Sunday, February 29, 2004
Toledo, Northern Illinois and Buffalo also won conference games.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BOWLING GREEN -- Peyton Stovall and Terrance Chapman each had 18 points to lead Ball State to an 81-71 victory Saturday over Bowling Green.
Chapman, who had seven rebounds, completed two consecutive three-point plays to cap a 13-2 run that put the Cardinals (12-13, 9-7 Mid-American Conference) up 69-54 with 4:10 left to play. Dennis Trammell added 10 points and eight rebounds, and Cameron Echols scored 10. John Reimold scored 25 points, including 4-for-8 shooting on 3-pointers, to lead Bowling Green (13-14, 8-8). Steven Wright added 11 points.
The Falcons led 33-29 at the half on 42 percent shooting (11-of-26) to Ball State's 36 percent (12-for-33). But Bowling Green remained steady at 40 percent after the break, while the Cardinals improved to 52 percent (14-for-27).
Toledo 93, W. Michigan 84
TOLEDO -- Keith Triplett scored 29 points and Ricardo Thomas had 16 to lead Toledo. Triplett hit 8-of-10 free throws and made 3-of-6 3-pointers. Justin Ingram had 14 points and five assists for the Rockets (17-9, 11-6 MAC).
Western Michigan (21-4, 13-3) led 42-40 at the half after the two teams tied seven times. Toledo jumped out ahead at the start of the second half, going on a 6-0 run. After Western Michigan tied it up for the sixth time, 68-68 with 7:48 remaining, Toledo went on an 18-6 run to stay ahead for good. Western Michigan had 22 fouls compared with 13 for Toledo and made 16-of-17 free throws while Toledo made 20-of-25.
Ben Reed led Western Michigan with 26 points, five rebounds and three assists. Anthony Kann had 16 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
N. Illinois 67, E. Michigan 61
YPSILANTI, Mich. -- P. J. Smith scored 29 points to lead Northern Illinois (9-18, 4-12 MAC) to its first road win of the season. Eastern Michigan (12-13, 6-10) went on a 9-1 run to close the gap to 54-52 with 3:58 left, but Northern Illinois made nine free throws down the stretch.
John Bowler and JaQuan Hart each scored 14 points to lead the Eagles.
Buffalo 87, Miami (Ohio) 73
OXFORD -- Calvin Cage had 22 points and Turner Battle scored 13 of his 18 points in the first half for Buffalo, which built an 18-point first half lead. The Bulls (14-11, 9-7 MAC) outscored the RedHawks (15-10, 10-6) 46-28 in the first half. Juby Johnson led Miami with 27 points. Danny Horace scored 15 for the RedHawks and Monty St. Clair added 12.