• Blog
  • About Us
  • Links
  MAC Reporter Online

Broncos ride free throws, turnovers to win over UT

3/2/2016

 
Picture
KALAMAZOO, Mich.- The Western Michigan Broncos rallied from an 11-point second half deficit to defeat visiting Toledo, 70-64, Tuesday at University Arena.

It was the final home game of the season for the Broncos, who will be on the road for the opening round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament, which begins Monday, March 7 at campus sites.

The contest also marked the final appearance at University Arena for Western Michigan seniors Anthony Avery Jr., Jared Klein and Taylor Perry. All three got the starting nod Tuesday night.
Perry was one of four Broncos to score in double figures, tallying 11 first-half points and 15 points in the game. The 6-5 guard from Rochester, Mich., went 6-for-6 from the free throw line and knocked down a pair of clutch free throws with 20 seconds remaining to extend the Broncos' lead to three. He played a career-high 37 minutes.
​

“The biggest part of the night . . . 

. . . for myself was getting a win on senior night," WMU head coach Steve Hawkins said. "To send these three guys out with a win at home was just tremendous. The seniors played well, Jared gave us good minutes, Anthony was his typical solid self and Perry had what was probably his best game of the year. 

"I thought it was very fitting that Taylor knocked down the two free-throws at the end that were huge for us."

Western Michigan trailed by five at halftime, 33-28, and had to overcome an 11-point deficit established by Toledo (8-9 MAC, 17-13 overall) early in the second half.

After being held to just two points in the first half, WMU sophomore guard Thomas Wilder came up with a number of big plays in the second half. With 5:45 left to go, Wilder converted a layup off a steal to pull WMU in front, 57-56. The Broncos maintained the lead the rest of the way.

Wilder finished with five steals, four coming in the second half, and a team-high 18 points.
Junior forward Tucker Haymond recorded his first career double-double, also pouring in 18 points while grabbing 10 rebounds. Freshman center Seth Dugan chipped in 10 points. Haymond and Wilder each had three assists.

The Broncos shot a lower percentage in the game, connecting on 39.7 percent from the floor, while Toledo hit 46.2 percent. WMU made up the difference at the free-throw line where the team downed 20 of 23 attempts. UT went 11 for 13 from the line.

WMU's defense caused problems for Toledo and was able to lock down during crucial possessions. The Rockets coughed the ball up 23 times, the most for an opponent against the Western Michigan this season. The Broncos meanwhile had just 11 turnovers.

"We did what we had to do and executed the game plan," Hawkins said. "I thought we did a good job on how aggressive we were defensively and we were able to turn our defense into offense.”

Jonathan Williams led Toledo with 21 points, followed by 19 points and nine rebounds from Nathan Boothe. Nate Navigato also had 10 points for the Rockets, who close out their regular season by hosting Toledo Friday night (7 p.m. ET)

Western Michigan takes a 12-18 overall, 6-11 conference record into Friday's regular season finale at Central Michigan. CMU will enter the contest with a 17-13, 10-7 MAC record and will be looking to clinch a West Division title. Tip-off in Mount Pleasant is at 7 p.m.

(Courtesy of WMU Athletics) 

Comments are closed.
    Picture

    MAC Football 

    MAC FOOTBALL 
    2024
    REGULAR SEASON
    FINAL STANDINGS
    CLICK HERE

    Picture
    MAC Basketball 
    MAC BASKETBALL SCHEDULE

    MAC BASKETBALL
    STATISTICS

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Basketball
    Football
    Other

    Archives

    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014

Proudly powered by Weebly