Mid-American Conference Tournament Recaps

Cleveland, OH (SportsNetwork.com) – Shayne Whittington scored a game-high 18 points and pulled down 13 rebounds as the Western Michigan Broncos pulled out a 64-60 overtime win against the Akron Zips in the semifinals of the Mid- American Conference Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena.

Also scoring in double figures for top-seeded Western Michigan (22-9) were David brown and Connar Tava with 16 points apiece, the latter also pulling down another 12 rebounds for the squad.

Akron (21-12), the fourth seed in this year’s tournament, was led by Demetrius Treadwell with 15 points and eight boards, followed by Deji Ibitayo and Quincy Diggs with 14 and 13 points, respectively.

Western Michigan appeared destined for the loss column as the team made a total of just eight field goals in the first half, shot 1-of-10 behind the 3- point line and failed to make a single trip to the charity stripe. The Zips didn’t make good on any one of their three attempts at the free-throw line, but still held a lopsided 34-17 edge at the break.

WMU held the Zips scoreless for more than eight minutes in the second half in order to take the lead in the final minutes. But Akron eventually responded and knotted the score at 52-52 with under 40 seconds left in regulation.

The Broncos failed to convert on their final possession, giving the Zips one last chance to take the victory in regulation, but a shot by Diggs from midcourt at the buzzer bounced off the back of the rim.

In the overtime session Diggs opened with a 3-pointer for the Zips, but an 8-0 run for WMU put the Broncos ahead for good.

With the win Western Michigan, which outscored the Zips 15-6 at the free-throw line, now moves to the championship round on Saturday evening to face Toledo.

Final Score: Toledo 59, Eastern Michigan 44

Cleveland, OH (SportsNetwork.com) – Rian Pearson scored 18 points to lead the second-seeded Toledo Rockets to a 59-44 victory over the sixth-seeded Eastern Michigan Eagles in a semifinal-round contest in the Mid-American Conference Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena.

For the Rockets (27-5), Nathan Boothe added 13 points and Justin Drummond posted a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Toledo now advances to Saturday’s conference championship game against Western Michigan.

Glenn Bryant was the only player for the Eagles (21-14) in double figures, scoring 11 points.

Toledo shot 46.4 percent from the field, including 2-of-7 from 3-point range, as the Rockets took a 32-28 lead into the break. Toledo shot 45.5 percent from the field, including 4-of-8 from beyond the arc in the half.

After intermission, both teams struggled from the field. The Rockets hit on 34.8 percent of their field goal tries, while the Eagles shot at woeful 22.6 percent, missing all but one of their 13 tries from 3-point distance. The Rockets used an 18-6 run late in the game to take control of the contest and secure the victory.

Toledo outscored EMU in the paint, 24-16. The Rockets also had a great deal of success on the glass, outrebounding the Eagles, 43-31.

Categorized in: NCAA Basketball