Green Bay, Valpo, WSU Grab Saturday Wins

#HLMBB Scoreboard (Dec. 21)
Green Bay 74, Fairfield 58
Wright State 61, UMKC 49
Valparaiso 89, Southeastern 46
#rv/-- Toledo 71, Cleveland State 67
Eastern Michigan 81, Oakland 79 (ot)
St. John's 96, Youngstown State 87
Northeastern 62, Milwaukee 59

Green Bay, Wright State and Valparaiso collected wins on Saturday, as Alec Brown became the first Horizon League player in nearly three years to reach the 40-point mark in the Phoenix's victory.

Green Bay 74, Fairfield 58
Alec Brown accomplished something on Saturday afternoon that had not been done by a Phoenix player in 25 seasons, scoring a career-high 40 points to lead Green Bay to a 74-58 victory over visiting Fairfield at the Resch Center.

Green Bay (8-3) heads into its holiday break with three-straight victories and wins in five of its past six games.

Besting his career high by 12 points, Brown’s 40 points came on 12-of-17 shooting from the field and a 14-of-15 effort from the free-throw line. The senior made both of his three-pointers and added eight rebounds and three blocked shots in 33 minutes.

The 40-point game is the first by a Phoenix player since Tony Bennett scored a program Division I record 44 points on Feb. 11, 1989. Brown’s 40 points are the fifth-most in program history, five behind the school record of 45 set by Ray Willis against UW-Parkside on Feb. 9, 1971. The 40-point performance was the first by a Horizon League player since Cleveland State's Norris Cole reached 41 on Feb. 12, 2011. Brown joins Willis and Bennett as the only Phoenix players to ever score 40 points.

Brown got off to a quick start on Saturday, scoring 10-straight points early to give Green Bay a 12-4 lead just six minutes into the game. He was 3-of-8 from the field with 12 points with seven minutes to play in the half, but made his last three shots to go into the halftime break with 19 points. Despite six Fairfield threes, the Phoenix led 34-27 at intermission.

In the second half, Brown scored the first nine points for the Phoenix, including a three-pointer with 16:23 remaining to match his previous career high of 28 points.

Fairfield trailed just 47-42 at the 13:46 mark, but a 3-pointer by Keifer Sykes and a dunk and three-point play by Greg Mays pushed the lead to 11.

Putting the game away, Brown scored the first eight points of a 14-3 spurt that gave Green Bay its biggest lead of the game, 74-53, with 1:57 on the clock. With 3:03 to play, Brown drained a 17-footer off a dish from Sykes and checked out moments later to a big ovation and a career-high 40 points. He made his last nine field-goal attempts of the afternoon.

While Brown was the lone Phoenix player in double figures, Carrington Love and Lamin Fulton scored eight and seven points, respectively, off the bench. Sykes totaled six points, five assists and four rebounds, and Jordan Fouse added five points, eight rebounds and two steals.

The Phoenix defense held Fairfield to just 28.1 percent shooting from the field, including just 20 percent (6-30) from inside the three-point line. The Stags made 10-of-27 three-pointers and committed 19 turnovers.

Wright State 61, UMKC 49
The Wright State men's basketball team built a 19-point lead early in the second half, but had to hold off a UMKC comeback attempt before defeating the Kangaroos 61-49 Saturday night at WSU's Nutter Center.

Jerran Young had a career-best 11 rebounds and four blocks as Wright State (7-7) won its second straight game at home after a four-game road losing streak.

Young also scored nine points and had three steals. Young assisted Chrishawn Hopkins with his 3-pointer to give Wright State its largest lead, 43-24 with 16:44 remaining.

UMKC (3-8) had a 20-8 run to pull within 51-44 with 3:53 to play. Wright State closed with 8-for-10 shooting from the line and a Matt Vest dunk to cap its scoring.

Cole Darling scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half. JT Yoho hit three 3-pointers and scored 11 points to lead Wright State.

UMKC did not have a player score in double figures. Nelson Kirksey scored six points. Kirksey had scored in double figures in the previous seven games for the Kangaroos.

Valparaiso 89, Southeastern 46
Valparaiso opened Saturday night’s game against Southeastern in Orlando, Fla. on a 22-2 run over the opening 10 minutes and cruised from there, eventually closing out the evening with an 89-46 win over the Fire.  The game was the first of two in two days for the Crusaders at the Jackson Hewitt UCF Holiday Classic.

Valpo (8-5) shot extremely well in the win, especially over the first 20 minutes. The Crusaders shot 66.7 percent from the floor and 10-of 13 from 3-point range in the first half, ending the night at 55 percent (33-of-60) from the field and 62.5 percent (15-of-24) from the 3-point line. LaVonte Dority and Alec Peters both went 4-of-5 from downtown, en route to 18 and 16-point efforts, respectively.

Saturday also marked the debut of Crusader sophomore guard Keith Carter, and the Saint Louis University transfer did not disappoint. Carter opened his Valpo career with an assist on the game’s first possession, one of his game-high five assists, and also scored eight points on 3-of-5 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers. He added three rebounds and two steals in 18 minutes of action.

