CLEVELAND (AP) -- Demetrius Ward scored 14 points, Flenard Whitfield added 12 and 10 rebounds and Western Michigan advanced in the Mid-American Conference tournament with a 67-56 quarterfinal win over Bowling Green on Thursday.
Whitfield converted a three-point play early in the second half as the second-seeded Broncos (20-11) used a 15-6 burst to pull away from the seventh-seeded Falcons (14-19), who have won only two MAC tourney games since 2005.
The MAC's West champion, Western Michigan will play the Akron-Miami (Ohio) game winner in Friday's first semifinal.
Ward made three 3-pointers in the opening 5 minutes and Western Michigan took advantage of early foul trouble against Bowling Green's A'uston Calhoun. The Falcons' leading scorer picked up three personals in the first 7 minutes and had to sit the rest of the half.
Dee Brown scored 17 points and Mike Dabney 15 for the Falcons.
