Mid-American: Bassett puts Ohio in OT, leads Bobcats past Ball State

MUNCIE, Ind. -- Armon Bassett scored 25 points, including the layup that sent the game into overtime, and Ohio defeated Ball State 85-77 in the first round of the Mid-American Conference tournament Sunday.

The Bobcats (18-14), who will face top-seeded Kent State on Thursday in the quarterfinals, rallied from a six-point deficit in the final five minutes of regulation to force OT.

After a layup by D.J. Cooper tied the score at 67-all with 1:44 to play, capping an 8-2 run, Jarrod Jones briefly gave the Cardinals (15-15) a two-point lead with a layup. Full story

Western Michigan 75, Bowling Green 73

KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- David Kool scored 20 points and Flenard Whitfield added a career-high 19 as Western Michigan defeated Bowling Green.

Western Michigan, the seventh seed in the conference tournament, will meet No. 2 seed Central Michigan in the quarterfinals Thursday in Cleveland. Kool, Western Michigan's all-time leading scorer, was held to five points in the first half. But he got going in the second half, and his 3-pointer with 7:22 left put the Broncos (17-14) ahead to stay at 64-62.

Buffalo 72, Toledo 54

AMHERST, N.Y. -- Max Boudreau scored a season-high 18 points and Calvin Betts had 13 points as Buffalo rolled over Toledo.

Buffalo's win sets up a matchup against No. 4 seed Miami (Ohio) at 9 p.m. March 11 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. The Bulls (18-11) never trailed, shooting 29 of 61 from the floor and 8 of 9 from the foul line while outrebounding Toledo 39-26. Buffalo scored the first seven points and led 35-22 lead at halftime.

Eastern Michigan 65, Northern Illinois 59

YPSILANTI, Mich. -- Brandon Bowdry had 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead Eastern Michigan past Northern Illinois.

The Eagles (17-14), the No. 6 seed, will face No. 3 seed Akron in the quarterfinals on Thursday in Cleveland. The game was tied 54-54 with slightly more than 5 minutes to play, but Eastern Michigan scored the next seven points. Justin Dobbins made a free throw and scored on a short jumper, while Carlos Medlock made a pair of free throws and a layup for the Eagles.