• Blog
  • About Us
  • Links
  MAC Reporter Online

Western Michigan fades in second half

11/22/2015

 
WILMINGTON, N.C.- Western Michigan dropped a hard-fought 80-76 loss at defending Colonial Athletic Association champion UNCW on the road Saturday, 80-76.

The Broncos led by 10 in the first half and 45-38 at halftime, but the Seahawks’ pressure in the second half helped UNCW pull out the four-point win in front of a home crowd of 4,019.
Down by eight, 77-69, with 1:45 left, Western Michigan battled to cut the deficit to one with 38 seconds remaining after a three-point play by Thomas Wilder and buckets by Tucker Haymond and Anthony Avery Jr.

Following timeouts from both benches, Avery fouled UNCW’s Devontae Cacock with 18 ticks left on the clock. Cacock made the first of two free throws and Haymond rebounded for WMU on the miss. Down two, Wilder drove the lane with a chance at the game-tying bucket with two seconds remaining. His heavily contested floater in the middle of the lane came off the back iron and the Seahawks' Jordan Talley jumped on the rebound. Talley was immediately fouled and drained a pair of free throws to seal the UNCW win.

“It was a tough loss to take. We knew coming in it was going to be a tough game,” said WMU head coach Steve Hawkins. “We are talking about a team (UNCW) that is used to winning and used to winning in their building.

“We controlled the first half and we were doing what we wanted to do. The story of the game was we lost gap control in the second half. Their guards really started to penetrate and get inside our defense. When our big guys had to come over to help out UNCW was there to tip in missed shots because we weren’t close to our rebounding assignments.

“Thomas saw a good gap he was able to drive into at the end of the game and he had a look. He made a lot of those plays in the first half. They did a good job defending him on the final shot.”

Wilder was able to get to the basket most of the evening, scoring five of WMU’s first seven points and finishing impressive drives in the second half. The Broncos’ sophomore point guard finished with 12 points, a career-high nine rebounds and five assists.

Haymond led Western Michigan with 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Avery was the third Bronco to score in double figures with 14 points, while also collecting five rebounds.

Western Michigan opened the game with a 9-2 lead before the Seahawks started knocking down shots from distance. UNCW scored 15 of its first 17 points off of three’s. The game was tied 23-23 with 9:13 left in the first half and WMU went on a 14-5 run to build a 37-28 advantage. A layup by Wilder gave WMU a 10-point advantage in the final 30 seconds of the first half and UNCW’s Denzel Ingram hit a three at the buzzer to make the score 45-38 at the half.

UNCW pulled ahead, 58-57, with 11:27 left in the game off a turnover that led to a fast break dunk. The Seahawks were able to maintain the lead moving forward. Western Michigan turned the ball over just four times in the first half, but UNCW stepped up its press and forced WMU into 14 second half turnovers.

The Broncos shot 50.9 percent from the floor, however were just 20-for-31 (64.5%) from the free throw line. UNCW shot 38.8 percent from the field with 10 three-pointers and connected on 18 of 25 (72.0%) of its free throw attempts. The Seahawks improved their record to 3-0 with the win.

Western Michigan (1-2) travels back to Michigan on Sunday, then turns around to host Rochester College on Monday, a 7 p.m. tip-off from University Arena. The Broncos are back on the road Nov. 26-29, playing three games in Nashville at the Challenge in the Music City and travel to James Madison on Dec. 3.

(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