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YPSILANTI, Mich. -- David Kool scored 20 points, but Western Michigan couldn't overcome 20 turnovers and 37.2 percent shooting in a loss, 66-52, at Eastern Michigan in front of 1,094 on Valentine's Day at the Convocation Center.
Eastern Michigan (12-12, 5-7 MAC) used a 17-4 run after the Broncos (13-12, 5-7 MAC) had closed to within three, 37-34, with 10:19 to go in the second half to build a 16-point lead, 54-38, with 4:44 to go in the game and WMU never threatened after that.
Flenard Whitfield added 12 points and eight rebounds, while Donald Lawson recorded a game-high 13 rebounds.
The Broncos missed their first 11 shots of the game, but were only down eight, 11-3, when Kool made a floater with 10 minutes remaining. The Eagles came back with five in a row to take their largest lead, 16-5, with 8:58 to play in the half, but a pair of lay-ups by Whitfield helped WMU pull within six, 16-10, with 7:38 still to play.
The Eagles made a three-pointer to go back up by nine, but then the Broncos came back with five points in a row by Alex Wolf and a floater by Kool to close within two, 19-17, with 4:15 remaining in the half. The Eagles hung on to go back up five, but then Wolf threw a pass over the defense for a fast break old-fashioned three-point play by Martelle McLemore, 24-22, with 2:20 to play.
The Broncos couldn't hang onto the momentum as the Eagles closed the half on a 7-2 run to take a seven-point lead into halftime, 31-24.
The Broncos ended the half shooting 36.4 percent (8-22) from the field with only one three-pointer in six attempts. The Broncos did make 7-of-10 free throws to only 1-of 2 for EMU. The Eagles hit four three-pointers and 13-of-34 (.382) shots overall. The Broncos turned the ball over 10 times, which led to 12 points for Eastern Michigan.
The Broncos scored the first five points of the second half to cut the margin to a pair, 31-29, with 16:58 to play. WMU went scoreless for the next 5:45 as the Eagles put six points on the board to regain an eight-point lead, 37-29, with 12:27 to play. The Broncos responded with a drive by Kool and McLemore three-pointer from the top of the key to cut the margin to three, 37-34, with 10:19 to go.
The Broncos hit 17-of-45 field goals (.378) and just 2-of-13 three-pointers (.154), while also only making 16-of-26 free throws (.615). WMU's 20 turnovers led to 26 points for Eastern Michigan and the Eagles had 17 offensive rebounds for a 42-32 edge on the glass.
The Eagles shot .417 from the field (25-60), but only 5-of-19 behind the arc and 11-of-17 (.647) at the free throw line.
Brandon Bowdry led EMU with a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds and Justin Dobbins added 17 points.
The Broncos host Northern Illinois (8-16, 4-8 MAC) at University Arena on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in a game that will be televised on Fox Sports Detroit Plus.
