• Blog
  • About Us
  • Links
  MAC Reporter Online

Strong second half shooting carries Broncos past CMU

2/20/2016

 
Picture
KALAMAZOO, Mich.- Western Michigan shot 56.5 percent from the floor, including 64.3 percent in the second half, to put away rival Central Michigan, 92-85, Saturday in front of a crowd of 3,869 at University Arena.

In a Mid-American Conference thriller, the Broncos trailed by four at halftime, 44-40, and went on to outscore the Chippewas 52-41 in the second half. With the game tied 77-77 with 2:30 left to play, the Broncos went on a critical 10-0 run. WMU hit 8 of its 10 free throws in the final 38 seconds.


With the victory, Western Michigan improved . . .

. . . to 46-13 all-time against its West Division counterpart from Mount Pleasant. Head coach Steve Hawkins improved to 19-7 against the Chippewas.

"It's a tremendous feeling to come up with a win, especially in a rivalry game," Hawkins said. "We have been playing pretty good basketball and finally found a way to close this one out today. I think we are gaining a little more in confidence and execution."

Four players scored in double figures for the Broncos, led by sophomore point guard Thomas Wilder's game-high 26 points. Wilder also dished out a career-high seven assists and had four rebounds. 

Western Michigan tied its season low with six turnovers and dished out 17 assists as a team.

Junior forward Tucker Haymond totaled 19 points and seven rebounds, bringing his career scoring total to 994.

Sophomore center Drake LaMont was a huge factor down low WMU, recording 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting. Freshman guard Bryce Moore chipped in 10 points and senior Anthony Avery Jr. tallied nine points and seven rebounds. 

With Western Michigan leading by five with 14 seconds left to play, Avery sank a pair of clutch free throws. He  also grabbed four key rebounds in the final three minutes of the game.

"We established the inside game early, and Anthony pulled down a couple man-sized rebounds -- the one you have to have." Hawkins said.

"At the final media timeout, I told the team 'closing-time'. We hadn't done that, gotten that big stop, the big rebound and knocked down free throws."

Western Michigan improves to 11-16 on the season and 5-9 in the MAC. Central Michigan's record fell to 14-13 and 7-7 in the MAC.

The Chippewas shot 47.0 percent from the floor and were 13-for-31 from behind the arc. Chris Fowler had a team-high 22 points for CMU. Joining him in double figures were Braylon Rayson (18), Luke Meyer (13), Rayshawn Simmons (10) and DaRohn Scott (10).

"There is room for improvement but we have four games left to play and they are all against the West Division, with three of the four on the road," Hawkins said. "We are going to have to develop some road toughness and some road patience, some road aggression."
 
NEXT:
Northern Illinois at Central Michigan (Tuesday, 7 p.m. ET)
Western Michigan at Eastern Michigan (Tuesday, 7 p.m. ET)

(Courtesy of WMU Athletics)
 

Comments are closed.
    Picture

    MAC Football 

    UPCOMING GAMES
    All times Eastern

    ​

    MAC FOOTBALL STANDINGS
    -- Final - 2022 -- 
    MAC EAST
    OHIO 7-1
    BUFFALO 5-3
    BOWLING GREEN 5-3

    MIAMI 4-4
    KENT STATE 4-4
    AKRON 1-7

    MAC WEST
    TOLEDO 5-3

    EASTERN MICHIGAN 5-3
    WESTERN MICHIGAN 4-4
    ​BALL STATE 3-5
    CENTRAL MICHIGAN 3-5

    NORTHERN ILLINOIS 2-6

    MAC Basketball 
    MAC BASKETBALL SCHEDULE
    CLICK HERE

    ​





    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Basketball
    Football
    Other

    Archives

    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