in the game. Though Kent was clearly the star of the contest, Toledo finally ended up on top Wednesday night because of balanced scoring across the board. The trio of senior guard Jonathan Amos and sophomore forwards Justin Anyijong and Mohamed Lo each scored in double-digits with 14, 12, and 10 points, respectively. The Rockets also got a rare strong performance in the turnover category forcing the Cardinals into 16 TO’s while committing only 10 of their own. Toledo opened the second half on a 10-2 run to take the lead at 36-35 with 17:41 left in the second half.

Western Michigan 46, Eastern Michigan 38

Western Michigan propelled themselves back into a first place tie atop the MAC West with a 46-38 home win over Eastern Michigan on Wednesday night. Junior guard David Kool continued to build on his role as the Broncos go-to offensive threat with a game-high 19 points. WMU (9-16, 6-6 MAC) went into halftime leading 27-15 only to have their double-digit lead cut to three at 34-31 after a 16-7 EMU run. Sophomore forward Brandon Bowdry was the only Eagle to reach double-digits with 13 points. EMU (4-22, 2-10 MAC) suffered from a weak offensive performance by junior forward Justin Dobbins who scored just two points after averaging 15.0 ppg on the year. Though the Eagles overwhelmingly won the rebounding battle 33-21, they shot just 30.4% from the field while giving up a 46.2% shooting clip to the Broncos. WMU senior guard Shawntes Gary looked good once again scoring an efficient 10 points on five of eight shooting from the floor. David Kool sealed the win with a three point dagger at the 1:08 mark in the second half to give the Broncos a 44-36 lead.

Central Michigan 63, Northern Illinois 44

Central Michigan used balanced scoring and lock-down defense to beat Northern Illinois convincingly on Wednesday night. Sophomore guard Antonio Weary scored a career high 11 points to lead the way for the Chippewas. CMU (8-16, 5-7 MAC) also benefited from a trio of 10 point performances from junior forward Jacolby Hardiman, senior center Marcus Van, and junior guard Robbie Harman. Central Michigan led 27-24 at halftime after shooting only 36.0 % from the field during the first 20 minutes. The game remained close for most of the second half with the Chippewas leading only 40-34 with six minutes to play before going on a 17-3 run that pushed the lead to 57-37 at the 2:45 mark. No player reached double-digits in scoring for the Huskies (7-17, 3-9 MAC,) but senior forward Sean Smith and sophomore center Sean Kowal each dropped in nine points on the night. Northern Illinois’ MAC Freshman of the Year candidate Mike DiNunno was held in-check all evening scoring just eight points on two of seven shooting in the loss.

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MAC Weekend Watch (BracketBuster Edition)

Central Michigan vs. Farleigh Dickinson (Saturday, 2:00 p.m. EST)

On Saturday afternoon Central Michigan will get a visit from the Northeastern Conference’s Fairleigh Dickinson Knights as part of this season’s round of Bracket-Buster match-ups. FDU is an under-whelming 7-20 on the year and will be playing their fourth consecutive road game when they travel to Mount Pleasant. Senior guard Sean Baptiste is leading the Knights with a 16.5 ppg scoring average and his performance will likely determine whether or not FDU finds themselves anywhere close to a W when the final horn sounds. After an uncharacteristic five point performance in his last game CMU junior guard Jordan Bitzer will look to regain his touch against the Knights. FDU faced Akron in their second home game of the season and lost 85-41. This one could get ugly!

Ball Sate vs. Tennessee Tech (Saturday, 2:00 p.m. EST)

Ball State will host the Ohio Valley Conference’s Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles Saturday afternoon for their own annual Bracket-Buster match-up. The Golden Eagles are led by senior center Daniel Northern who’s averaging 12.0 ppg and 8.6 rpg on the season. TTU has collapsed in the last three weeks losing six straight games to leave their record at 10-16 overall. This contest should offer an intriguing battle inside between TTU’s Daniel Northern and Ball State freshman forward Jarrod Jones who is still looking to solidify his case for MAC Freshman of the Year honors. All signs point to the Cardinals having their way on Saturday, but it seems like every time Ball State steps on the court no one in the arena knows exactly what to expect from the squad.

Northern Illinois at Southeast Missouri State (Saturday, 8:45 p.m. EST)

Northern Illinois will head to the “Show Me State” Saturday night for a match-up with the Redhawks of Southeastern Missouri State. The Redhawks compete in the Ohio Valley conference and currently sit at 3-24 overall and are 0-16 in conference. Senior guard Kenard Moore is averaging 18.0 ppg for SE Missouri St. and will look to build a steady inside-out attack with sophomore forward Calvin Williams who is averaging a stout 16.5 ppg himself. NIU will once again rely on their young and talented guard combo of sophomore Darion Anderson and freshman Mike Dinunno, averaging 16.2 and 12.5 ppg, respectively. Both teams have been dreadful this season, but this may be the Huskies best chance to grab their first road win of the season.

Toledo at Indiana State (Saturday, 2:00 p.m. EST)

Toledo will travel to southwest Indiana Saturday afternoon for a challenging contest against the Missouri Valley Conference’s Indiana State Sycamores. ISU is 8-19 on the year, but has won four consecutive games in conference. The Sycamores will rely on junior guard Henry Marshall to live up to his 14.6 ppg team leading average. Though, it was only one game Toledo will carry a big increase in confidence and momentum into Saturday’s road contest after beating MAC West leaders Ball State in their last game. Senior guards Tyrone Kent and Jonathan Amos will be expected to carry the Rockets scoring load once again after averaging roughly half of UT’s points per game throughout the season. If sophomore forward Justin Anyijong continues his rapid progress in scoring and rebounding Toledo might have a shot on Saturday. ISU will bring their best for the Bracket-Buster. I’m just wondering if Toledo will do the same.

Eastern Michigan vs. Georgia State (Saturday, 4:00 p.m. EST)

Eastern Michigan will welcome the Georgia State Panthers to Ypsilanti on Saturday afternoon for a chance at a rare out of conference win. GSU plays in the Colonial Athletic Association and currently has a record of 9-18 overall. The Panthers have won two straight games and are lead by junior guard Joe Dukes who’s averaging 13.0 ppg. The Eagles have won just once in the last 10 games and are looking to build some momentum down the home stretch of the regular season. If Eastern Michigan is going to win on Saturday junior guard Justin Dobbins MUST score more than the two points he registered in the Eagles’ last game. I’m not sure EMU will get the win on Saturday, but anything can happen and the Eagles always seem to hold their own inside on the boards, which can never be over-stated.

Western Michigan vs. Eastern Illinois (Saturday, 2:00 p.m. EST)

Western Michigan will play host to the Eastern Illinois Panthers on Saturday afternoon. EIU competes in the Ohio Valley Conference, but has lost four straight games and now stands at 11-15 overall. The Panthers are lead by junior guard Romain Martin who’s averaging 14.9 ppg. Western Michigan is coming off a defensive win over Eastern Michigan on Wednesday and will look to lock-down an EIU squad that averages 65.6 ppg, which ranks as the worst in the OVC. Junior guard David Kool will likely be WMU’s primary scoring option once again, but the Broncos would be wise to feed the ball inside to senior forward Derek Drews in hopes of establishing an inside game that has been lacking throughout the season. WMU should have a great shot at winning this game, but the Broncos leading scorer, David Kool, is a notorious streak-shooter, which means if he’s cold someone will have to step up to avoid a possible home defeat.

By Damian Caudill
VanDelay Sports Staff Writer
Published February 20, 2009