BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (AP) Anthony Henderson scored 20, and Jehvon Clarke added 19 to help No. 5 seed Bowling Green beat 12th-seeded Ball State 88-75 in the first round of the Mid-American Conference tournament on Monday night.
Zack Denny had 16 points, including four 3-pointers, and Delvin Dickerson scored 12 for Bowling Green (20-10), which will play No. 8 seed Eastern Michigan in the second round on Wednesday.
Bo Calhoun scored 17 and Jeremiah Davis added 16 for Ball State (7-23).
BGSU made 17 of 29 (58.6 percent) field goals, including 6 of 10 from 3-point range, and 10 of 11 free throws while scoring a season-high 50 first-half points and took a 16-point lead into the break.
Richaun Holmes, who leads the Falcons in scoring (14.7 per game) and rebounding (8.0), missed the game with concussion-like symptoms.
Ball State shot 50 percent from the field, but made just 8 of 22 from deep and 15 of 21 free throws.
