MILWAUKEE - Western Michigan captured its first win of the season with a 12-point victory over Wisconsin-Milwaukee at the Klotsche Center on Tuesday night. The Broncos boasted three players in double figures for the third straight game led by Flenard Whitfield's career high 19 points.
Western Michigan built on a 23-20 halftime lead with a 10-2 run to open the second half. Whitfield scored six of the Broncos' first 10 points, all coming from point-blank range. The Detroit native sent down a dunk on the fast break and followed with back-to-back layups. Whitfield's flurry was sandwiched between a Ward jumper and a fast break dunk from Nate Hutcheson.
The Broncos kept Milwaukee at and arm's length throughout the second half mainly by knocking down shots. WMU was a blistering 15-for-22 from the field (68.2 percent) during the second half but the key play of the game came with 4:56 remaining.
After holding a 10-point lead four different times in the second half, including a 12-point advantage eight minutes into the half, WMU found itself with just a seven-point edge (47-40) and possession. Mike Douglas came down the floor and hit a three-pointer to push the lead back to 10. Even though the lead would dip below 10 points two more times, it would never be smaller than eight and it ballooned to 16 on a Whitfield free throw with 2:21 left on the clock.
One factor that made Western Michigan's 68.2 percent shooting from the field look even better was the fact at the Bronco defense held Milwaukee to 29.0 percent shooting for the game, including 27.6 percent during the first half. The Panthers committed 17 turnovers and WMU converted those mistakes into 17 points.
The Broncos pulled down a season-high 43 rebounds against the Panthers led by Muhammed Conteh's career high eight boards. Ward and Howard each pulled down seven rebounds with Whitfield adding six more.
An evenly played first half saw Western Michigan take a three-point lead into the locker room, 23-20, after neither team shot well from the floor in the opening 20 minutes. The Broncos grabbed their first lead on Whitfield's jumper at the 11:47 mark, 9-8.
Whitfield led the Broncos with seven points in the first half, followed by Juwan Howard Jr., who added six points to go along with three rebounds and two blocks. Demetrius Ward chipped in five points and dished three assists during the opening frame. Ward scored in double figures for the second-straight game, going 5-for-12 from the floor for 12 points. Howard had his first double digit scoring game in a collegiate uniform, going 5-for-11 from the field.
Despite taking an early three-point lead, Milwaukee managed only a one point lead the rest of the way in the first half, 10-9. Western Michigan on the other hand, reclaimed the lead at 18-16 on Howard's layup to start a 7-0 run.
Stainbrook pushed the Broncos' lead to four points on another layup at the 3:29 mark and Alex Wolf nailed a three-pointer on the fast break to give WMU its largest lead of the half, 23-16. A Milwaukee layup and dunk from Tony Meier and Ryan Allen, respectively, brought the Panthers to their halftime deficit.
Western Michigan will enjoy Thanksgiving at home before hosting No. 19 Illinois at University Arena at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 27 on ESPN3.com.
