COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP

Detroit Mercy 59, Robert Morris 48:

The Titans’ surprising return to competitiveness continued Tuesday with the program’s first Horizon tournament victory since 2017. UDM, the 6-seed, struggled in the first quarter against bottom seeded RMU, shooting just 27.5% en route to a 13-all tie after the first 10 minutes. But the Titans took control at the end of the second quarter, snapping a 24-all tie with an 8-0 run over the final three minutes. UDM then opened the second half with a 15-9 run that lasted just over six minutes, led by Irene Murua’s six points during that stretch. Murua finished with 12 points to lead UDM, Paris Gilmore abd Maura Hooper added nine points apiece and Emma Trawally Porta chipped in eight points and five blocks. Next up, the Titans (17-15) will face third-seeded Purdue Fort Wayne in the Horizon quarters at 7 p.m. Thursday, with the winner of that game heading to Indianapolis for Monday’s semifinals.

Northern Kentucky 70, Oakland 62: The host Golden Grizzlies appeared headed to the Horizon quarterfinals after 10 minutes at the O’rena. But as the ninth-seeded Norse began to get to the free throw line, eighth-seeded OU saw its lead fade away. NKU went 11-for-13 from the line in the second half after attempting just two freebies over the first 20 minutes to upset the Golden Grizzlies. Maddy Skorupski led OU (12-17) with 22 points on 7-for-11 shooting and Brooke Quarles-Daniels added 15 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

Horizon men

Milwaukee 83, Detroit Mercy 79:

Jayden Stone did all he could to deliver what would have been a stunning upset in the Horizon League tournament. The senior guard scored 21 of his team-high 30 points in the second half as the 11th-seeded Titans — winners of just one of their first 31 games this season — tied the Panthers at 73-all with just under four minutes remaining. But that was all Stone and UDM had left, as Milwaukee closed with a 10-6 run to hold off the Titans. Stone finished with three rebounds and two assists, and Marcus Tankersley added 21 points, five rebounds and four assists for UDM. BJ Freeman led the Panthers with 30 points, including a pair of gameclinching free throws in the final seconds.

MAC men

Eastern Michigan 61, Akron 60:

Jalin Billingsley came up big when the visiting Eagles needed him most; the junior blocked the Zips attempt to go up by three points, then grabbed the rebound with 17 seconds left, giving EMU one final shot. Then, when Arne Osojnik’s 3point try was off, Billingsley slammed home a rebound with 1 second left for the win. Billingsley led the Eagles with 14 points and added eight rebounds, while Orlando Lovejoy chipped in 13 points on 5-for-14 shooting. The Eagles (1317, 6-11 MAC) wrap up their season with a visit to Central Michigan at 7 p.m. Friday; Despite the victory, EMU has already been eliminated from MAC tourney contention.

Bowling Green 73, Western Michigan 65: The host Broncos went cold for nearly four minutes toward the end of the first half to fall to the bottom of the seeds for next week’s MAC tournament. Seth Hubbard led WMU with 12 points despite hitting just four of 14 attempts from the field, including one of eight 3-point tries, and B. Artis White added 11 points and five rebounds. The Broncos (11-19, 8-9) wrap up the regular season with a visit to conference leader Akron at 7 p.m. Friday; it’s a potential preview of a MAC tourney first-round game next week.

Central Michigan 69, Northern Illinois 63: The visiting Chips kept running on the Huskies, using a 14-5 advantage in fastbreak points to snap a three-game losing streak. Derrick Butler led CMU with 24 points on 8-for-14 shooting, Paul McMillan IV added 12 points and Hunter Harding and Cayden Vasko contributed 10 points apiece. The Chips (17-13, 11-6) wrap up the regular season with a visit from EMU at 7 p.m. Friday before heading to Cleveland for next week’s MAC tournament, which starts March 14. CMU is a game behind Ohio for the third seed, with the Bobcats visiting Miami (Ohio) on Friday night.