Gophers deal loss to Illini in Big 10

February 28, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Devoe Joseph scored 16 points and Minnesota helped its NCAA tournament chances while dealing a blow to Illinois’.

The Golden Gophers (17-11, 8-8 Big Ten) led by 19 with 7:11 to play and looked to be cruising to the victory, but the Illini (18-11, 10-6) rallied to cut the deficit to one in the final 80 seconds.

D. J. Richardson’s shot to tie the game at the buzzer was short.

Kent State 66, Miami, Ohio 58

KENT — Justin Greene scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and The Golden Flashes (22-8, 12-3 Mid-American Conference) have won four in a row.

Frank Henry-Ala added 12 points, and Anthony Simpson and Chris Singleton each had 11 for the Golden Flashes.

Julian Mavunga scored 17 points, Kenny Hayes had 15 and Nick Winbush 13 for Miami (12-17, 8-7).

Akron 74, Bowling Green 68

BOWLING GREEN — Brett McKnight scored 15 points and the Zips (22-8, 11-3 Mid-American Conference) outrebounded the Falcons 22-9, scored 17 second-chance points and 23 off the bench in the first half.

Akron led 40-27 at halftime, and were able to overcome a 41-point second half by the Falcons (14-14, 6-9).

Otis Polk finished with 17 points and Scott Thomas added 16 for Bowling Green.

Toledo 45, Ball State 42

TOLEDO — Justin Anyijong scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds as Toledo snapped a school-record 19-game losing streak.

The Rockets (4-26, 1-14 Mid-American Conference) led 30-15 at halftime, outshooting the Cardinals 48 percent (12-for-25) to 15.8 percent (3-for-19) in the first 20 minutes.

Randy Davis had 14 points and eight rebounds and Jarrod Jones had 13 points and 11 rebounds for Ball State.

Cent. Michigan 74, W. Michigan 66

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — Robbie Harman scored 22 points and Jordan Bitzer had a double-double to lift Central Michigan over Western Michigan.

Bitzer had 22 points and a team-leading 10 rebounds while Harman sank four 3-pointers for the Chippewas (14-14, 8-7 Mid-American), who committed just seven turnovers and forced 15.

The Chippewas won despite 31 points by Western Michigan career leader David Kool, who became only the 12th 2,000-point scorer in league history. He has 2,021. Kool went 8-for-19 from the floor and 14-for-14 from the line for the Broncos (15-14, 7-8).

With the Chippewas trailing 58-55, Harman hit a jumper, then a layup for a 59-58 lead with 6:00 left. Bitzer and William McClure followed with baskets, completing an 8-0 run that turned the game toward Central Michigan. The lead never fell below three after that.

E. Michigan 66, N. Illinois 60

YPSILANTI, Mich. — Carlos Medlock and Justin Dobbins posted double-doubles and Eastern Michigan used a late 15-0 run to blow past Northern Illinois.

The Eagles (16-13, 8-7 Mid-American) trailed 48-42 after Mike DiNunno scored for Northern Illinois with 7:19 left. But Eastern Michigan outscored the Huskies 15-0 over the next 6:02 — with five points each by Medlock and Dobbins — and led 57-48 with 1:17 to play.