Carter hit Peters for a 3-pointer on the Crusaders’ first possession, part of nine straight points to open the game for Valpo. Freshman Jubril Adekoya and Peters knocked down layups on back-to-back trips, and Dority then stepped into a deep 2-pointer to make it 9-0 Crusaders just 2:43 into the game.

Southeastern’s Timothy Mitchell converted a layup to put the Fire on the board, and then the two sides were stuck at 9-2 for nearly four minutes. Finally, Dority connected on a 3-pointer to push the lead to double figures with 13:10 left in the first half, sparking a quick 13-0 Valpo run. Bobby Capobianco and Dority hit back-to-back triples, fellow senior Moussa Gueye made a pair of free throws and Carter converted a circus layup to make it 22-2 Crusaders less than 10 minutes into the game.

The lead would just grow from there, reaching as many as 31 points late in the first half on Peters’ third 3-pointer of the opening 20 minutes. Valpo eventually took a 48-20 lead into the locker room, and pushed the advantage to 40 points with 13:49 to play on a 3-pointer by freshman Lexus Williams. The lead was as large as 45 points down the stretch before closing at the final margin of 43.

With the large early lead giving the Crusaders a comfortable lead throughout, Valpo was able to spread the minutes up and down the roster. Nobody played more than the 22 minutes from Vashil Fernandez, who ended the night with seven points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots. Adekoya, who finished with six points in 21 minutes, was the only other Crusader above 20 minutes. All 12 Valpo players saw at least 12 minutes of action, with 11 of those players scoring at least four points.

Southeastern, an NAIA squad which was playing the game as an exhibition, received 15 points and seven rebounds from Mitchell, who was the only Fire player to finish in double figures. The Crusaders limited SEU to just 26.7-percent shooting from the floor and just a 3-of-15 mark from beyond the 3-point line.

#rv/-- Toledo 71, Cleveland State 67
Trey Lewis scored a game-high 21 points and Cleveland State rallied from an early double-digit deficit, but Toledo held on to remain perfect this year with a 71-67 victory at Savage Arena on Saturday afternoon.

CSU fell to 6-6 this year, while Toledo improved to 11-0.

Lewis hit 8-of-16 from the floor and added seven rebounds and three assists. Charlie Lee scored 12 points with four assists, while Bryn Forbes tallied 11 points, hitting three three-pointers.

J.D Weatherspoon led three Rockets in double figures with 18 points and eight rebounds, while Nathan Boone scored 14 points and Rian Pearson added 11. The 71 points were a season-low for Toledo who came in averaging 87.2 points per game.

The Rockets took advantage of 21 offensive rebounds that they turned into 24 second chance points.

Anton Grady answered two UT free throws to open the scoring, but the Rockets rattled off 14 straight points to open up a 16-2 advantage just five minutes in. Lewis stopped the bleeding with a jumper and 3-pointer that ignited a 15-2 run by the Vikings over the next four minutes.

It was capped by a Grady 3-pointer that brought CSU within 18-17. Lewis had seven points in the run, while Jon Harris added five on a put back dunk and three-pointer.

A Lewis layup in transition gave the Vikings their first lead of the afternoon, 22-21, with nine minutes to go in the half and the Vikings still led by one, 33-32, after a Forbes 3-pointer with just under four minutes to play.

However, a 9-2 spurt from the Rockets allowed them to open up a seven-point lead, 42-35, but Lewis beat the buzzer with a driving layup to slice CSU's halftime deficit to five, 42-37.

Toledo saw its lead grow to 59-50 midway through the second half, but a 10-2 spurt, capped with back-to-back 3-pointers by Lewis and Forbes, brought CSU within 61-60 with 6:21 to play. Julius Brown answered with a jumper on the other end, but a three from Lee tied the contest at 63-63 with 4:30 left.

Two Rocket free throws at the 4:12 mark were the only points over the next three minutes until a Lewis jumper tied it at 65-65 with 1:36 left. However, the Rockets scored on back-to-back possessions, including the second after a CSU turnover to take a four-point lead.

Lewis hit a bucket to bring CSU within 69-67 with 11 seconds left and after a missed UT free throw, the Vikings had a chance to tie or go ahead, but a turnover on the sideline, and two free throws by Toledo iced the game.

St. John's 96, Youngstown State 87
Six players scored in double figures and the Penguins outrebounded the Red Storm, but the Youngstown State men's basketball team dropped a 96-87 decision to St. John's on Saturday afternoon at Carnesecca Arena.

Senior Kendrick Perry, who became the ninth player in school history to score1,600 career points with 1,604, led the Penguins (8-6) with 20 points and four assists. Sophomore Ryan Weber scored 16 points while classmate Bobby Hain posted his third double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Perry also ranks in the top 45 in Horizon League history in career points.

Freshman Marcus Keene came off the bench to score 14, including 11 in the second half, while junior DJ Cole scored 12 and junior Shawn Amiker added 10.

