National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Western Michigan 98, Toledo 77
When: 6:30 PM ET, Saturday, March 15, 2014
Where: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Officials: # D.J. Carstensen, # Bill Ek, # Glenn Mayborg
Attendance: 5278

Western Michigan 98, Toledo 77: David Brown scored a career-high 32 points to lead the Broncos to the Mid-American Conference championship in Cleveland and their first NCAA tournament trip since 2004.

Shayne Whittington recorded 20 points and 13 rebounds while Tucker Haymond contributed 21 and nine for top-seeded Western Michigan (23-9), which has won 12 of its last 13 games. Connar Tava added 13 points and was 5-for-5 from the field while adding five rebounds as the Broncos won the battle of the boards 46-27.

Rian Pearson scored 24 points and Julius Brown added 22 as Toledo (27-6), which set a program record for wins in a season, was denied in its bid to reach the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1980. Justin Drummond added eight points and six rebounds for the Rockets.

David Brown and Pearson recorded 16 points and three 3-pointers apiece as Western Michigan led by as many as 10 before settling for a 42-40 lead at the break. The Broncos opened the second half with an 11-4 run - capped by Tava's three-point play - and led 70-60 after Brown's 3-pointer with 8:06 remaining.

Toledo got to within nine with 5:47 left before Whittington's alley-oop dunk off a feed from Tava finished a 12-5 run and gave Western Michigan an 86-70 lead. Back-to-back dunks by Whittington and Haymond put the icing on the Broncos' fourth straight victory and helped them shoot 67.8 percent from the field in the second half.

GAME NOTEBOOK: David Brown, who has scored in double figures for 37 straight games, finished as the MAC's leading scorer at 19.4 points per game. ... The teams, who each finished 14-4 in the MAC's West Division, exchanged 11-point victories at home during the regular season, with Toledo's coming in overtime. ... Western Michigan erased an 18-point deficit in the second half to defeat Akron 64-60 in overtime in Friday's semifinals.
Top Game Performances
 
Toledo   Western Michigan
Rian Pearson 24 Scoring David Brown 32
Julius Brown 5 Assists Austin Richie 4
Justin Drummond 6 Rebounds Shayne Whittington 13
Julius Brown 5 Free Throws Made David Brown 9
Julius Brown 4 Steals Austin Richie 1
Nathan Boothe 3 Blocks Shayne Whittington 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Toledo 77 40.0 8-24 13-21 12 25 6 6 4
Western Michigan 98 55.7 9-19 21-28 15 41 3 2 10