KALAMAZOO, Mich.- The Western Michigan Broncos won their fourth game in a row and fifth in their last six contests as the Broncos defeated visiting Eastern Michigan, 88-80, Saturday at University Arena.
After starting Mid-American Conference play 2-6, the Broncos have evened their league record at .500. They are 7-7 in the conference, 11-15 overall and are one game out of first place in the MAC West Division. WMU also raised its home record to 10- this season.
"We played five of our . . .
After starting Mid-American Conference play 2-6, the Broncos have evened their league record at .500. They are 7-7 in the conference, 11-15 overall and are one game out of first place in the MAC West Division. WMU also raised its home record to 10- this season.
"We played five of our . . .
. . . first eight MAC games on the road and took our lumps early with some close losses," head coach Steve Hawkins said. "We knew if we could get to this stretch and still be in good shape - physically and mentally, we had a chance to get ourselves right back in it."
Hawkins has lost only once to Eastern Michigan at home in 14 seasons. That was back in 2012.
Senior Tucker Haymond led the Broncos, recording a double-double for the second-straight game, totaling 26 points and 10 rebounds. In Tuesday's 89-79 win over Bowling Green, Haymond had 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Junior Thomas Wilder finished with 14 points, half of those coming at the free throw line. Freshman Reggie Jones had 10 points, five assists and four rebounds.
Freshmen guards Jarrin Randall (9 points) and Jared Printy (6 points) came off the bench to knock down some big shots from deep against Eastern Michigan's patented 2-3 zone. The two were a combined 5-for-5 from behind the arc and neither committed a turnover.
"Those two epitomize the growth in our team," Hawkins said. "If you look back at the Eastern game when we played at their place (on Jan. 17, an 86-80 WMU loss) and to where we are now, we're just a different team."
Western Michigan led 43-36 at intermission and outscored EMU by one point in the second period. The Eagles pulled within four, 48-44, at the start of the second half before the Broncos elevated their lead back up to 13 points, 59-46, with 14:41 remaining. WMU's lead never dropped below seven points from there and remained in double digits much of the rest of the game.
The Broncos shot 50.9 percent from the field and had more free throw makes than Eastern Michigan did attempts. WMU went 24-for-32 at the free-throw line, while the Eagles were a meager 12-for-21.
Ray Lee paced Eastern Michigan (13-14, 5-9 MAC) with a game-high 27 points. Ty Toney and James Thompson IV each scored 13 points. Thompson entered the game averaging 11 rebounds per game and WMU, however, held Thompson to three defensive rebounds.
(Courtesy of WMU Athletics)
Hawkins has lost only once to Eastern Michigan at home in 14 seasons. That was back in 2012.
Senior Tucker Haymond led the Broncos, recording a double-double for the second-straight game, totaling 26 points and 10 rebounds. In Tuesday's 89-79 win over Bowling Green, Haymond had 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Junior Thomas Wilder finished with 14 points, half of those coming at the free throw line. Freshman Reggie Jones had 10 points, five assists and four rebounds.
Freshmen guards Jarrin Randall (9 points) and Jared Printy (6 points) came off the bench to knock down some big shots from deep against Eastern Michigan's patented 2-3 zone. The two were a combined 5-for-5 from behind the arc and neither committed a turnover.
"Those two epitomize the growth in our team," Hawkins said. "If you look back at the Eastern game when we played at their place (on Jan. 17, an 86-80 WMU loss) and to where we are now, we're just a different team."
Western Michigan led 43-36 at intermission and outscored EMU by one point in the second period. The Eagles pulled within four, 48-44, at the start of the second half before the Broncos elevated their lead back up to 13 points, 59-46, with 14:41 remaining. WMU's lead never dropped below seven points from there and remained in double digits much of the rest of the game.
The Broncos shot 50.9 percent from the field and had more free throw makes than Eastern Michigan did attempts. WMU went 24-for-32 at the free-throw line, while the Eagles were a meager 12-for-21.
Ray Lee paced Eastern Michigan (13-14, 5-9 MAC) with a game-high 27 points. Ty Toney and James Thompson IV each scored 13 points. Thompson entered the game averaging 11 rebounds per game and WMU, however, held Thompson to three defensive rebounds.
(Courtesy of WMU Athletics)
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