Miami beats Kent by 5; Akron loses to B.G.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

OXFORD — Michael Bramos scored 34 points, including a late 3-pointer and layup during a decisive 8-0 run, as Miami beat Kent State 68-63 Sunday afternoon.

The win kept Miami (16-11, 9-5 Mid-American) within a game of Bowling Green and Buffalo in the conference’s East Division.

The RedHawks led narrowly for most of the second half until Kent State’s Al Fisher hit a 3-pointer with 4:54 remaining to give the Golden Flashes a 56-54 lead. Fisher’s free throw a minute later put Kent State back in front after a brief tie.

Bramos followed with his 3-pointer and layup and Tyler Dierkers added a 3-pointer to make it 64-57 with 1:46 left. From there, Kent State could only manage a layup by Justin Greene.

Antonio Ballard scored 13 points and Dierkers added 10 for Miami.

Tyree Evans scored 15 points, Jordan Mincy had 14 and Justin Greene had 10 for the Golden Flashes.

Bowling Green 50, Akron 46

AKRON — Brian Moten’s 3-pointer with a minute left put Bowling Green in front and his dunk in the final seconds secured the Falcons’ win. Bowling Green (17-11, 10-4 MAC) remains tied with Buffalo for first in the conference’s East Division with two games to play.

Darryl Roberts and Nikola Cvetinovic each scored eight points for Akron, which shot just 30 percent.

Buffalo 68, Ohio 66

ATHENS — Rodney Pierce sparked a late rally to erase a 10-point deficit for Buffalo. Pierce, who led the game in scoring with 27 points, added eight points in the game’s final three minutes. Buffalo (18-9, 10-4 MAC) was trailing 65-55 with 3:35 left with Pierce hit a three-pointer. Calvin Betts helped seal up the win with three free throws and a layup. Betts had 12 points for Buffalo. Ohio (14-14, 7-7) played a balanced offense, with three players scoring in double digits. Jerome Tillman had 16 points, Justin Orr scored 14 and Steven Coleman came off the bench to add 13.

Syracuse 87, Cincinnati 63

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Jonny Flynn scored 17 points and Syracuse held Cincinnati to just two baskets in the first 10 minutes, breaking a three-way tie for seventh place in the Big East Conference.

Every Orange starter finished with double-figure scoring, including Paul Harris, who had 16 points, and Eric Devendorf and Rick Jackson, who each scored 13.

Cincinnati (18-11, 8-8) was led by Dion Dixon’s 18 points.

The first eight teams in the conference receive a first-round bye in Big East Conference tournament.