BOX SCORE
QUOTES
KALAMAZOO - The Western Michigan Broncos (7-13, 4-3) couldn't hold off a second half surge by the Kent State Golden Flashes (10-11, 3-4), dropping their third MAC contest in four games, 65-47, at University Arena during the 2009 Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Awareness Weekend. The WMU and KSU coaching staffs both sported tennis shoes and suits to show support for the Coaches vs. Cancer program.
KSU shot over 65 percent in the second half and outscored the Broncos by 17 points to build on its one point lead at halftime, and eventually jumped out to an insurmountable 20 point lead mid-way through the half.
The Broncos committed 17 turnovers, making it difficult to answer a 30-11 scoring run by KSU to begin the second half. The WMU bench was outscored 24-8 and Kent State showed its depth with four players scoring in double digits.
WMU junior David Kool scored a game-high 18 points and freshman forward Flenard Whitfield added nine points and seven rebounds in the losing effort.
The three-point basket has been a dangerous weapon for the Broncos at home this season, making nine and 14 three-pointers as a team in the past two games, but against Kent State the Brown & Gold made just 2-of-19 (10 percent) shots from beyond the arc, compared to 6-of-13 (46 percent) by the Golden Flashes.
Kent State's first field goal didn't come until nine minutes into the first half, and before that they had missed ten straight shots and turned the ball over six times. However, during that span the Broncos shot just 25 percent from the floor and weren't able to break the game open. At the 2:45 mark in the first half, the Golden Flashes started an 8-0 run that would eventually give them their first lead of the game, 21-20, with 23 seconds left on a Jordan Mincy jumper.
Neither team shot particularly well in the first half, with WMU shooting 28 percent and KSU shooting 33 percent, and both teams turned the ball over ten times in the first 20 minutes. The Golden Flashes held the edge from the beyond the three-point arc, shooting 28 percent (2-of-7) compared to ten percent (1-of-10) by the Broncos.
Chris Singletary and Tyree Evans lead Kent State with 13 points each.
The Broncos will travel to Bowling Green, Ohio to take on the BGSU Falcons Wednesday, Feb. 4 at 7 p.m.
