The game came down to the final seconds of overtime when WMU came up with a key stop. Central held . . .
On the ensuing inbound, CMU’s Kevin McKay’s buzzer-beating shot bounced off the right side of the rim as the raucous crowd of nearly 3,000 inside University Arena erupted.
The Broncos grabbed a one-point lead in OT with 14 seconds left after senior guard Thomas Wilder drove to the hoop and converted on the and-one to put the Western up two. He scored 11 of WMU’s 14 points in overtime.
Wilder nearly recorded a triple-double against the Chippewas, finishing with a game-high 22 points along with 10 rebounds and nine assists. Wilder was 6-of-13 from the field and a perfect 9-of-9 from the free-throw line. The senior guard has now made 22 straight free-throws and is just 30 points away from reaching 2,000 career points.
WMU trailed by two with one minute left in OT before sophomore Reggie Jones connected on a three-pointer from the right corner to give the Broncos the lead.
With the victory, WMU improves its overall record to 16-12 and 8-7 in Mid-American Conference play. It’s a quick turnaround for the Broncos playing on Friday, Feb. 23 on ESPN2 against MAC West foe Ball State at 9:00 p.m.
Junior Bryce Moore was the Broncos second leading scorer with 17 points on a career-high five three-pointers. Moore in the past two games has been an offensive spark for WMU scoring 32 points on 8-of-17 shooting from long distance.
After leading 39-33 heading into halftime, the Chippewas clawed their way back in the second half to tie the game with one-minute remaining.
With under 30 seconds left in the game, CMU had a chance to tie the game at 69 before Roundtree’s pass was stolen by Jones who was fouled and headed to the free-throw line. With 10 seconds left, Jones missed the front end of a one-and-one with CMU racing down the court and drawing a foul with five seconds remaining.
Once CMU made both free-throws, the Broncos quickly moved up the court with Wilder getting off a shot from the right wing that fell just short. It was WMU’s first overtime game of the season while it was the third OT game for Central Michigan.
NEXT:
Both teams will be on the road in Friday night games. Central visits Toledo (6:30 p.m.), while Western takes on a hot Ball State squad in Muncie (9 p.m.)
NOTES:
- Sophomore Kevin McKay and junior Shaun Roundtree led CMU with 18 apiece. David DiLeo was one bck at 17, while Cecil Williams notched 10 points.
- WMU Sophomore Brandon Johnson recorded his second double-double of the season on Tuesday with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Johnson was 5-of-11 from the field while also tying his career-high with three blocks.
- Johnson and Wilder become the first Bronco duo to register double digit rebounds since Johnson and senior Drake LaMont did so against Marygrove last season.
- Off the bench, sophomore Reggie Jones poured in 10 points with four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Junior Seth Dugan continued his stellar play off the bench as well producing four points and five rebounds.
- Western Michigan outrebounded CMU, 44-39 and held a 13-9 advantage on the offensive glass. CMU outshot WMU from the field, 41.2 percent to 40.5 percent but the Broncos got hot in overtime, shooting 80 percent compared to CMU’s 55.6 percent.