OXFORD, Ohio- Freshman Reggie Jones pumped in a career-high 26 points and grabbed six rebounds, leading the Western Michigan men's basketball team to a 72-55 road victory at Miami Tuesday night.
The Broncos have now won five in-a-row against Miami in Oxford, dating back to 2011, and 6 of last 7 all-time meetings against the RedHawks.
"It feels awfully good," said WMU head coach Steve Hawkins. "Obviously we have struggled on the road. There have been times when we have played well and haven't come up with the win, but tonight, we packed our defense in our suitcase.
"Reggie was really feeling it on a night where we were really struggling offensively. Thomas (Wilder) couldn't get his shot to drop, Bryce (Moore) had some looks, Tucker (Haymond) had some looks and couldn't get them to go. Reggie had everything going and we really needed it. He carried us through the first half."
The Broncos held a slight 28-24 halftime advantage behind 13 points from Jones. All 10 dressed scholarship players saw action for WMU in the first half (sophomore Josh Davis did not dress due to illness).
Both offensives were slow to get going in the opening half, neither shooting better than 38 percent and going a combined 1-for-12 from behind the arc.
WMU continued its grind and began to pull away midway through the second half. Haymond buried a wide-open 3-pointer from the top of the key to give the Broncos their first double-digit lead, 51-40, with 9:04 left. Wilder then hit a dagger with five minutes remaining, banking in a three to push WMU's lead to 62-44.
Seth Dugan also came up big, tallying 13 points and seven rebounds, scoring eight of those points on offensive putbacks. Wilder checked out with 18 points, doing so in a quiet manner as 11 came at the free throw line.
Miami leading scorer Michael Weathers was called for a technical foul, which also resulted in his fifth personal, and fouled out with 6:09 left in the game. Weathers entered the contest averaging 17 ppg and finished with four Tuesday.
The win was WMU's first on the road this season. The Broncos' record stands at 4-7 in the Mid-American Conference, 8-15 overall. Miami falls to 9-15 overall and 2-9 in the MAC.
Western Michigan returns to Kalamazoo for three-straight home games and closes out the regular season with five of its last seven at home. The Broncos host Northern Illinois this Saturday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. WMU then has Bowling Green at home on Feb. 14 and Eastern Michigan on Feb. 18.
