The Associated Press

Central Michigan continues to press Bowling Green for supremacy in the Mid-American Conference West Division, while defending league champion Kent State has taken over first place in the East.

The Falcons (9-5, 5-1) maintained their half-game lead over the Chippewas (11-3, 4-1) by defeating Akron 74-60 Saturday. John Reimold paced Bowling Green with 21 points and Cory Ryan added 17, with 15 coming on 5-of-9 3-point shooting.

Two of Ryan's 3s came in a 16-7 spurt that gave the Falcons a 51-42 lead with 6:45 remaining.

The Zips (7-6, 2-2) never got closer than six points after that as Bowling Green hit 12-of-14 free throws over the final 2:03.

After shooting 47 percent in the first half, the Falcons upped their percentage to 54 and stayed aggressive defensively after halftime to get a win that kept them atop the standings.

"Even though we started out the way we did, I thought we played well defensively for 40 minutes," Falcons coach Dan Dakich said. "We told them every timeout, 'Stay with the defense, stay with the defense, and the offense will come.'"

Central Michigan kept pace with Bowling Green behind Chris Kaman, who had a career-high 31 points, 13 rebounds and made 15-of-16 free throws to lead in a 97-73 victory over Buffalo.

J.R. Wallace added 21 points and Mike Manciel scored 15 for the Chippewas (11-3, 4-1), who have won four straight.

Roderick Middleton scored 18 points for the Bulls (3-11, 0-5), the only MAC team that hasn't won a league game since Ball State beat Toledo 77-72 on Saturday.

Matt McCollom scored a career-high 29 points, including a 3-pointer that put the Cardinals (6-9, 1-4) ahead for good 70-69 with 1:48 remaining.

"This feels great," McCollom said. "Finally we put it together and we all got on the same page."

Nick Moore led the Rockets (8-7, 2-3) with 23 points and Keith Triplett added 18.

In the East, Kent State and Marshall changed places atop the East Division when the Golden Flashes knocked off the Thundering Herd 71-58 Saturday night.

John Edwards got four of his 12 points on a jumper and dunk in a 9-0 run that gave Kent State (11-2, 4-1) a 55-46 lead.

"Offensively, we need consistent scoring from the post, but I'm not a go-to-guy," Edwards said. "I struggled at the beginning, but the guys and coach stuck with me."

Antonio Gates led Kent State with 19 points and Eric Haut had 15. Ronald Blackshear topped the Thundering Herd (8-5, 4-2) with 22 points.

Chet Mason had 22 points and six steals, and Juby Johnson added 19 points as Miami of Ohio beat Ohio 77-65, ending an eight-game road losing streak.

Mason hit a 3-pointer and got two layups off steals in a 9-0 run that put the RedHawks (5-9, 3-2) ahead 48-41 with 13:45 remaining.

After the Bobcats (4-9, 1-4) pulled to 52-50 on Steve Esterkamp's 3-pointer, Mason hit two 3s and a dunk following another steal to push Miami's lead back to 10.

"We created 17 turnovers and a lot of those turned into layups," Miami coach Charlie Coles said.

It was the third consecutive loss and second straight defeat at home for the Bobcats, who received a tongue-lashing from coach Tim O'Shea after a 68-61 setback to Northern Illinois on Wednesday night.

O'Shea, who questioned his players' effort after that game, was more amenable after the loss to the RedHawks.

Yet a team that has senior leadership from Brandon Hunter, who had 26 points and 16 rebounds against Miami, Esterkamp and Sonny Johnson just can't seem to gel.

"Sonny, Brandon and Steve had some high expectations going into this season. Obviously, it's not working out like they thought it would. If there's any heat to be directed, it should be directed at the coach," O'Shea said.

Marcus Smallwood had 24 points and 18 rebounds as Northern Illinois got back to .500 by beating Eastern Michigan 88-79.

Todd Peterson made five 3-pointers and added 19 points for the Huskies (8-8, 4-2). Markus Austin led the Eagles (7-6, 1-3) with 21 points.