BOX SCORE
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Led behind the shooting of David Kool with a game-high 24 points followed by Shawntes Gary with a double-double, No. 2 Western Michigan defeated No. 7 Eastern Michigan, 70-61, and heads to the semifinals of the Mid-American Conference Tournament.
The MAC West Champions, Western Michigan (20-11, 12-4 MAC) found themselves ahead by as many as 16 points late in the first half but after Eastern Michigan's (14-17, 8-8 MAC) Jarred Axon shot 2-for-2 from behind the foul line, the Eagles tied the score at 44 all with 10:34 remaining in the game.
The Broncos went on a 12-4 run after being sent to the line five seperate times shooting 10-for-10 within 3:39, 56-48. Eastern Michigan fought their way back to within three points after a layup from Justin Dobbins followed by a quick shot from behind the three-point arc by Jessie Bunkley but was quickly silenced after Joe Reitz connected 1-for-2 from the foul line followed by Gary with a three-point shot along with Kool shooting 4-for-4 from the foul line, 64-55 with 2:44 remaining. Derek Fracalossi put the exclamation mark on the win with a steal followed by a dunk to end with a Western Michigan victory, 70-61.
Kool scored first for the Broncos after adding 2-for-2 from the foul line followed by a shot from behind the arc to send Western Michigan on a 14-3 run in the first 6:37 of the game. Eastern Michigan tried to add to the board but after a layup from the Eagles, Gary connected on two jumpers sandwiched around a shot from Kool and a shot from three-point range from Andre Ricks to bring Western Michigan to the largest lead of the game, 27-11 with 6:47 remaining in the half.
Both teams traded baskets until Reitz connected on the last field goal adding a three-point play before heading into the locker room ahead by 13 points, 36-23. The Broncos dominated the boards grabbing 22 rebounds compared to Eastern Michigan's nine.
The Eagles came out strong in the second half going on a 14-2 run to bring the score within one point with 11:42 remaining in the half, 41-40.
Western Michigan adds to the record books after their victory over Eastern Michigan and 20th win in a season, this is only the seventh time in WMU history. Steve Hawkins has been head coach for three of those campaigns and an assistant in one other.
Kool led the Broncos with a game-high 24 points followed by Gary adding his second double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Reitz was also in double figures with 11 points, eight rebounds. He also hit seven free throws to increase his school record to 571 made free throws and set a new Mid-American Conference record for made free throws.
Eastern Michigan was led by Bunkley with 15 points, Axon with 14, Carlos Medlock with 12 and Dobbins with 10 points.
No. 2 Western Michigan will stay in Cleveland to take on No. 3 Akron in the MAC semifinals televised on FSN Ohio Friday with tipoff at 7 p.m.
QUOTES
Western Michigan Head Coach Steve Hawkins (opening statement):
“It was a hard fought game. We came out with great energy and did a nice job defending early in the game. We also got a great lesson served to us in the second half with the intensity of tournament time. Eastern did a great job getting back in the game. I am very proud of our kids' effort today, and we had enough at the end of the game to finish it off.”
On Joe Reitz's foul trouble
“There's no question that we miss something when Joe goes out. We talked during one of the timeouts that we had to get to the last seven or eight minutes without Joe getting his fourth foul. Fortunately for us it worked out.”
On playing time
“One of the things I'm pleased about is that David and Joe had 32 and 29 minutes, respectively. No one had 38 or 39 minutes. If you're going to win a tournament, you have to have your legs underneath you.”
On Eastern Michigan's comeback
“I really felt like there wasn't any panic. I was really proud of the way our kids handled it. Earlier in the year, there were times where we didn't handle those types of situations as well, where we panicked a little bit. It came down to executing at the end of the game. We got the ball into Joe's and David's hands, and the biggest thing is that we had stops. You can't win a critical game in a tournament without getting stops.”
On Western Michigan's defense
“I am proud of the defense we played in the MAC this year, leading the league in opponent's field goal percentage. Today, Eastern Michigan shot 37 percent, and we needed that defense because we only shot 39 percent ourselves.”
On the level of competition in the MAC
“Nobody goes through this league unscathed. It took us two overtimes to beat Buffalo earlier this season, and they are the 12th seed. On any given night, a game can come crashing down on you. The teams that have home games also win a lot. The winning percentage of home teams in the MAC was the highest in the nation, but in this neutral court setting, anything can happen.”
Shawntes Gary, Western Michigan junior guard
On his performance today
“Some guys got into foul trouble in the second half. I was just trying to be more aggressive and make plays.”
On Eastern Michigan's comeback
“When any team gets down like that, they will do anything they can to get back into the game. When we get up on a team, we need to continue to play hard for the whole 40 minutes.”
Joe Reitz, Western Michigan senior center
On Shawntes Gray
“Shawntes was all over the place. When he plays with that type of energy, there's probably not anyone else in this league who can rebound like that. He's a very good player, and that's what we will need the next two games.”
On Justin Dobbins
“He's a very good player and will only get better these next couple of years. Yesterday when he was able to get around people, he scored a lot of points. I was just trying to get a body on him.”
On his fall to the floor
“I came down hard and knocked my head on the floor pretty hard. Thankfully I have kind of a hard head and it didn't hurt too bad.”
David Kool, Western Michigan sophomore guard
On Eastern Michigan's comeback
“We lacked defensive intensity and gave them some easier looks. They made us pay for it.”
On Western Michigan's offense
“The jump shot was not dropping as much as I would have liked, but we were able to get to the free throw line and make our free throws.”
Eastern Michigan Head Coach Charles Ramsey
Opening Statement:
“First of all, I would like to offer congratulations to Western Michigan University. They played like a championship-caliber team. We wish them the best in the rest and hopefully represent the Mid-American Conference West Division and the state of Michigan in a big way. I am really proud of our senior class and felt they took the team to another level this year. They will be greatly missed... They set a standard for the young guys to pick up and learn from. We will see if we can get here next year and advance.
On the team going to the next level in the future
“My fondest memories of are winning championships and going to the “Sweet 16,” I was an assistant coach on those teams. With that being the case [getting to the next level] is our goal. The goal is to raise the bar. Every year we do something that has not been done in quite a long time. Finishing second in the MAC west has not been done in 10 or 12 years. Now we have to keep on climbing that mountain. We're going to stay patient and we are going to stay on course and look at it as a marathon and not a sprint.”
Eastern Michigan Senior Guard Travis Lewis
On Western Michigan
“We weren't talking well on defense and they are a great shooting team. There point guards are always looking to make the extra pass for that open person... With this being their first game of the tournament, we knew they were going to be pumped up and ready to go and we did not match their intensity and that hurt us in the long run.
Eastern Michigan Sophomore Forward Justin Dobbins
On guarding Western Michigan senior center Joe Reitz
“I think he is one of the best post players in the MAC and playing against him makes me want to raise my game higher and better.”
