Mid-American Conference Tournament Opening Round: No. 8 Eastern Michigan outlasted No. 9 Ball State 51-48 to advance to the quarterfinals against No. 1 Toledo. The Eagles led Ball State by 15 points but nearly squandered the lead with 25 turnovers. Jesse Bunkley led Eastern Michigan with 15 points.
No. 5 Ohio completed the season sweep of No. 12 Bowling Green, beating the Falcons 69-59 in the opening round. The Bobcats advance to the quarterfinals to play No. 4 Miami, Ohio. Bubba Walther led the Bobcats with 19 points and hit five three-pointers. Ohio used a pair of big runs — one in the first half and the other in the second — to beat Bowling Green.
No. 7 Central Michigan looked poised to obliterate No. 10 Buffalo, leading by 30 points with less than 14 minutes to go. But Buffalo’s furious rally kept fans interested, even though the Bulls never pulled closer than six — the final margin in the Chippewas’ 80-74 win. Giordan Watson delivered a career-best 34 points for Central Michigan, which will play No. 2 Akron in the quarterfinals.
No. 6 Western Michigan took care of No. 11 Northern Illinois 67-62 to move into the quarterfinals against No. 3 Kent State. The Broncos won despite shooting 35.2 percent from the field. But Western Michigan’s defense let the Huskies shoot only 0.2 percent better from the field. And Western Kentucky was 27-of-25 from the free throw line, dominating that category. Freshman David Kool led the Broncos with 14 points. [3/07/07]
