BOX SCORE
QUOTES
NOTES
KALAMAZOO -- Senior David Kool led four players in double figures with 16 points to push Western Michigan past Ball State, 67-52, in front of 3,121 on Senior Night at University Arena.
The Broncos (16-14, 8-8 MAC) will open Mid-American Conference Tournament play at home on Sunday at 2 p.m. as the No. 7 seed against No. 10 Bowling Green (14-15, 6-10 MAC). The Cardinals (15-14, 8-8 MAC) will be the No. 8 seed and host No. 9 Ohio (17-14, 7-9 MAC).
Tickets are currently available on WMUBroncos.com or by calling 1-888-4-WMU-TIX. The ticket office at Waldo Stadium will be open Friday for normal business hours and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Kool added four rebounds, three steals and two assists, while senior Martelle McLemore chipped in 14 points, three rebounds and two steals. Sophomore Flenard Whitfield had 12 points and seven rebounds and junior Alex Wolf added 10 points, two assists and two steals. Senior Donald Lawson added seven rebounds, career-high four assists and two blocks.
Ball State pulled within four, 39-35, with 13:34 remaining in the game, but then WMU put together a 12-2 run over 3:47 to build its lead to 14, 51-37, after two David Brown free throws with 8:56 remaining. Whitfield and Kool both scored four points each during the run.
The Cardinals cut the lead as close as eight, 51-43, with 7:43 to go, but Kool scored on a lay-up off an assist by Donald Lawson and then Kool found McLemore for a lay-up as the Broncos pushed the lead back to 12, 55-43, with 5:56 to go. Ball State closed within nine, but got no closer. The Broncos converted 10-of-14 free throws in the final 2:27 to hold off the Cardinals.
WMU made 21-of-31 free throws in the second half and hit 8-of-16 field goals. The Broncos also held Ball State to 29.2 percent (7-24) and forced nine turnovers.
Kool's baseline floater on the fast break helped the Broncos cap a 7-0 run to start the game. The Broncos continued to build the lead and eventually went up by 10, 20-10, with 8:38 to play after back-to-back three-pointers by McLemore and Nate Hutcheson.
The Broncos went cold and Ball State heated up as Randy Davis made 3-of-3 three-pointers during an 11-0 run to put the Cardinals in front, 21-20, for the first time with 5:33 to play. The Broncos regained the lead on a lay-up by Whitfield on a feed from Mike Douglas, but Ball State came back with four in a row to take its largest lead, 25-22, with 3:47 to play.
Kool hit two free throws to take sole possession of first place in MAC history with 578 career free throws with 3:23 to go and then Hutcheson tipped-in a missed shot and hit the free throw after the contact to put WMU back in the lead, 27-25, with 2:34 in the half. The Cardinals tied the game with free throws, but McLemore put WMU back in front with a pull-up jumper behind a Whitfield screen to give WMU the halftime lead, 29-27.
The Broncos shot 42.3 percent (11-26) in the first half, including 3-of-8 three-pointers, and 4-of-5 free throws. The Cardinals after a slow start hit 45.0 percent (9-20) for the half, including 4-of-6 three-pointers as Davis was 4-of-4, and 5-of-5 free throws, all by Davis. Davis led all scorers with 19 in the opening half.
The Broncos capitalized on eight Ball State turnovers for a 17-5 edge in points off turnovers. The Broncos also had a 15-9 rebounding lead in the first frame.
Western Michigan scored the first five points of the second half, highlighted by Kool's steal and fast break lay-up, to put WMU up seven, 34-27, with 17:56 to go in the game. The Cardinals countered with four in a row, but then Alex Wolf hit a wide open three-pointer on the right wing to put WMU up six, 37-31, with 15:50 on the clock.
The Broncos finished the game with a 27-9 advantage in points off turnovers after forcing 17, including eight steals. The Broncos also out-rebounded Ball State, 33-28.
WMU shot 45.2 percent (19-42) from the field and 25-of-36 at the free throw line (.694), while Ball State shot 36.4 percent (16-44) and made 15-of-24 free throws (.625).
Davis led Ball State with 23 points.
