Mid-American Conference Notebook
by Adam Trumble
Filling in this week for Adam: Jeremy Speer
A different week brings different leadership in the wild MAC West, as Saturday victories for Central Michigan and Northern Illinois propelled the two to supplant Bowling Green atop the division.
Kent State continues its steady play in the MAC East, improving to 8-1 with a Saturday victory at Western Michigan.
Flashes continue to show brilliance
Despite losing three starters from last years Elite Eight squad, Kent State continue to prove its MAC superiority, with victories over two of the conference’s top teams — Central Michigan and Western Michigan.
Down by one late in Saturday’s game at Kalamazoo, Kent State embarked upon an 11-0 run to seal a 78-71 win over Western. Antonio Gates’ three-pointer keyed the run, as Gates finished the game with 28 points.
The Golden Flashes came into the game as the NCAA’s number two shooting team, and shot 61 percent in the second half.
KSU also engineered a comeback against the Chippewas, erasing a five point CMU halftime advantage, leading to an 82-78 victory. Eric Haut scored 22 points, including two game-sealing free throws with nine seconds left.
Central gets back on track
Central Michigan bounced back from a two game losing streak with a convincing 88-71 win against Bowling Green Saturday.
Seven-foot center Chris Kaman continued his post presence, recording 21 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks. Sophomore Tony Bowne added a career-high 18 points in the victory, during which the Chippewas shot 55
percent.
With a 6-3 MAC record, CMU moved into a tie with Northern Illinois in West Division. John Reimold had 24 points for Bowling Green, who fell
to 6-4 in conference play.
Akron shows signs of success
A pair of games with major implications were decided in extra sessions, as Akron knocked off Northern Illinois 101-100 in double overtime, while Bowling Green won 66-60 at Ohio in single overtime.
Johnny Hollingsworth’s lay up with five seconds remaining in the second extra frame paced the Zips to victory. Hollingsworth scored 31 points in the game, while Derrick Tarver added 24 points.
Marcus Smallwood had 19 points and 14 rebounds for the Huskies, who recovered with a Saturday victory against Ball State.
Akron followed its big win up with a 96-80 win against Eastern Saturday. Hollingsworth had 33 points and six assists against the Eagles.
Falcons knock off Ohio in overtime
Kevin Netter turned in a strong performance for Bowling Green against Ohio, scoring eight of his 23 points in overtime to pace a 66-60 victory.
Bowling Green closed regulation with a 19-5 run to send the game into the extra session. Brandon Hunter played strong for the Bobcats, scoring 26 points and grabbing 15 rebounds.
Hoopville Players of the Week
Akron guard Johnny Hollingsworth and Ohio forward Brandon Hunter.
Junior college transfer Hollingsworth averaged 32 points and 7.5 assists in Akron’s victories over Northern Illinois and Eastern Michigan.
Hunter had 35 points and 16 rebounds in Ohio’s double-overtime victory at Marshall Saturday. The senior also had 26 points and 15 rebounds in a Tuesday loss to Bowling Green.
Special thanks to Jeremy Speer for this report. Adam Trumble will return next week.
