KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Western Michigan University's men's basketball rode a balanced and unselfish offensive attack to a 93-35 victory over Kalamazoo College in front of 2,018 fans at University Arena Saturday afternoon.
Ten Broncos scored and dished at least one assist for the Broncos, who concluded their preseason schedule 2-0. The unselfishness shown by WMU resulted in assists on 27 of their 38 made field goals. Point guards Demetrius Ward and Mike Douglas were the leading distributors, handing out seven and six assists respectively.
Leading a balanced offensive attack for the Brown & Gold was Nate Hutcheson, who scored 19 points on 7-11 shooting. Flenard Whitfield (18), Matt Stainbrook (13) and Brandon Pokley (11) joined Hutcheson in double figure scoring. The Bronco bench had another strong showing, contributing 45 points in the effort. For the game, the Broncos shot 54.3 percent (38-70).
The Broncos jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, thanks in large part to two big runs that buried the Hornets early. After battling to a 5-5 tie through the first media timeout, the Broncos broke out with a 14-0 run over the next 4:16. During the run, WMU unleashed a barrage of three-balls, with Hutcheson draining two and Pokley adding his only three of the afternoon during the stretch. On the afternoon, the Broncos shot a crisp 40 percent from three-land (8-20).
After a Hornets bucket, WMU was back on the run again, scoring the next 22 points over a span of five minutes to take a commanding 41-7 lead. Six different Broncos scored during that stretch, which also feature two of Stainbrook's game-high four blocks.
Early in the second half, WMU added a highlight-reel play when Whitfield lobbed an alley-oop to Hutcheson for a two-handed slam on a fast break.
From there, the Broncos locked down defensively and never let the Hornets back in the game. Nine Broncos came away with steals, paced by Douglas with four of the team's 13 swipes. WMU forced 25 turnovers and held the Hornets to 21.6 percent shooting (11-51).
Nine players scored for the Hornets, led by guard Eric Fishman with eight points on 3-8 shooting.
The season officially tips-off for WMU on Friday, Nov. 12 when the Broncos visit Xavier. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., with the game being televised by Fox Sports Ohio.
