BOX SCORE

KALAMAZOO -- Andre Ricks had a game-high 17 points and three steals to lead Western Michigan over Tri-State, 94-54, in its lone 2007-08 exhibition game in front of 2,088 at University Areana Thursday night.

With four turnovers in the first five minutes of the game and trailing by nine, 18-9, the Brown and Gold turned the game around behind the shooting of Ricks. He hit the first of three three-pointers, followed by another jumper that ignited a 16-0 run that put the Broncos up for good, 25-18. 

The Thunder hung around, but four straight WMU free throws in the final 90 seconds gave the Broncos the lead at halftime, 44-31. 

The team's traded baskets to start the second half, but the Broncos' defense would not allow Tri-State to come back. The Thunder didn't score their 10th point of the half until the 7:59 mark. In the meantime, WMU put 33 points on the board to go up by 36, 77-41. 

Tri-State was only able to shoot 28.6 percent for the game and just 18.2 percent in the second half. They made only 6-of-25 behind the arc, while the Broncos shot 46.1 percent and knocked down nine three-pointers.

Sophomores David Kool and Martelle McLemore scored 14 points and junior Shawntes Gary added 10 points as all 13 members of the Broncos contributed to the score. The Broncos depth showed as the bench contributed 53 points. 

Sophomore Donald Lawson led the Brown and Gold in rebounds with eight along with seven points, three blocks and two steals, followed by seniors Joe Reitz and Andrew Hershberger with seven rebounds. Freshman Juston Hairston had six rebounds, three offensive, in his first action wearing a Western Michigan jersey.

The Broncos dominated on the glass with a 54-31 rebounding advantage that led to 26 second-chance points. The Broncos also forced 24 turnovers that resulted in 32 points, many of them on the fastbreak where WMU scored 23 points. 

Junior Andre Patrick led the Thunder with 14 points and six rebounds followed by junior Tony Benford with 12 points and six rebounds.

Western Michigan travels to Oregon for the World Vision Invitational this weekend to take on Pacific, Pepperdine and No. 13 Oregon. The Broncos open against the Tigers on Sat., Nov. 10 at 9:30 p.m. 

QUOTES

Andre Ricks

(On getting to start the season at off-guard)
"I'm comfortable in that role because I've practiced at that role a lot. Since last year, coach moved me over to the off-guard and I've been studying the habits of off-guards and watching a lot of film. My teammates do a good job of helping me. Having the experience (at that position) is a big thing. Now I'm more comfortable, I know what coach expects from me, which is not just scoring, but defending, picking up the ball. I'm kind of used to it now."

David Kool

(On the game)
"We take a lot of things out of this game, especially on the defensive side of the ball we've got to get a lot better. Me personally and everybody else. You've got to look at the positives too, but mostly the negatives and just realize you have to get better. We came out and played a lot better in the second half and learned from our mistakes and we just have to continue to do that."

Juston Hairston

(On his first game action)
"Every freshman is nervous. We're all new to this, but I've got a great team behind me. All the players were rooting for me. Basically, I just came into the game thinking I have to get to the boards, get defensive stops. I wasn't thinking about scoring. I just wanted to help my team anyway I could."

(On playing on a veteran team as the only true freshman)
It's great because I can learn from everybody, from the points to the centers. They all know what they are doing, it's a great team."

Head Coach Steve Hawkins

(On the game)
"I thought that we looked like I (expected). It looked like the first exhibition game. We came out a little shaky at the beginning, but we settled down with every possession. In the second half, we only had three turnovers and shot better. We were just much more comfortable. All in all, I thought it was a very productive night. The strength of this team is going to be in our depth. It was evident tonight."

(On Andre Ricks)
"This is the first time on Nov. 1 that he's been an off guard. Every other Nov. 1 he was a point guard. All of his reps through preseason has been at the off guard position, which I think has been very beneficial for him. I think that's really helped him settle into it. What he really is, is a very good off-guard in a point guard's body. He's also a tremendous on-the-ball defensive player. He made a couple of very good decisions earlier in the night that I thought showed great maturity. His maturation continues to come and I was very pleased with him tonight."

(On Juston Hairston)
"What you saw out of Juston tonight is what we see everyday. He's got raw ability. As soon as we can get him enough practice reps to figure out where he is suppose to be. He goes to the wrong place a lot, but he goes there hard and that's a big thing for him. It's much better to do it that way than the other way around. It's our job as a coaching staff to get him in the right place, using the right technique and that will come with time."