CINCINNATI, Ohio -In front of 10,250 fans on the road in a hostile environment, Western Michigan's men's basketball team came up three points shy of a season-opening win at Xavier, falling 68-65 to the Musketeers at the Cintas Center on Friday night.
Trailing 57-51 with 4:14 remaining, WMU's Nate Hutcheson buried a three pointer to pull the Broncos within three. After a pair of Xavier free throws Flenard Whitfield hit a 12-foot jumper to make the score 59-56 in favor of the Musketeers. Whitfield was one of three Broncos to finish in double figures, scoring a team high 15 points on 7-of-17 shooting from the field.
Demetrius Ward dropped two free throws with 2:25 remaining to pull WMU within one, 59-58, after two offensive rebounds kept the possession alive for the Broncos. WMU out-rebounded Xavier, 38-29 and 14-8 on the offensive glass. A pair of Kenny Frease free throws put Xavier up by three but Whitfield tied the score at the 1:32 mark at 61-all.
Tu Holloway answered with a three of his own that received a home-court bounce on the rim, putting Xaiver up, 64-61, and when Ward missed a trifecta attempt on the other end, Frease extended the lead to five with a lay up. After a Mike Douglas lay up with 39 seconds left brought WMU within three, Hutcheson stole the ball and was fouled on the way to the hoop. Two free throws later, the Broncos were down one with 21 seconds left.
Xavier went 1-for-2 at the line, giving WMU the chance to tie with a two or win with a three and true freshman Juwan Howard Jr. had a look from a couple feet behind the three-point but it was missed. Xavier again went 1-for-2 from the line with two seconds left, setting up one last chance for the Broncos but Whitfield's three at the buzzer hit the backboard, the front rim and fell out to allow the Musketeers to escape with the win.
Hutcheson finished with 11 points on 3-of-9 shooting from the field, 2-of-5 from beyond the arc and a perfect 3-for-3 from the line. Matt Stainbrook, in his collegiate debut, finished with 10 points, going 5-for-9 from the field, and shared the team lead with Ward in rebounding with seven.
Western Michigan took a nine-point lead into halftime after starting the game facing a 7-0 deficit. The Broncos used a 19-9 run to take their first lead of the game, 18-16, at the 7:44 mark of the first half on Muhammed Conteh's old fashion three-point play. After taking the lead in the first half, WMU built it to nine points twice, once on an Alex Wolf free throw and again on a Howard jumper with 58 seconds left. Howard finished the first half with a team-best eight points.
The Broncos' first half lead was built on points in the paint and bench scoring, out-pacing Xavier 14-4 and 18-0 in those respective categories. WMU reached its largest lead 64 seconds into the second half when Stainbrook's lay up put the Broncos up 11. Xavier used a 19-6 run to tied the score at 42 on a Jeff Robinson put back dunk at the 10:41 mark.
Western Michigan went on a 7-0 run to build its lead back to 49-42 over the next 1:53 of game time. Hutcheson started the run with a lay up. The sophomore was fouled and made good on the free throw to convert the three-point play. Stainbrook nailed a jumper to but WMU by by five and Whitfield's jumper at the 8:48 mark to cap the run.
The Musketeers forced the third tie of the game with an 11-2 run, lasting 1:49, never trailed again in the game and only allowed WMU to tie the score once more on the Whitfield trey at the 1:32 mark. Holloway led all scorers with 25 points and was one of three Musketeers in double figures followed by Davonte' Jackson with 17 points and Frease's 14.
Western Michigan travels back to Kalamazoo for its home opener against Loyola-Chicago on Saturday, Nov. 20. Tip off from University Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m.
