Western Michigan beats No. Illinois 71-54 in MAC

By The Associated Press

CLEVELAND (AP) Mike Douglas scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half, leading Western Michigan to a 71-54 win over Northern Illinois in the second round of the Mid-American Conference tournament on Wednesday night.

Douglas, one of three senior starters, scored 11 during a decisive 17-1 run as the eighth-seeded Broncos (14-19) opened a 56-38 lead midway through the second half and coasted.

Demetrius Ward added 13 and became the 36th player in Western Michigan history to score 1,000 career points.

The Broncos will meet fourth-seeded Kent State in the quarterfinals Thursday. The Golden Flashes beat the Broncos 78-73 in overtime on Feb. 4.

Tony Nixon scored 11 to lead the 12th-seeded Huskies (5-26), who upset Eastern Michigan, the MAC West's regular-season champion, to advance to Cleveland.

Updated March 7, 2012