The shooting woes began early for the Broncos, going just 7-of-23 from the field in the first half. From the free-throw line through the first 20 minutes of play, the Broncos were 11-of-22 and had just four three-pointers.
In the second half, WMU improved its shooting from the free-throw line going 9-of-11 but shot just 36.4 percent from the floor. The Cincinnati offense for the game shot 46.9 percent from the floor to go along with 76.5 percent from the free-throw line and five three-pointers.
For the third game in a row, sophomore Michael Flowers recorded a new career-high with 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field. The Southfield, Mich., native also led the Broncos with seven rebounds and six assists.
It’s the third straight game that Flowers has scored in double figures and over the past three games is averaging 18.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. Flowers becomes the first Broncos since Thomas Wilder vs Ohio on Feb. 10, 2018 to lead the team in points, rebounds and assists.
Scoring in double figures for the fourth time this season was senior Seth Dugan with 12 points to go along with five rebounds. Dugan was just 3-of-6 from the floor while being 6-of-14 from the free-throw line. The Otsego, Mich., native also had two blocks, two steals and one assist.
Senior Josh Davis played 32 minutes for the Brown & Gold, registering seven points along with one assist and two rebounds. Off the bench, freshman Patrick Emilien scored just one point but had three rebounds while fellow freshman Adrian Martin had four rebounds.
The loss drops WMU’s overall record to 3-2 and snaps its early two-game win streak. The Broncos now travel to Florida for two games at the Emerald Coast Classic, Nov. 23-24. WMU opens up with a match-up against Southern University on Friday, Nov. 23 before taking on either North Carolina Central or Nicholls State on Saturday.
The Broncos got off to a slow start to begin the game as WMU committed five turnovers in the first four minutes while the Bearcats embarked on a 13-0 run to take a 17-3 lead. Cincinnati’s run continued, ultimately embarking on a 20-1 run to take a 24-4 lead at the halfway point of the first. Trailing by 20 the Broncos began mounting a comeback late in the first half.
WMU went on a 9-2 run to cut the deficit down to 14 after back-to-back three-pointers from Davis and junior Jared Printy. It was then Flowers who carried the Bronco offense, scoring five straight points to cut the Cincinnati lead down to 34-22 with three minutes to go in the half. However, down the stretch WMU went scoreless from the field as the Bearcats took a 43-29 lead into halftime.
Western Michigan started off quick in the second half, cashing in on its first three field goal attempts to cut Cincinnati’s lead to 49-35 at the 17-minute mark. From that point on the Brown & Gold offense went cold, missing its next 10 field goal attempts as Cincinnati extended its lead to 65-40.
Down the stretch, a corner three by Printy highlighted a late 10-2 run for the Broncos to cut the deficit down to 17 with four minutes remaining. The late run was not enough to keep up with the Cincinnati offense as the Bearcats pulled away for the 78-52 victory.