Kent State won its 31st consecutive game against a MAC West opponent and secured a place in the First Energy MAC Tournament semifinals, but its 76-72 victory over Western Michigan was far from routine.

The Golden Flashes almost blew a 19-point second-half lead, failing to convert from the free-throw line time after time late in the game before senior forward Justin Greene put the game away with a late charity toss that ended the Broncos' comeback hopes.

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It wasn't pretty at all, but Ohio coach John Groce will take it.

 His Bobcats, seeded third in the 2012 First Energy Mid-American Conference Tournament, misfired on 19 of their first 22 shots from the floor and led seventh-seeded Toledo just 26-24 at halftime. Ohio was out of rhythm after a six-day layoff and Toledo, coming off a 75-72 win over Central Michigan the night before, took advantage of the Bobcats' rust...leading for a good portion of the first half.

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The University of Toledo was able to advance to the quarterfinals of the First Energy MAC Tournament, but don't expect Central Michigan coach Ernie Zeigler to be making any congratulatory phone calls to the 419 area code.

Following the Rockets' contentious 75-72 win over Zeigler's Chippewas, Toledo head coach Tod Kowalczyk and Zeigler had heated words and appeared to bump into each other when the pair met in front of the scorer's table for what typically is the post-game handshake. It was a brief exchange, but the fire remained simmering well after the final horn.

"I have no comment about anything about Coach Kowalczyk," Zeigler responded when asked about how Kowalczyk's team responded to the Chippewas' full-court press.

Zeigler had just watched his team's furious rally fall short in the loss to Toledo. CMU had sliced what was a 15-point Rockets lead down to one in the final minute of regulation, but a pair of missed free throws by sophomore Trey Zeigler proved costly as the Chips could never get over the hump. Toledo converted seven of eight free throw attempts in the final :41 of play to put the game away.

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Northern Illinois’ Cinderella run never got started.

The Huskies, who entered the 2012 First Energy MAC Tournament as the #13 seed at 4-25, pulled off the upset Monday when they dispatched MAC West regular season champion Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti.

This win earned NIU a trip to Cleveland and a date with No. 8 seed Western Michigan at Quicken Loans Arena.

Midway through the second half of this contest the bells chimed and the Huskies’ short-lived magical run was over.

Mike Douglas scored 11 of his game-high 19 points during a 17-1 WMU run that turned a tight contest into a rout. The Broncos led just 31-28 at halftime, but put 40 points on the board in the second 20 minutes in a 71-54 win.

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