The Broncos led for . . .
WMU was stellar on the defensive end on Tuesday night, holding Eastern Michigan to just 33.9 percent from the field and just 4-of-20 from behind the three-point line. The Brown & Gold forced EMU to commit 13 turnovers on the night, scoring 16 points off of Eagle mistakes.
Offensively WMU had three score in double figures, led by redshirt junior Brandon Johnson with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Johnson registered his sixth double-double of the season and has now scored in double figures in each of the last six games. The Chicago, Ill., native was 4-of-11 from the field against the Eagles and was 12-of-14 from the free-throw line.
Behind Johnson was junior Michael Flowers with 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting from the field with two three-pointers. Flowers also had three rebounds and matched his career-high with seven assists.
Rounding out the trio of double digit scorers was junior Rafael Cruz Jr. with 10 points off the bench. In 21 minutes Cruz Jr. was 4-of-7 from the field with two three-pointers to go along with two rebounds and two assists.
Freshman B. Artis White scored nine points on three three-pointers while matching his career-high with six rebounds. It was the highest scoring total for White since having 14 back on Feb. 1 versus Central Michigan.
In their final regular season games inside University Arena, seniors Jared Printy and Adida Ikongshul got into the scoring column. Making his first career start, Ikongshul scored two points to go along with two rebounds in five minutes of action. Printy in his 18th career start scored four points with two rebounds.
As a team Western Michigan shot 40.7 percent from the field and 18-of-25 from the free-throw line. The Broncos outrebounded Eastern Michigan, 41-37 and had 16 fast break points to EMU’s 11.
The win marked WMU’s second in a row and improved its overall record to 13-17 and 6-11 in Mid-American Conference play.
It was a slow start for both teams as WMU and EMU went a combined 1-of-11 from the field through the first five minutes’ play. The Broncos gained the lead at the 15:50 mark after Flowers knocked down a three in transition for a 3-2 advantage after the first media timeout.
The two teams traded baskets through the midway point of the first half as a lay-up by freshman Chase Barrs with 9:23 gave the Broncos a 14-10 lead. Eastern Michigan tied the game up at 16-16 with 7:40 remaining after WMU was held scoreless from the field for nearly three minutes.
To end the first half, the Bronco offense caught fire embarking on a 10-4 run with four points coming from Brandon Johnson to earn a 31-27 lead heading into the locker room. In the first half WMU shot just 37 percent from the field but was 7-of-8 from the free-throw line.
The second half saw a flurry of points from both teams as freshman B. Artis White knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to give WMU a 41-36 lead with 16:15 left to play. White’s back-to-back triples began a stretch of four straight made field goals for the Broncos as WMU widened its lead to 46-39 with just under 14 minutes remaining.
Both offenses stalled during the midway point of the second half as WMU and EMU went a combined 1-of-7 from the field en route to WMU gaining a 50-41 advantage. The Eagles got to within seven at the seven-minute mark prior to Rafael Cruz Jr. making two straight from long distance to give the Brown & Gold a double-digit lead.
The two threes from Cruz Jr. sparked an 8-0 run for WMU and gave the Broncos a 60-48 advantage with five minutes remaining. The Bronco defense came to life late, forcing EMU to miss its final five field goals while holding the Eagles scoreless from the field the final three minutes to secure the 70-54 victory.
(Courtesy WMU Athletics)