BOX SCORE

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QUOTES

KALAMAZOO -- David Kool scored 19 points and Mike Douglas added career highs of 10 points and seven rebounds to lead Western Michigan past Eastern Michigan, 61-47, in front of a season-high crowd of 3,224 in the Mid-American Conference opener for both teams.

The Broncos (9-5, 1-0 MAC) won their fifth game in a row this season and 10th in a row at home over the Eagles (8-6, 0-1 MAC) to win their conference opener for the third season in a row.

The Broncos held Eastern Michigan to 26.4 percent (14-53) shooting from the field and 5-of-23 (.217) behind the three-point line. EMU's leading scorer Brandon Bowdry was held to a season-low seven points, 12 below his average which ranked second in the MAC entering the contest.

The Broncos locked down the Eagles in the first half by opening a 22-4 lead over the first 12:15. Kool's pull-up jumper on a handoff by Muhammed Conteh put the Broncos up 18 with 7:45 to play in the half.

Eastern Michigan cut the lead to 15, 24-9, with 6:40 to go in the half, but WMU came back with a score by Mike Douglas and Kool hit a three-pointer on the fast break assisted by Demetrius Ward to go up by 20, 29-9, with 4:03 to go in the half. The Broncos remained up 20, 31-11, after Ward scored in the paint with 3:08 to play. The Eagles responded and scored seven straight to end the half and went into the locker room trailing by 13, 31-18, at intermission.

The Broncos held EMU to 17.9 percent (5-28) shooting in the first half and only 2-of-13 three-pointers. The Broncos hit 44.8 percent (13-29) and out-scored EMU, 16-2, handily in the paint. The Broncos also controlled the glass, 23-17, to hold a 6-2 edge in second-chance point. Kool scored 10 points, Douglas tied his career high with six points and Lawson added half a dozen. Carlos Medlock had 11 for the Eagles in the opening frame.

Eastern Michigan's run continued into the second half as the Eagles scored 13 in a row in 6:30 over both halves to cut the lead to seven, 31-24, with 17:17 to play in the game on Quintin Dailey's lay-up.

The Broncos finally took the lid off the basket with Flenard Whitfield hitting a pair of free throws. Eastern Michigan head coach Charles Ramsey was assessed a technical after a shooting foul on EMU and WMU scored three points on two Kool technical free throws and one more by Whitfield to go back up 12, 36-24, with 15:48 to go in the game. Eastern Michigan responded with five in a row to get its deficit back to seven, 36-29, with 14:50 left in the game.

After a couple of empty possessions, the Broncos went back up by 10, 39-29, as McLemore knocked down his first shot of the game, a triple from the right wing off a swing pass from Ward with 13:42 to play. That was part of an 8-0 run as Kool scored the next five points to put WMU up 15, 44-29, with 12:02 remaining in the game.

EMU scored twice to cut the lead to 13, but then Douglas and Whitfield drove for back-to-back lay-ups as WMU scored five in a row to go up by 18, 51-33, with 5:26 left in the game.

The Eagles made one last run with seven points in a row to close within 11, 51-40, with 3:16 to play, but McLemore corralled an offensive rebound, one of his career-high 12 caroms, and laid it back in to put WMU up 13, 53-40, with 2:52 to play. EMU came right back with a jumper from Bowdry, but the Broncos ran the shot clock down and Lawson found Ward for a lay-up to ice the game, 55-42, with 2:15 to play.

The Broncos head to DeKalb, Ill., to take on Northern Illinois (5-8, 1-0 MAC) on Wednesday, Jan. 13 at 8 p.m.