GAME NOTES: The fourth-seeded Toledo Rockets take on the eighth-seeded Eastern Michigan Eagles in quarterfinal action of the Mid-American Conference Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena.

The teams split the regular-season series, although EMU dominated the most recent meeting on its home court this past Friday, 85-59. The winner faces top-seeded Central Michigan in the semifinals.

Eastern Michigan survived an overtime thriller against Miami-Ohio in the first round, then notched a 73-67 win over Bowling Green on Wednesday night. Winners of four straight, the Eagles are every bit a contender for the league crown.

Toledo entered the season among the league favorites and got a double-bye into the third round. However, the Rockets lost two straight and three of four to close out their regular-season schedule.

EMU is in the quarterfinals for the third straight season after holding off Bowling Green Wednesday night. Neither team led by more than six points at any point of the game, which featured 11 ties and 17 lead changes. Ultimately, the Eagles' tandem of Raven Lee (27 points) and Mike Talley (21 points) proved the difference. Karrington Ward also had a strong game in the paint with 15 points and 10 rebounds. The Eagles allowed BGSU to shoot 53.2 percent from the floor, but they also grabbed 18 offensive boards and committed zero turnovers in the second half. Lee leads the team in scoring with 16.8 ppg, while Talley (12.8 ppg, 4.2 apg) and Ward (12.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg) also average double figures.

Prior to its current rough patch, Toledo had put together a five-game road win streak amidst an 8-1 stretch. But things have not gone so well lately for the Rockets. They gave up 85 points at Central Michigan last Tuesday, then scored just 59 in the regular-season finale against these very same Eagles. They allowed four different EMU players to score 15 points or more in that meeting. Even worse, the Rockets committed 20 turnovers and forced only eight. J.D. Weatherspoon (12.8 ppg, 8.0 rpg) led the way with 12 points and 10 boards, while Jonathan Williams (10.6 ppg) and Julius Brown (16.4 ppg) scored 11 apiece in the loss.

Toledo may be the higher seed here, but the Eagles are simply playing better basketball at the moment, and they had little trouble with the Rockets less than a week ago.