On The Horizon

Jim Squire

#HLMBB Tournament Staff Picks: Quarterfinals--HoriZone Roundtable
Cleveland St. beats Purdue Fort Wayne 108-104 in 3OT--Associated Press
Wild night of OTs, last-second shots in Horizon Tournament--Associated Press
Buzzer-beater Böhm sends N. Kentucky past Detroit Mercy--Associated Press
Williams carries Oakland over Youngstown State 87-83 in OT--Associated Press
Wild night of OTs, last-second shots in Horizon Tournament--Associated Press
NMTC FULL PREVIEW: The long march to freedom--Mid-Major Madness

TJ: Let’s discuss the fresh hell that the Horizon League brought upon us last night. While Milwaukee (not a member) pulled a tight upset over No. 2 seed Wright State, both Youngstown State and Fort Wayne suffered heartrending losses in overtime.

To deal with the (slightly) less agonizing defeat first, Youngstown State was down in the second half but played excellent defense to earn a tie with Oakland with 6 seconds left. Unfortunately, the Penguins settled for a 40-foot three-pointer and then got run in overtime.

Meanwhile, in Cleveland, the No. 10 seed Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons absolutely should have upset Cleveland State. In the five years that I’ve done this column, this game easily made the top-five NMTC heartbreaks. You had to watch it on ESPN+ to get the full experience, but Fort Wayne came back from a nine-point second half deficit and forced overtime with a Jarred Godfrey layup.

Across three overtimes, Fort Wayne:

Allowed a game-tying layup with 22 seconds left and then failed to get a final shot off
Went up 86-81 in 2OT only to allow a ridiculous banked three from Cleveland State’s 6’8, 250-pound center Al Eichelberger. What goes around comes around, I guess.

Until this game, Eichelberger had taken 21 three-pointers in his four years and 104 games in college basketball, making just six (28%).
Couldn’t get any stops in triple overtime. The game was sealed when Cleveland State brought Mabor Majak, a 7’2 freshman who had played 61 minutes over the entire season, to guard the inbounds pass by doing jumping jacks and being tall. The whole bench started mocking the jumping jacks in unison. This somehow worked to perfection and Fort Wayne turned it over.

Oakland basketball headed to Horizon League semifinals after OT win--Detroit Free Press

Cleveland State men’s basketball prevails in 3 OTs against IPFW, 108-104, advances to Horizon League semifinals--Cleveland Plain Dealer
Cleveland State mens basketball wins in 3 OTs in Horizon League quarterfinal--News-Herald
Cleveland State Advances to #HLMBB Semifinals After Triple OT Win--csuvikings.prestosports.com

Women’s Basketball Holds On For 69-63 #HLWBB Quarterfinal Win At Green Bay--csuvikings.prestosports.com

Northern Kentucky, on fifth tip attempt, stuns Detroit Mercy at buzzer--Detroit News
Titans Fall In Heartbreaker At The Buzzer At NKU--detroittitans.com

UWGB women dealt stunning loss in Horizon League quarterfinal--Green Bay Press Gazette
Green Bay's Comeback Falls Short in Quarterfinals, 69-63--greenbayphoenix.com

JAGS CRUISE IN TO #HLWBB SEMIFINALS WITH 86-64 WIN AT NO. 4 OAKLAND--iupuijags.com

UWM 94, Wright State 92 (OT): Panthers advance to Horizon League semis after miraculous win--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
COMEBACK KIDS DO IT AGAIN, TOP RAIDERS IN OT!--mkepanthers.com

UWM women 77, Youngstown State 68: Career night for McKaela Schmelzer is perfectly timed--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Seniors Stand Out in Quarterfinal Win Over YSU--mkepanthers.com

David Böhm tip-in as time expires leads NKU past Detroit Mercy in Horizon League basketball tourney--Cincinnati Enauirer
Böhm’s buzzer-beater lifts NKU to 70-69 win over Detroit Mercy in Horizon League Tournament--Northern Kentucky Tribune
Last-Second Tip-In Sends NKU to Horizon Semifinals--River City News
Böhm’s buzzer beater gives NKU 70-69 over Detroit Mercy in Horizon League Tournament quarterfinals--The Northerner
Böhm buzzer-beater sends @NKUNorseMBB to semifinals with 70-69 defeat over Detroit Mercy--nkunorse.com

@NorseWBB ends season with Horizon League quarterfinal setback against Raiders--nkunorse.com

'College basketball, man': Oakland won't wilt, beats Youngstown State in OT--Detroit News
Oakland overcomes its past, beats Youngstown St. in OT in Horizon League quarterfinal--Oakland Press
Men’s basketball punches ticket to Indianapolis--Oakland Post
OAKLAND ADVANCES TO #HLMBB SEMIFINALS WITH 87-83 OVERTIME WIN OVER YSU--goldengrizzlies.com

Three-time Horizon POY muscles IUPUI past Oakland in women's quarterfinal--Detroit News
Oakland unable to rally against IUPUI in Horizon League quarterfinal--Oakland Press
The evolution of Autumn Kissman’s game--Oakland Post
NO. 4 SEED OAKLAND CONCLUDES SEASON WITH SETBACK TO NO. 5 SEED IUPUI IN #HLWBB CHAMPIONSHIP QUARTERFINALS--goldengrizzlies.com

Mastodons lose in 3 OTs--Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
Purdue Fort Wayne MBB Falls in Triple OT to Cleveland State--gomastodons.com

College basketball conference tournaments: Schedules and matchups for Illinois, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Loyola and more state and area Division I teams--Chicago Tribune

Men

Horizon

Ongoing through March 9, at campus sites and Indianapolis (semifinals and final)

UIC

The 11th-seeded Flames (9-13, 6-10) were eliminated in the first round with a 74-58 loss to No. 6 seed Youngstown State on Feb. 25 in Youngstown, Ohio.

Women

Horizon

Ongoing through March 9, at campus sites and Indianapolis (semifinals and final)

UIC

The 11th-seeded Flames (3-16, 1-13) were eliminated in the first round with a 69-43 loss to No. 6 seed Cleveland State on Feb. 25 in Cleveland.