#HLMBB Roundup - Feb. 23
#HLMBB Standings | #HLMBB Statistics
INDIANAPOLIS – The penultimate day of the #HLMBB regular season was played on Thursday with Cleveland State pulling into a tie for first place in the standings, while Milwaukee and Northern Kentucky each secured hosting duties for the quarterfinals of the 2023 Barbasol Horizon League Men’s Basketball Championship. Oakland also clinched a first-round bye in next week’s championship and IUPUI picked up its second HL win at home.
RESULTS
GAME RECAPS
Oakland 75, Wright State 68
- Oakland earned the series sweep of Wright State for the first time since the 2015-16 season and clinched the No. 5 seed in the Barbasol #HLMBB Championship and a first-round bye as it improved to 11-8 during League play. Wright State fell to 9-10.
- Jalen Moore scored a game-high 35 points for the Golden Grizzlies, his third 30-point game in League play, with five 3-pointers and 14-of-18 shooting from the foul line to go with nine rebounds and six assists. Keaton Hervey finished with 17 points and nine boards and Trey Townsend added 14 points and eight rebounds.
- Brandon Noel paced the Raiders with his eighth double-double during League play with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Alex Huibregtse totaled 15 points and Andrew Welage chipped in 10.
- The Golden Grizzlies outrebounded WSU 42-31 and held a 20-9 advantage in second-chance points. Oakland also outscored the Raiders 21-7 from the free-throw line.
Northern Kentucky 67, Detroit Mercy 64
- Northern Kentucky clinched a top-4 seed and a home game in the quarterfinals of the Barbasol #HLMBB Championship for the third-straight season as it improved to 13-6 in HL play. Detroit Mercy drops to 9-10 heading into its regular season finale.
- NKU’s Marques Warrick tallied a team-best 20 points, while Trevon Faulkner scored 13 with three triples and Sam Vinson added 11. Chris Brandon ended the game with 12 boards and eight points.
- Antoine Davis totaled a game-best 27 points for Detroit Mercy on 11-of-12 shooting from the free-throw line and tallied five assists. AJ Oliver finished with 16 points on four 3-pointers and six rebounds.
- The Norse shot nearly 50 percent (24-49) from the floor and over 40 percent (11-27) from distance as they outscored the Titans 24-16 in the paint, while holding Detroit Mercy to under 40 percent shooting for just the fifth time in HL play.
IUPUI 81, RMU 75
- IUPUI picked up its second win at home during Horizon League play, while RMU ends the regular season at 10-10.
- DJ Jackson registered his first double-double of the season to lead the Jags with 24 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor and went 10-for-10 from the foul line to go with 12 rebounds. Jlynn Counter tallied 17 points and Vincent Brady II scored 12.
- Kahliel Spear led all scorers with 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Colonials to tie for the League-lead with eight double-doubles in HL play. Enoch Cheeks and Michael Green III totaled 15 points each.
- The Jags trailed 34-29 at the half before outscoring RMU 52-41 in the second period as they shot over 55 percent (16-29) from the floor, went 18-for-21 from the foul line and held the Colonials without a 3-pointer over the final 20 minutes.
Milwaukee 96, Purdue Fort Wayne 94
- The Panthers secured a top-4 seed and a home game in the quarterfinals of the Barbasol #HLMBB Championship as they moved to 13-6 in League play. Purdue Fort Wayne fell to 8-11.
- MKE’s BJ Freeman posted the first triple-double by a Horizon League player since the 2020-21 season and the fifth in program history with 19 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists. Kentrall Pullian scored a game-high 25 points and Justin Thomas poured in 14. Elijah Jamison added 13 points and Ahmad Rand went 6-of-8 from the floor for 12 points.
- Five Purdue Fort Wayne players finished in double figures led by Jarred Godfrey with his 11th 20-point game of the HL season with 21 points. Deonte Billips recorded 18, while Bobby Planutis and Damian Chong Qui totaled 13 apiece and Ra Kpedi chipped in 11.
- Milwaukee trailed 46-40 at the break before coming out of the locker room on fire offensively as it shot 63.3 percent (19-30) from the floor and 53.3 percent (8-15) from the 3-point line. Pullian led the charge as he scored 18 of his 25 over the final 20 minutes on 5-of-7 shooting from the field including 4-of-5 from 3-point range.
Cleveland State 76, Green Bay 65
- Cleveland State pulled into a share of first place in the HL standings with its fifth consecutive victory to improve to 14-5 heading into the final game of the regular season.
- Tae Williams had a career night for the Vikings with 30 points and 14 rebounds for this third double-double of the season. Tristan Enaruna shot 6-of-8 from the floor for 14 points, while Drew Lowder totaled 12 points and Yahel Hill added 11.
- Three Green Bay players finished the game with double figures paced by Davin Zeigler with 14 points and the duo of Clarence Cummings III and Zae Blake tallied 11 points each.
- The game was a back-and-forth affair until CSU went on a 13-0 run midway through the second half, led by Lowder scoring 10 points during the stretch, to take a 63-52 lead that it held for the remainder of the game.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE (All times ET)
Saturday, Feb. 25
Wright State at Detroit Mercy, 1:00 P.M. ET (ESPN+)
Northern Kentucky at Oakland, 3:00 P.M. ET (ESPN+)
Purdue Fort Wayne at Green Bay, 5:00 P.M. ET (ESPN+)
Youngstown State at IUPUI, 7:00 P.M. ET (ESPN+)
Cleveland State at Milwaukee, 8:00 P.M. ET (ESPN+)