VanDelaySports.com > MAC Basketball > MAC West Basketball Report - 2009

MAC West Mid-Week Report

MAC basketball mid-week recap from February 27, 2009

Ball State 53, Central Michigan 44

Ball State took care of business on Wednesday night, defeating Central Michigan 53-44 to take sole possession of the number one spot in the MAC West. The Cardinals (13-13, 7-6 MAC) once again asserted their identity as a “defense first” squad, holding the Chippewas (9-17, 5-8 MAC) to just 35.6% shooting from the floor. Ball State benefited from a balanced scoring attack that was lead by senior guard Brandon Lampley who recorded 11 points on the evening. Freshman forwards Jarrod Jones and Mo Hubbard each contributed nine point of their own as well. Central Michigan junior guard Robbie Harman once again carried the load for the team scoring 23 of the teams 44 points on 8-of-17 shooting. Only four players on CMU’s roster scored in the entire game compared to eight for Ball State. The Cardinals held a 25-14 lead going into the lockers after finding their scoring touch with a late 11-0 run to wrap up the first half. After mini-runs from each team during the early stages of the second half CMU got as close as 42-38 in the final five minutes before Ball State regained their defensive swagger and sealed the win with some clutch foul shooting down the stretch. The win was Ball State’s third in the last four games and puts them in position to control their own seeding destiny in their pursuit of the West’s top tournament spot.

Northern Illinois 78, Western Michigan 63

Northern Illinois used a stifling first-half defense Wednesday night to take early control of their contest against then MAC West leading Western Michigan. The Huskies (9-17, 4-9 MAC) held the Broncos (9-18, 6-7 MAC) to just two field goals on 2-of-20 shooting in the first half. WMU did manage to convert on 11-of-14 from the charity stripe to keep the game in reach at 29-15 heading to the lockers. After a first 20 minutes like that you wouldn’t expect an individual scoring duel to emerge, but WMU junior guard David Kool had other ideas scoring 25 of his game high 31 points in the second half. Not to be out done was a magnificent 25 point performance from NIU sophomore guard Darion Anderson who finished an impressive 5-of-9 from behind the arc. Six minutes into the second half Kool hit a smooth jumper to pull the Broncos back within single digits at 40-32. WMU never got any closer than that, eventually succumbing to NIU’s consistent scoring spurts that saw a total of four players reach double-digits on the evening. After carrying a six game losing streak only a couple of weeks ago the Huskies have found new life winning three of their last four games. The Broncos have lost two straight, but remain only one game back of Ball State in the MAC West.

Eastern Michigan 58, Toledo 49

Eastern Michigan landed three players in double-digits on Wednesday night in route to a tough victory over visiting Toledo. Sophomore forward Brandon Bowdry and junior center Justin Dobbins led the way for the Eagles, scoring 17 and 16 points for an impressive performance on the inside. UT senior guard Tyrone Kent did all he could for the Rockets scoring 20 points on the night to lead all scorers. The Eagles (5-23, 3-10 MAC) managed to double Toledo (5-23, 3-10 MAC) up at the half building a 30-15 lead on 52.2% shooting from the floor. The Rockets continued to battle hard in the second half eventually tying the game up at 45-45 on a tip-in by sophomore center Justin Anyijong at the 7:54 mark. EMU responded by holding UT to just four total points from that point until the final horn sounded. After a season filled with disappointment EMU has won two of their last three conference games and are continuing to make a name for themselves inside by attacking the boards on both ends. After a solid home win over Ball State last week, Toledo seems to have returned to grim form losing their last two contests.

> Check out the MAC basketball standings here @ VanDelay Sports

MAC Weekend Watch

Northern Illinois vs. Ball State (Saturday, 1:00 p.m. EST)

The battle for MAC Freshman of Year is sure to take another turn on Saturday afternoon when Northern Illinois guard Mike DiNunno matches up against Ball State forward Jarrod Jones on the hardwood. DiNunno is averaging 15.2 ppg compared to 11.0 ppg for Jones. The MAC West leading Cardinals will venture into NIU’s Convocation Center looking to extend their three game win streak in a match-up against a Huskies squad that’s put together a solid couple of weeks capped off by Wednesday night’s blow-out win over CMU. NIU sophomore guard Darion Anderson will need to once again be stellar on offense to match the inside-out scoring combo of Jones and senior guard Brandon Lampley. This game is big for both teams and we’ll see how serious Ball State is about holding on to the top spot in the West while NIU will look to keep building momentum as the 2009 MAC tournament draws near.

Toledo vs. Western Michigan (Saturday, 7:00 p.m. EST)

Toledo will look to right the ship Saturday night when they host Western Michigan in a game that will showcase a trio of great scorers. WMU junior guard David Kool is averaging 17.8 ppg and recently dropped 31 points in a loss to Northern Illinois. Toledo will try to counter with their own explosive guard play featuring seniors Tyrone Kent and Jonathan Amos averaging 14.8 and 13.4 ppg, respectively. Each team is coming off of a deflating road loss and desperately needs to record a conference victory as they head down the home stretch of the regular season. WMU will probably be the better overall team on the floor Saturday, but Toledo has shown signs of life at home and should have a great shot at picking up their sixth win on the season.

Central Michigan vs. Eastern Michigan (Saturday, 7:00 p.m. EST)

Central Michigan will look for payback on Saturday night when they host Eastern Michigan for an important MAC West showdown. On January 13 th EMU earned a hard-fought 84-77 double overtime victory against the Chippewas that is surely still running through the minds of many CMU players. Central Michigan senior center Marcus Van cannot afford to disappear from this game like he has a number of times this season. The Eagles do one thing really well and that is control the paint. EMU is not the most talented or experienced squad, but they work hard for rebounds and buckets and will be physical on both sides of the ball all game long. The Chippewas will likely rely once more on their junior guard combo of Jordan Bitzer and Robbie Harman, averaging 12.2 and 12.1 ppg, respectively. When the Eagles have the ball they will feed it inside to sophomore forward Brandon Bowdry and junior center Justin Dobbins, averaging 14.8 and 14.4 ppg, respectively. There’s no question that CMU should win this game on their home-court. I’m more interested to see if, and by how much, EMU wins the rebounding battle and if it’s enough to keep them close on the road.

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