LOGAN, Utah -Western Michigan trailed by 25 points with 15 minutes remaining in regulation and by 10 points with five minutes left on the clock but the Broncos chipped away at Troy's lead the entire second half to force overtime on a Demetrius Ward three from the corner with nine seconds on the clock. Despite the effort, WMU fell to the Trojans, 102-99, in overtime at the World Vision Invitational.
Troy led 71-46 at the 14:53 mark, its largest lead of the game and looked as though it would cost to just its second win of the season. WMU had other plans. The Broncos rattled off the games next 10 points with a three from David Brown and then a jumper from Juwan Howard Jr. Mike Douglas followed with jumper and then Howard hit one of his five three pointers to pull WMU to within 15 points, 71-56, with 12:01 remaining.
The Broncos trailed by double digits over the next three and a half minutes before Flenard Whitfield took matters into his own hands, scoring Western Michigan's next eight points, starting with a layup at the 8:31 mark and concluding with a pair of free throws with 5:57 remaining. Whitfield finished the game with 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting, his fourth-straight game in double figures. Despite that spurt, WMU still trailed 82-72 with 5:01 on the clock.
Howard wanted to emulate his teammate and ripped off the team's next 10 points in a span of just under two minutes. Howard hit back-to-back jumpers to draw WMU within six points. Troy scored a layup to make it 84-76. Howard answered with a trey. Troy added a free throw. Howard drained another three. On the night the freshman was 5-for-8 from beyond the arc. Howard finished with a team high and career high 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting, making him the first Bronco to score 20 points in a game this season.
Howard's barrage set up Ward's heroics, who was also 5-for-8 from beyond the arc tonight. He also eclipsed the 20-point mark, scoring 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting, besting his previous career high of 19 set just last Saturday against South Dakota State.
Joining Ward, Howard and Whitfield in double figures was Matt Stainbrook, scoring 10 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the floor. It is the 10th-straight game where WMU had at least three players score in double figures this season and it was the fourth game of the year with four scorers in double figures.
Ward hit another three to open the overtime frame, giving WMU its first lead since the 14:43 mark (14-13). The Broncos actually grabbed a four-point lead with 2:30 remaining in the extra frame. Leading 98-94, Troy hit back-to-back three pointers to take a 100-98 lead with 30 seconds remaining. Ward hit 1-of-2 free throws on WMU's next possession and after two made free throws for the Trojans, Ward had another chance to stun the fans at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Tuesday once more, but the shot went long and the Broncos fell to 3-3 in games decided by one possession this season.
Troy was unstoppable from beyond the arc in the first half, shooting 11-for-14 from long range to grab a 16-point lead heading into the break. The Trojans had six players score in double figures, led by Regis Huddleston with 26 points on 9-of-17 shooting, including 8-for-13 from three.
This was Western Michigan's first overtime game since an 84-82 win over Ball State on March 4, 2009. WMU falls to 49-47 in overtime games all-time. It was also the first time a team went over the century mark against the Broncos since Oakland posted 100 in an overtime loss for WMU on Dec. 29, 2001.
