Miami edges Buffalo; Toledo, CMU advance

The MAC quarterfinals continue today at Quicken Loans Arena.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

CLEVELAND — Michael Bramos scored 23 points and Tim Pollitz added 20 as Miami (Ohio) held off Buffalo’s upset bid for a 69-68 win in the opening round of the Mid-American Conference tournament Wednesday.

Twelfth-seeded Buffalo (10-20) held a 51-42 lead with 12:11 to play, but Bramos scored eight points down the stretch, while Pollitz added seven and made a big steal in the last minute.

Miami took the lead for good, 60-59, on Kenny Hayes’ jumper at the 2:58 mark. The RedHawks made seven of eight free throws in the final minute to seal the win. Pollitz’s two free throws with 2.9 seconds left gave Miami a 69-65 lead.

Rodney Pierce, who led Buffalo with 16 points, hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut the final margin to one.

The fifth-seeded RedHawks (16-14) played without coach Charlie Coles, who was in the hospital following an unspecified heart procedure. Coles, 66, had bypass surgery in 1986 and went into cardiac arrest at the MAC tournament in 1998.

Miami won despite being out-rebounded, 44-25. The RedHawks made 22-of-48 shots while the Bulls were 26-of-65 from the field.

Miami plays Ohio in the quarterfinals today.

Toledo 52, Bowling Green 48

Jonathan Amos scored 15 points to lead eighth-seeded Toledo over Bowling Green. Toledo (11-18) led 43-39 before Otis Polk’s two free throws made it a two-point game with 2:04 to play. Jerrah Young answered with a layup for the Rockets and, following a Bowling Green turnover, Tyrone Kent made two free throws for a 47-41 lead with 48.6 seconds left. Three more free throws by Kent and another by Anthony Byrd gave Toledo a 51-45 lead before Nate Miller’s 3-pointer cut the lead to three with seven seconds left. However, Toledo was able to inbound the ball against Bowling Green’s press. Byrd was fouled with three seconds left and split a pair of free throws for the final margin. Toledo built an eight-point lead in the first half and led by five early in the second half. Bowling Green rallied and took a 35-33 lead on Chris Knight’s tip-in midway through the half, but the Falcons scored on only two of their next 12 possessions. Kent scored 12 points and Young added 11 for the Rockets. Polk scored 17 points to lead ninth-seeded Bowling Green (13-17), and Knight added 11. Toledo made 17-of-51 shots, including 1-of-17 on 3-pointers, from the field. Bowling Green was 21-of-55 from the field. The Rockets had a big edge at the foul line, making 17-of-26, while the Falcons were 5-of-11. Toledo plays top-seeded Kent State in the quarterfinals today.

Cent. Michigan 83, N. Illinois 71

Giordan Watson scored 20 points and Robbie Harman added 16 to lead Central Michigan past Northern Illinois. Watson hit 5-of-7 3-pointers and Harman made 4-of-6 beyond the arc as the sixth-seeded Chippewas (14-16) hit 12-of-23 3-pointers overall and never trailed. Darion Anderson, the conference’s Freshman of the Year, led the 11th-seeded Huskies (6-22) with 22 points.

E. Michigan 59, Ball State 55

Justin Dobbins scored 21 points and Eastern Michigan used a late second-half surge to beat Ball State. Dobbins’ tip-in with 6:31 left gave Eastern Michigan (14-16) the lead for good, 45-44, and started an 8-0 run that put the Eagles ahead 51-44 with 3:37 to play. Dobbins was 9-of-17 from the field and added six rebounds. Carlos Medlock scored 15 points while Travis Lewis added 12. Anthony Newell led Ball State (6-24) with 17 points. Peyton Stovall added 13.