Ball St. 67, N. Illinois 57

Jesse Berry scored 17 points as Ball State beat Northern Illinois 67-57 Saturday to claim the No. 4 seed and a first-round bye in next week's Mid-American Conference tournament.

Jauwan Scaife added 16 points and Jarrod Jones had 15 for the Cardinals (18-12, 10-6), who grabbed an early 15-4 advantage and led by double digits the rest of the way.

Tim Toler scored 17 points to lead the Huskies (9-20, 5-11), who are the No. 10 seed and will play at seventh-seeded Bowling Green in the first round Tuesday.

Berry scored 11 straight points, including three 3-pointers, during an 18-2 first-half run. Tyrae Robinson capped the run with a 3 to give Ball State its largest lead, 29-6, with 7:50 left in the first half.