CLEVELAND – Shayne Whittington scored 23 points and Western Michigan pulled away from Eastern Michigan 70-55 in the quarterfinals of the Mid-American Conference tournament Thursday night.
The third-seeded Broncos (20-11), who led 36-32 at intermission, made 17 of 21 free throws in the second half compared to the seventh-seeded Eagles' 3 of 3.
Darius Paul added 14 points, David Brown 12 and Brandon Pokley 11 for Western Michigan, which plays No. 2 seed Ohio in Friday's semifinals.
Eastern Michigan (16-18), which defeated 10th-seeded Northern Illinois and 11th-seeded Miami (Ohio) in the first two rounds, led by six before the Broncos closed the first half with a 13-3 run.
Western Michigan pushed the lead to 10, but the Eagles climbed back to 50-49 on Jamell Harris' dunk with 8:31 left.
The Broncos then used an 8-0 spurt to end the threat.
Daylen Harrison's 14 points and Da'Shonte Riley's 10 rebounds led Eastern Michigan.
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