BOX SCORE

KALAMAZOO -- Shawntes Gary connected on two dunks to add the exclamation point in Western Michigan's (13-9, 7-2 MAC) 20-point victory, 86-66, over Akron (16-6, 6-3 MAC) Wednesday night at University ?rena in front of 2,733. Western Michigan continues to share the lead in the Mid-American Conference with Kent State at 7-2.

Akron was first on the board scoring a three-pointer from Nate Linhart but an Andrew Hershberger layup sent the Broncos on a 7-0 run with 17:09 remaining in the first half. The Zips fought back and took the lead after a layup from Steve McNees, 10-9, but after a shot from behind the arc from Derek Drews followed by Andre Ricks, the Broncos went on a 14-0 run, 23-10, with 9:45 remaining and the Broncos would never lose the lead the rest of the game.

Akron was able to connect on 3-for-4 free throws during their 8:11 field-goal drought until a jumper from Nick Dials brought the Zips within 16 points, 31-15, with 7:17 remaining in the half.

Both teams traded baskets until a three-pointer from Dials was the last to score before half time with the Broncos ahead 14 points, 47-33.

Gary was the first on the board after the half, scoring four straight points followed by a Joe Reitz layup until the Zips' game-high scorer, Chris McKnight, was able to connect on a shot from behind the arc, 55-38, with 16:25 remaining in the game.

After another layup from Reitz, Akron responded with their own 14-3 run sending the Broncos into a 6:08 field-goal drought, 58-49, until Reitz added a layup to bring the Broncos back into a double-digit lead with 10:31 remaining.

Once more the teams traded baskets until David Kool added a three-point play, sending the Broncos on a 10-2 run, 74-56, with 4:43 remaining in the game. The Brown and Gold were the last to add to the scoreboard after Gary added his second dunk followed by a layup by Kool, 86-66.

Reitz added his fourth double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds, Drews had 14 points shooting 4-for-5 from behind the arc, Kool had 13 points with a career-high eight assists and with three makes in the game stretched his current streak to 29 consecutive made free throws and Gary added 11 points with six rebounds.

Western Michigan travels to Ohio to take on the Bobcats Saturday, Feb. 9 at 2:30 p.m. on FSN Ohio.

QUOTES

Akron head coach Keith Dambrot

(On the game) "WMU just beat us up physically tonight. We had a hard time. Physically, they just man-handled us basically. We just got out-toughed tonight. They just whipped us."

WMU forward Derek Drews

(On hitting 4-of-5 three-pointers) "It obviously felt good, especially on a night where we were able to come out with a win like this. I got to the free throw line early, which is always good for any kind of scorer to get some easy buckets, kind of get into the flow of the game."

WMU center Joe Reitz

(On winning a first-place battle against Akron) "It's a huge win because it really is. Akron is a tremendous team. A team that had beaten us pretty bad last year at their place. I thought it was a tough, physical game and we played really, really hard. When you play really, really hard, you play together and you're unselfish, which I thought we were tonight, good things are going to happen to you."

(On Derek Drews) "When he's shooting the ball like that he gives us another dimension that nobody else on the team can give us. He was really, really stroking the ball. Most people will pick up the paper tomorrow and see he had 14 points ... but more than that he was rebounding, he was battling hard inside against bigger guys and I thought he played a great floor game as well. Drews is more than just a shooter. I think he played on both ends of the floor tonight."

WMU head coach Steve Hawkins

(On the game) "When we're the home team, you just can't afford to lose home basketball games if you're going to compete for that conference title and the West Division title at the same time. That was the story of the night and we were able to keep pace with Kent State. That makes me very proud to be standing here at this point in time to be 7-2 and tied with Kent for the overall part of things. Great accomplishment for our kids."

(On outrebounding Akron by 17) "Akron is so aggressive, very tough kids, last year they just physically dominated the entire game. If you're ever going to compete with Akron, if you get physically dominated by them, it's over. You saw that start to happen at the end of the first half. We rechallenged our kids at halfime about gaining our physicality back. Fortunately we were able to regain a little bit of that in the second half. I thought we did a very nice job offensively all night long sharing the basketball, hitting the open guy against a team that really turns you over a lot and feeds on that. For us to only turn the ball over 12 times against a team like Akron is a pretty good offensive night for us."

(On David Kool's game) "David never ceases to amaze me with his feel for the game, not just the overall game, but his individual game. There's this internal coach that's inside of him."

(On Martelle McLemore's game) "It's coming along and he's gaining a lot of confidence everytime he steps out on the floor. He just needs minutes. He's getting those now and play his way through some things."

(On withstanding Akron's second-half run) "I think it speaks to our experience. Having kids that have sweat-equity in your program is what it is. Kids that have invested in your program and don't want to lose."