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MAC West Report - January 15, 2009

MAC basketball mid-week recap

Ball State 60, Northern Illinois 54

Ball State outscored Northern Illinois 33-20 in the second half of Tuesday night’s game to claim a hard-fought 60-54 victory over the visiting Huskies.

Ball State played their first game of the year without senior team scoring leader Anthony Newell who suffered a season ending leg injury against Eastern Michigan on Saturday. The reigning All-MAC Honorable mention was averaging 15.2 points and 9.4 rebounds per game.

The Cardinals answered the challenge with balanced contributions across the board. Rob Giles and Jarrod Jones each chipped in 11 points while dishing out 3 assists to help Ball State retain their spot atop the MAC West standings (7-7, 2-0 Mid-American Conference).

Darion Anderson poured in 16 points and Mike DiNunno added another 13 in a strong effort from the young Northern Illinois squad (5-9, 1-1 Mid-American Conference).

Northern Illinois led 34-27 at halftime, but Ball State quickly erased the margin with a 12-5 run to start the second period of play. The final lead change came at the 3:34 mark when Laron Frazier put the Cardinals on top for good at 51-50.

Eastern Michigan 84, Central Michigan 77

Eastern Michigan broke a seven game losing streak in exciting fashion Tuesday night with a breakout 22 point performance by sophomore forward Brandon Bowdry in route to an 84-77 2OT victory against Central Michigan.

A 22 point effort by Tyler Jones coupled with a career high 17 point contribution by freshman L.J. Frazier was enough to snag the first MAC victory of the season for the Eagles (3-13, 1-1 Mid-American Conference).

Jordan Bitzer and Jeremy Allen scored 21 and 17 points, respectively, in a spirited team effort from Central Michigan (3-11, 0-2 Mid-American Conference). Down 55-47 with 1:04 left on the clock the Chippewas rallied, culminating in a wild, buzzer-beating three from Robbie Harman to force the game into overtime.

After a first extra session left the score tied at 71 Eastern Michigan’s Zane Gay sealed the victory by pushing the Eagle lead to six on a three point basket with 19.3 ticks remaining in the second overtime.

Western Michigan 70, Toledo 52

Western Michigan used 14 points from Demetrius Ward and a 10 board advantage over their opponent to dismantle the visiting Toledo Rockets squad in a game that was lopsided from start to finish.

Despite another strong 17 point and 8 rebound effort from Tyrone Kent the Rockets found themselves down 25-2 with 11:29 left in the first half Wednesday night.

David Kool and Derek Drews pitched in 12 and 11 points, respectively, in the contest, helping to propel the Broncos into a tie atop the MAC West standings (5-10, 2-0 Mid-American Conference).

Down 35-21 at half Toledo got as close as 40-28 at the 15:57 mark in the second half before another quick Bronco run pushed the lead back to 45-28 with 14:23 left in the game.

Senior guard Jonathan Amos added 13 points for the Rockets who fell to 0-2 in MAC play (2-14, 0-2 Mid-American Conference).

> Check out the MAC basketball standings here @ VanDelay Sports

MAC West Weekend Watch

Western Michigan vs. Northern Illinois (Saturday, 2:00 p.m. EST)

The Western Michigan Broncos look to extend their stay atop the MAC West standings when they host the Northern Illinois Huskies Saturday afternoon in University Arena.

The early afternoon match-up will feature the Mid-American Conference’s 2 nd and 3 rd leading scorers in NIU’s Darion Anderson and WMU’s David Kool averaging 18.0 and 17.4 points per game, respectively.

After losing a tough road battle against Ball State on Tuesday night, Northern Illinois will look to reignite the fire that led the squad to a 24 point win over Toledo last Saturday.

Western Michigan will try to build on recent momentum after their own strong 18 point win against the Rockets earlier in the week.

Western Michigan is looking to improve to 3-0 in the MAC West while Northern Illinois is trying to move to 2-1 in conference play.

Central Michigan vs. Ball State (Saturday, 4:30 p.m. EST)

After an inspired home effort on Tuesday night Ball State looks to take their momentum on the road against a Central Michigan squad desperately looking to end a six game skid that has seen the Chippewas fall to 0-2 in the MAC West race.

The Cardinals will be facing their second contest in a row with leading point scorer Anthony Newell on the bench due to a season ending leg injury.

Ball State will likely focus on a strong mix of youthful talent and experienced leadership with freshman forward Jarrod Jones and senior guard Laron Frazier working a solid inside-out strategy for the Cardinals side.

With forward Chris Kellermann out indefinitely due to injury Central Michigan will continue to work the offense through Marcus Van, averaging 13.0 points per game. To get their first win of the MAC season the Chippewas will likely need another big performance from sophomore Jeremy Allen who scored 16 points in a recent 2OT loss to Eastern Michigan.

Ball State is looking to stay atop the MAC West standings by improving to a 3-0 mark while Central Michigan is hoping to grab their first win of the young MAC season.

Toledo vs. Eastern Michigan (Saturday, 7:00 p.m. EST)

After two big losses to start MAC play the Toledo Rockets will try to right the ship at home Sunday when they face an Eastern Michigan squad coming off an emotional 2OT victory against Central Michigan earlier in the week.

Toledo can not afford to get off to another slow start Saturday night if they hope to notch their first conference win of the year.

The Rockets' sensational senior duo of Tyrone Kent and Jonathan Amos will lead the charge, averaging 15.7 and 13.0 points a game, respectively.

Eastern Michigan will try to capitalize Saturday night on their first road opportunity of the MAC season. Coming off a 22 point and 14 board performance against Central Michigan, Brandon Bowdry will look for his 4th double-double in the Eagles 2008-09 campaign.

Eastern Michigan is hoping to move to 2-1 in the MAC West while Toledo is trying to avoid a 0-3 start in conference play and a 10 game losing streak overall.

By Damian Caudill
VanDelay Sports Staff Writer