Cleveland, home of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, was jamming this past week as the men’s MAC Tournament was played.

In the matchups that went down on Monday, No. 4 NIU trounced 13 seeded Buffalo 75-53 in DeKalb. The win advanced the Huskies to the second round for the first time since rejoining the MAC.

Senior guard Jay Bates made sure the game was not his last as a Huskie by scoring 24 points, 18 in the first half.

In an upset, 12th seeded Toledo soared to Cleveland by nipping Western Michigan 64-62. The Rockets’ trio of guards combined for 51 points led by Keith Triplett who went on to guarantee a win over the Huskies.

However, the Huskies were able to advance with a 10-point win. Triplett was held to just seven points.

“Sometimes you gotta fire up your team,” Triplett explained. “I gave the Huskies bulletin board material, and they used that to their advantage. Give credit to them.”

On the lower end of the bracket, Akron has advanced to face Miami. Even with the extra time to prepare, the RedHawks were unable to come away victorious.

“We knew that Miami would be tough to score against,” Hollingsworth said. “We have a great offense though, and we take great pride in it. This win doesn’t surprise us; we feel we are rolling at the right time.”

In Kent State’s game, the Golden Flashes’ Antonio Gates hit two free throws with 1.4 seconds left to bring his team one step closer toward repeating as MAC champs with a 73-72 victory over Ball State.

Central Michigan center Chris Kaman was contained with eight points and six rebounds, but six Chippewas scored in double figures capping off Ohio’s disappointing season by beating the Bobcats 82-73.

Akron’s Cinderella run ended in the next round as Kent State’s experience won over, 82-74.

As for NIU, its spectacular season came to an end as the Chippewas beat the Huskies for the third time this year in the tournament’s most exciting game. The contest came down to the last possession, but CMU’s Kaman blocked the game-winning runner attempt by Perry Smith.

The Chippewas took that momentum into the championship where they were able to defeat defending champ Kent State, 67-62.

When the buzzer sounded, CMU senior guard J.R. Wallace hopped onto the scorer’s table and let out a scream.

“We aren’t done yet; we’re just getting started, baby!”

The results of that are yet to be seen.