E Michigan knocks off Buffalo in MAC, 69-64

Published Mar. 13, 2014 11:40 p.m. ET

foxsports

CLEVELAND (AP) Karrington Ward scored 19 points to help No. 6 seed Eastern Michigan defeat third-seeded Buffalo 69-64 Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the Mid-American Conference tournament.

EMU (21-13) will play second-seeded Toledo in the semifinals Friday.

The Eagles erased a 10-point second-half deficit, storming back with a 27-10 surge to lead 64-57 with 2:07 remaining.

Jarod Oldham dunked and hit a 3-pointer to pull the Bills within two and EMU's Glenn Bryant answered with a split pair of free throws. Will Regan corralled an offensive rebound following a Josh Freelove 3-point attempt, but turned it over trying to kick it back out to the perimeter. Mike Talley, who finished with 12 points, iced it with two free throws.

Buffalo (19-10) sank 13 of 27 3-pointers, but went a cold 7 of 30 inside the arc. Freelove hit eight 3's to total 26 points and Regan had 16 with 10 boards.