Final Score: Central Michigan 62, Eastern Michigan 49

Well that will about do it for this one from Cleveland, as Central Michigan takes home the 62-49 victory over Eastern Michigan Tuesday afternoon here in the FirstEnergy Mid-American Conference Tournament opener.

Things got a little "chippy" at the end with a technical fouls being whistled on both sides as emotions ran high between the two rivals.

The Eagles end the season at 8-24 overall and 6-10 in the league. The Chippewas (12-18, 7-9 MAC) will now square off versus second-seeded Ball State University Thursday, March 12, at noon. The game came be seen on Fox Sports Ohio and Fox Sports Detroit - check your local listings for exact channels.

Check EMUEagles.com for the complete recap - and check back tomorrow for action of the women's contest as they take on Miami Wednesday, March 11, at noon

Waning Moments in MAC Opener

A 7-0 run by Eastern cuts the deficit to six, 48-42, but a pair of free throws by CMU combined with an easy layup by Jacolby Hardiman makes the run for naught.

Justin Dobbins heads to the charity stripe for a pair with 5:02 to go - and its 52-44. However, Marcus Vans gets the hoop and the harm down on the other end to expand the advantage to 11 points.

Maybe I Spoke too Soon

Just as quick the CMU lead has ballooned back to 10 points, 43-33. The game has turned into the Robbie Harom show for the Chips, who now has 13 points with 9:26 still to go in the period.

Things Change Quickly...

After trailing by as many as nine points just moments ago, the Eagles have roared back on a 6-0 to pull withing three, 32-29, with 13:08 remaining. Bowdry shot from the top of the key as forces the Chippewas to use another timeout. Central burned the timeouts early to save possessions so CMU with only one remaining with a lot of time still to go.

Second Half Action Underway

Second half action underway here at the Q - Eagles still trailing 32-25 with 15:41 showing on the clock.

Down Five at the Half, 26-21

Central Michigan takes a26-21 advantage into the locker room at the half. CMU had to burn its third timeout of the first half with 33 seconds left. After the timeout CMU tossed the long pass for the easy dunk, but EMU unable to convert in the trip back down the floor.

The Eagles and Chippewas have faced each other the most times in the schools histories. However, this is just the second meeting between the in-state rivals in MAC Tournament history.

Missing the Experience

The unfortunate part of playing these first rounds games in Cleveland instead of campus sites is that you lose the home court advantage and crowd. It is tough for people to make it down on a Tuesday afternoon is tough and that certainly makes for a friends and family crowd. To make matters even worse this year is the MAC decided to keep costs down by not traveling the band, cheerleaders, dance team and mascots until the quarterfinal round.

EMU does have a few rowdy students cheering behind us but other than them it is pretty quiet in here.

On the court, Central shooting the lights out in the early going and are up 18-13 with just about seven minutes to play in the first half.

Underway at the Q

Action is underway here at Quicken Loans Arena in downtown Cleveland. The men's basketball team has the early 6-5 advantage to with 15:17 to go in the first half.

For those of you that can't make it down to the Q - the playing floor sporting a new look in 2009. The old floor which predominately consisted of the color yellow (thanks en large part to the fact the the building's logo is a giant yellow Q) has been replaced by the MAC's new color scheme of green, blue and white.

At mid-court is the giant MAC shield with the MAC athletic logo in the lanes. The area inside the three-point line is now a lighter wood shade than the rest of the court. The word Cleveland runs both baselines and the FirstEnergy logo appears at midcourt near the scorers table as well.

Live From Downtown Cleveland

Live court side from the 2009 Mid-American Conference Basketball Tournament, Greg Steiner and Dan Wyar for the first round of men's basketball action. The Eagles, the 10th seed, take on the MAC West Division co-champions and seventh seeded Central Michigan Chippewas.

Just about 10 minutes to go before tip off and fans are slowly filtering into the Q for a Tuesday afternoon matinee