It marks the second time this season Youngstown State had six players score at least 10 points in a game. The last time was against Thiel in an 82-52 win on Nov. 20.

D'Angelo Harrison led St. John's (8-3) with a game-high 29 points while Phil Greene IV had 17 and JaKarr Sampson posted a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds.

The game featured 12 lead changes and 10 ties through the first 22 minutes, and the Red Storm, who shot 59.3 percent in the second half, led by three, 56-53, with 16:01 left after a jumper by Hain.

Over the next four minutes, St. John's went on a 14-6 run to boost its lead to 11, 70-59, capped by a 3-pointer by Harrison at the 12:04 mark.

A layup by Weber and a jumper and 3-pointer by Keene got the Penguins back within six, 72-66, but the Red Storm answered with a three-point play by Greene and a 3-pointer by Harrison to take a 12-point lead, 78-66, at the 8:32 mark.

Perry connected on a 3-pointer with 6:20 left to trimmed the deficit down to 82-74, but the Penguins would not get any closer.

The Penguins shot 48.1 percent in the first half with five 3-pointers but committed 11 turnovers before halftime that resulted in 13 points for the Red Storm.

St. John's scored the first six points of the game before the Penguins answered with an 11-0 run to take an 11-6 lead four minutes into the contest.

After the Red Storm tied the game at 12-12, neither team led by more than four point, and the teams exchanged the lead 11 more times and had five more ties.

Trailing by four with 46 seconds left before halftime, Cole buried a 3-pointer to get within one, 43-42, with 32 seconds left.

After a miss by Jamal Branch, Keene raced the length of the court and was fouled with 0.4 seconds left, and split a pair of free throws to knot the game at the half, 43-43.

Northeastern 62, Milwaukee 59
Scott Eatherton hit two free throws with 18.6 seconds remaining to put Northeastern ahead for good in claiming a 62-59 comeback win over Milwaukee Saturday afternoon at Devlin Fieldhouse.

Milwaukee (9-4) led by 19 points at halftime and by as many as 20 points in the second half before the Huskies came roaring back to claim the victory.

Northeastern's comeback was sparked by 58 percent shooting in the second half, with the Huskies scoring 45 points over the final 20 minutes after scoring just 17 points in the first half.

Eatherton led the Huskies (3-8) with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Jordan Aaron had 14 points to lead four players in double figures for Milwaukee. The Panthers shot almost 52 percent and made four 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes but made just 10 field goals overall in the second half.

Milwaukee never got its inside game on track as the contest wore on. The Panthers entered the contest averaging more than 24 free throw attempts per game but managed just six. And, Matt Tiby was limited to 19 minutes because of foul trouble.

Milwaukee's peak advantage was 46-26 with 13:30 to play before Northeastern surged back. The Huskies took the lead for the first time with under three minutes to play and eventually led 58-55 with 1:30 left. Aaron gave Milwaukee renewed life by converting a four-point play with 36.5 seconds left, putting the Panthers ahead 59-58.

But the advantage was short-lived as Eatherton hit the go-ahead free throws with 18.6 seconds left and added two more following a Milwaukee turnover. Aaron's attempt to tie the game at the buzzer from the right wing then rimmed off as time expired.

The Panthers were in control throughout much of the first 20 minutes of the game. Milwaukee scored 11 of the first 13 points of the contest, capping the early burst on a three-pointer by Tiby. Northeastern was able to close to within 13-9 and again to within 16-12, but the Huskies could never get on track.

Milwaukee extended its advantage to double-figures for the first time at 26-15 on a follow-up basket by Malcolm Moore, and then the Panthers finished the half with a flurry. In fact, UWM scored the final 10 of the frame, highlighted by three-pointers from Steve McWhorter and Aaron in the final minute.

Northeastern trimmed the Panther lead to 38-26 early in the second half but Milwaukee restored a 46-26 advantage on a McWhorter layin with 13:30 remaining. It was all Huskies from there, though. A run of nine-straight points brought Northeastern to within 48-44 with 6:15 left and then Zach Stahl gave the Huskies their first lead at 54-53 on a layup with 2:50 remaining.

That set the stage for the closing moments, where Milwaukee came up just short in seeking its 10th win of the year.

Eastern Michigan 81, Oakland 79 (ot)
Darell Combs hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 30 seconds left as Eastern Michigan edged Oakland 81-79 in overtime at the Athletics Center O'rena.

After Combs' 3 gave Eastern Michigan (7-3) an 80-79 lead, Oakland missed a jumper with nine seconds left and committed a foul. Combs then made 1-of-2 free throws and Travis Bader missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer for Oakland (3-10).

Mike Talley led Eastern Michigan with 21 points while Glenn Bryant added 14 and Combs had 13.

Travis Bader was 10-of-15 from beyond the arc, leading Oakland with 33 points. Bader moved up to sixth in NCAA history for most 3-pointers, now with 415 in his career.

Despite Bader's hot shooting, Oakland was just 37.9 percent from the field.