Carter, Kaminski help Ohio slip past Toledo
Jason Carter had 19 points and 12 rebounds, Kenny Kaminski hit the go-ahead jumper with seven seconds left and No. 2 seed Ohio beat Toledo 67-66 on Thursday night in the Mid-American Conference Tournament.
Jaaron Simmons scored 24 points and Kaminski finished with nine points and three steals for Ohio (20-10), which will face sixthseed Kent State in the semifinals today.
Simmons made a layup to give the Bobcats a 64-61 lead with 1:57 to play but, after each team missed a 3-pointer, Nate Navigato’s 3 with 48 seconds left tied it. Jonathan Williams then made a steal and his layup 20 seconds later put seventh-seeded Toledo up 66-64. Carter made 1 of 2 free throws and, after Stevie Taylor Jr. missed the front end of a one-and-one, Kaminski’s jumper capped the scoring. Williams missed a layup and Jordan Lauf’s put-back attempt was off the mark in the final seconds.
Williams finished with 18 points and Lauf scored 12 for Toledo (17-16). Taylor had nine points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
Isaiah Johnson had a double-double, Noah Robotham scored 19 points and No. 1 seed Akron (25-7) beat Eastern Michigan (16-17) to advance to the semifinals. Johnson, the MAC player of the year, finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks and Josh Williams scored 11 for Akron, which will play fourth-seeded Ball State today in the semifinals. James Thompson IV had 18 points and 16 rebounds for No. 8 seed Eastern Michigan and Lee hit two 3s and scored 17 points.
Francis Kiapway scored 16 points, Trey Moses posted a doubledouble and Ball State (21-11) made 3 of 6 free throws in the final minute in beating Western Michigan (16-16) in the quarterfinals. Moses had 11 points and 14 rebounds, Franko House added 14 and nine and Ryan Weber scored 10 points for the Cardinals. Jimmy Hall scored 24 points including the last two at the free throw line as Kent State (20-13) held off Buffalo (17-15) in a squeaker, ending Buffalo’s two-year reign as MAC Tournament champions. The Golden Flashes, winners in eight of their last nine games, advance to play Ohio. Kent State was nursing a 66-65 lead and was awarded possession after a looseball scramble, and the Bulls fouled Hall with 12.9 seconds left. The senior, who now has 1,600 career points, made both. Hall scored 19 after halftime and finished 12 of 14 at the foul line.
Donte DiVincenzo had 25 points, Kris Jenkins added 24 and No. 2 Villanova (29-3) cruised past St. John’s (14-19). The Wildcats, who had six players score in double figures, set team tournament records for points scored and margin of victory. DiVincenzo surpassed his previous career high of 20 points, also set against St. John’s, which suffered its worst loss ever in the tournament. Desmond Bane had 16 points, hitting three free throws with 2.5 seconds left, to help TCU (19-14) stun top-ranked Kansas (28-4) in the Big 12 quarterfinals.
Barry Brown had 21 points, D.J. Johnson added 13 and Kansas State (20-12) topped ninth-ranked Baylor (257), clinching not only a spot in the semifinals but most likely a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Dwayne Bacon scored all but two of his 17 points in the second half and Florida State (25-7) finally overpowered Virginia Tech (22-10).
Bonzie Colson had 21 points and 10 rebounds and No. 22 Notre Dame (24-8) beat No. 21 Virginia (22-10) for the first time since joining the Atlantic Coast Conference, topping the Cavaliers.
Dillon Brooks scored 22 points, Tyler Dorsey added 21 and No. 5 Oregon (28-4) pulled away in the second half to beat Arizona State (15-18) in the Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinals.
Lauri Markkanen scored 20 points, Allonzo Trier added 19 and No. 7 Arizona (28-4) pulled away in the second half for a victory over Colorado (19-14).