MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE Alabama survives Bowling Green scare

Ball State and Western Michigan won while Buffalo lost.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MOBILE, Ala. -- Kenny Walker saved No. 2 Alabama from embarrassment, scoring a career-high 25 points and hitting three key free throws to preserve a 72-63 victory over Bowling Green on Saturday in the Coors Classic.
Kevin Netter scored 26 points for the Falcons (2-4) as Alabama (7-0) nearly made its highest ranking ever a one-week cameo.
Netter's hook shot in the lane made it 66-63 with 1:51 left, but Walker made perhaps his biggest play when he drew Netter's fifth foul 34 seconds later.
Walker hit one of two free throws and the Falcons didn't score again.
Emmett Thomas, making his first start, dunked off a nice pass in the paint from Mo Williams with 48 seconds remaining and then Walker drilled two more free throws.
Williams and Thomas scored 14 points apiece for the Tide, while Erwin Dudley overcame a miserable offensive performance with 11 rebounds. Dudley was 1-of-6 shooting for a season-low five points and was on the bench at the end.
Walker was 11-of-17 and blocked five shots as the duel of centers was pretty much a wash with Netters.
John Reimold had 13 points and eight rebounds for Bowling Green while Cory Eyink had 12 points and hit two rare 3-pointers in a 50-second span late. He was 1-of-5 from 3-point range in the first five games.
The Tide opened the second half on a 21-5 run and took a 58-34 lead with 12:30 to play. The Falcons came back with a 29-8 run to put a scare in Alabama.
Netter scored nine of Bowling Green's first 11 points as the Falcons trailed 37-29 at halftime.
Niagara 77, Akron 71
LEWISTON, N.Y. -- Juan Mendez scored 24 points and had 11 rebounds for Niagara.
Mendez scored 10 points during a 29-8 first half run that saw the Purple Eagles (2-5) turn an early 7-2 deficit into a 31-15 lead.
The Zips (3-4) shot 0-for-11 from 3-point range in the first half.
The Zips cut it to 62-60 with 4:22 remaining, but Mendez hit a 3-pointer and Tremmel Darden scored to make it 67-60.
Alvin Cruz had 18 points for Niagara, and Darden added 17.
For Akron, Andy Hipsher and Darryl Peterson each had 15 points. Johnny Hollingsworth added 14 points and five assists.
Ball St. 76, Indiana St. 68
MUNCIE, Ind. -- Chris Williams scored 28 points and Cameron Echols added 14 points and 14 rebounds for Ball State.
The Cardinals (5-2) shot 12-of-12 on free throws in the first half and 22-of-28 in the second half.
The Sycamores (3-5) attempted a final rally with a 14-6 run, including nine points by Marcus Howard, to make it 74-65 with 1:32 remaining.
Brian Giesen and Howard each scored 13 points for Indiana State, and David Moss had 10 points and seven rebounds. Ball State's Matt McCollom scored 17 points.
W. Michigan 72, Centenary 52
KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Junior center Anthony Kann scored 16 points, but it was Western Michigan's defense that played a key role.
The Broncos (5-2), with the nation's seventh-ranked defense yielding an average of 54.3 points per game, forced Centenary (4-4) into 24 turnovers.
Centenary point guard Andrew Wisniewski, who entered the game averaging 22 points, was held to just 12 as he turned the ball over seven times.
Western point guard Robby Collum, who ranks No. 1 in steals in the Mid-American Conference, had four of the team's eight steals.
Ronald Mickel came off the bench to score 14 for the Gents, who lost for the first time in five games.
Kann led all players in scoring and rebounding (8), but Western's powerful bench play did in Centenary. For the first time this season, the Broncos' bench produced 30 points and 17 rebounds.
Centenary had just four bench players available.
Canisius 71, Buffalo 65
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Brian Dux had a game-high 18 points and 11 assists and Yaku Moton-Spruill added a season-high 15 points for Canisius.
Canisius (4-2) opened up an early 15-point lead but saw it dwindle to just three at halftime as Moton-Spruill and Jon Ferris ran into foul trouble. Buffalo also took advantage of its outside shooting, hitting five 3-pointers in the first half.
Buffalo (3-5) tied the game three times in the second half, pulling even at 56-56 as late as 5:45 remaining. But the Bulls cooled off just as quickly, missing their last eight 3-point attempts and their last five shots from the foul line.
Hodari Mallory (12 points) and Kevin Downey had a late 9-2 run to seal the win for the Golden Griffins.
Canisius shot 48.1 percent (26-of-54) from the floor. Jason Bird led the Bulls with 12 points, while Mark Bortz had 11 and Clement Smith 10. Buffalo shot 33.3 percent (23-for-69) from the field.