#MotorCityMadness Day 3 Recaps
(4) Northern Kentucky 82, (5) Wright State 77 (men)
DETROIT | Carson Williams scored 15 of his team-high 17 points in the second half and No. 4 Northern Kentucky went more than 10 minutes without missing a shot late in the game as the Norse beat No. 5 Wright State 82-77 in the quarterfinals of the 2017 Horizon League Men’s Basketball Championships on Sunday night.
Dantez Walton scored on a layup with 12:24 remaining in the second half that gave the Norse a 42-38 lead. Northern Kentucky connected on its next 13 shots and didn’t miss until LaVone Holland’s layup rolled off the rim with 2:02 left in the contest. By the time the shot streak was over, the Norse led 75-65 and needed just seven free throws in the final two minutes to secure the victory.
Grant Benzinger (29 points) and Mark Alstork (22 points) did everything they could to will the Raiders (20-12) to victory as the pair combined for 33 of Wright State’s 50 points in the second half.
The Norse will face No. 9 Youngstown State in Monday’s semifinal action where the winner will advance to Tuesday’s title game against the winner of No. 6 UIC and No. 10 Milwaukee. Northern Kentucky is the highest remaining seed in the Horizon League tournament and the Norse (22-10) became the first team with a winning record to record a victory at Joe Louis Arena this weekend.
Holland had 16 points and nine assists while Jordan Garnett and Mason Faulker both added 10 points for the Norse. Justin Mitchtell had 12 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists for the Raiders.
(6) UIC 79, (3) Green Bay 70 (men)
DETROIT | Tarkus Ferguson had 12 points and 10 rebounds, including three free throws down the stretch as No. 6 UIC upset No. 3 Green Bay 79-70 in the quarterfinals of the 2017 Horizon League Men’s Basketball Championships on Saturday night.
The Flames led by as many as 17 points with 3:53 remaining, but the Phoenix used a 17-2 run over the next 2:45 to cut the deficit to 72-70. UIC hit seven free throws in the final 65 seconds to ice the victory and advance to the Horizon League semifinals for the second time in three years.
The Flames(15-17) will play No. 10 Milwaukee in Monday night’s semifinals with a trip to the Horizon League title game on the line. UIC defeated the Panthers in both meetings this season, including a 105-100 overtime win in Milwaukee on Feb. 4.
The first half featured four ties and seven lead changes as UIC took a 35-34 lead into the locker room. Kenneth Lowe scored on Green Bay’s first possession of the second half to give the Phoenix a 36-35 lead, but UIC freshman Dominque Matthews responded with a 3-pointer to give the Flames the lead for good with 19:09 remaining. UIC led by as many as seven points in the early stages of the second half until the Phoenix cut the deficit down to 51-50 with 13:04 remaining.
Matthews scored five straight points which jumpstarted a 15-0 run over the next six-plus minutes. Matthews finished with 16 points in 22 minutes of action while Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year Tai Odiase added 16 points, eight rebounds and five blocks.
Green Bay’s Jamar Hurdle knocked down three 3-pointers to help the Phoenix nearly erase the 17-point deficit. Hurdle finished with 11 points and six rebounds off the bench while Kerem Kanter had a game-high 19 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Phoenix (18-13).
(5) Milwaukee 82, (4) Oakland 60 (women)
DETROIT | Jenny Lindner had 19 points and 14 rebounds and Steph Kostowicz had 16 points and 10 rebounds as No. 5 Milwaukee beat No. 4 Oakland 82-60 in the quarterfinals of the 2017 Horizon League Women’s Basketball Championships on Sunday afternoon.
The Panthers will play top-seeded Green Bay in semifinal action on Monday afternoon. Milwaukee split two regular-season games with the Phoenix this season, with the home team winning in both contests.
Lindner and Kostowicz were dominant on Sunday as the Panthers (20-10) outscored Oakland 40-12 in points in the paint and outrebounded the Golden Grizzlies (18-12) 46-34.
Milwaukee junior Bailey Farley knocked down two 3-pointers as the Panthers started the game on a 9-0 run. Oakland came roaring back as reserve sophomore Taylor Jones hit three straight 3-pointers to bring the Golden Grizzlies within seven points at the end of the first quarter. Jones finished with a team-high 16 points.
Oakland junior Sha’Keya scored 10 of her 15points to start the second quarter as the Golden Grizzlies used a 13-2 run to turn a seven-point deficit into a 29-25 lead with 6:37 remaining in the half. The Panthers responded with a 14-3 run of their own to take a 41-32 lead into the break. Milwaukee used its size to dominate late in the game as the Panthers scored 24 points in the paint in the second half.
Farley had 14 points and five rebounds while Alexis Lindstrom added 12 points.
(6) Cleveland State 56, (3) Detroit Mercy 70 (women)
DETROIT | Brianne Cohen scored 22 points to lead four players in double figures as No. 3 Detroit Mercy advanced to the semifinals of the 2017 Horizon League Women’s Basketball Championships with a 70-56 win over No. 6 Cleveland State on Sunday.
The Titans will play No. 2 Wright State in Monday’s semifinal. Detroit Mercy split two regular-season games with the Raiders with the home team winning in both contests.
Anja Marinkovic and Nicole Urbanick connected on back-to-back 3-pointers late in the first quarter to give the Titans an early 13-8 lead. The pair struck again, scoring the final eight points in the second quarter to stretch Detroit Mercy’s halftime lead to 10 points.
Rosanna Reynolds scored the first six points of the third quarter and Brittney Jackson later hit back-to-back 3-pointers to increase the Titans’ lead to 20 points. Detroit Mercy led by as many as 26 points in the fourth quarter before the Vikings scored 14 straight points to cut the deficit to 66-54 with just under two minutes remaining. Cohen scored consecutive layups to secure the victory.
Marinkovic and Urbanick both finished with 11 points for the Titans (17-13) while Reynolds added 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
Khayla Livingston had 21 points and seven rebounds to lead the Vikings (14-16) while Ashanti Abshaw added 10 points and six rebounds. The Vikings missed all 10 of their 3-pointers in the first half and shot just 9.1 percent (2-22) from beyond the arc.
