The Broncos trailed by one with 16 seconds left in overtime as senior Josh Davis and sophomore Michael Flowers each got off shots to win the game. After a drive to the basket by sophomore Kawanise Wilkins, Davis fired off a three-pointer from the wing that bounced in and out of the basket.
On the missed shot, Wilkins tipped it out to Flowers who got off a floater from free-throw line that bounced off the left side of the rim.
Western Michigan went the last 2:43 in overtime without scoring and missed its last four field goal attempts. In the second half and overtime, there were nine ties and six lead changes.
The game went to overtime after a turnaround floater by Davis to tie the game at 55-55. After a missed shot, the senior guard hauled in the offensive rebound and floated a shot over a defender with 24 seconds remaining. At the end of regulation, Wilkins blocked the shot of Nicholls State’s Kevin Johnson with 1.5 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime.
WMU had three players in double figures and two with double-doubles. Dugan led all scorers with 22 points and collected his fourth double-double of the year with 12 rebounds. Joining Dugan was fellow senior Josh Davis with 10 points and 10 rebounds. It’s the third time this season the senior duo have each recorded a double-double in a game.
Flowers ranked second on the team with 17 points to go along with seven rebounds, one assist and one steal. The Southfield, Mich., native was 7-of-13 from the field and scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half.
As a team, the Broncos outshot Nicholls State, shooting 40.7 percent from the field compared to the Colonels 34.8 percent. WMU outrebounded Nicholls State, 44-35 and had 13 second-chance points compared to just two by the Colonels.
At the Emerald Coast Classic, the Broncos went 1-1 with a victory over Southern University on Friday. With the loss, WMU now has an overall record of 4-3 and will receive a week off before playing its next game at home on Dec. 1 against USC Upstate.
Western Michigan prevailed with a stifling defense in the first half, holding Nicholls State to just 21.4 percent shooting from the field. The Brown & Gold held a 12-6 advantage halfway through the first half as Nicholls State committed four turnovers in three minutes of play.
A corner three-pointer by Davis with three minutes left in the first gave WMU a double-digit lead at 25-14 as the Colonels went nearly seven minutes without a field goal. Through the final six minutes of play, Nicholls State went just 1-of-10 from the field as the Broncos took a 27-19 lead into halftime.
Early in the second half, WMU got five straight points from freshman Adrian Martin to gain a 35-27 lead with 15 minutes remaining. However, Nicholls State combated with an 8-0 run to tie the game at 35-35. Ultimately the Colonels went on a 12-2 run to earn their first lead of the game at 39-37 at the midway point of the second half.
From that point on, it was back and forth as neither team led by more than three with the Colonels holding on to a 55-53 lead with 1:20 left after a deep three-pointer from Gavin Peppers. With 24 seconds left, Davis grabbed his only offensive rebound of the game and put it back up to tie the game at 55 before a defensive stand sent the game to overtime.
To begin overtime, Dugan got the Bronco offense going with six straight points to hold a 61-58 lead with two minutes remaining. Nicholls State controlled the ball and trailed by one with under 30 seconds left before Peppers’ drove baseline and got up a shot over the outstretched hands of Dugan that went in for the game-winner with 16.9 seconds left.
Western Michigan had two opportunities to win the game in the final seconds as Davis and Flowers got off shots that bounced off the rim.
(Courtesy of WMU Athletics)