KALAMAZOO-- Western Michigan University's men's basketball team overcame a cold shooting afternoon with a big second half run and solid defense to defeat Eastern Michigan 65-48 in front of 2,747 fans at University Arena Sunday afternoon.
A 26-3 run in the second half blew a close contest wide open and WMU held the Eagles to 36.7 percent shooting (18-of-49) to improve to 9-7 overall and 2-1 in the MAC. Matt Stainbrook and Nate Hutcheson each set new career-highs in scoring, with Stainbrook leading the way with 17 points on 8-of-15 shooting. Hutcheson added 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting. Demetrius Ward also reached double figures with 10 points, as the Broncos had three players score in double figures for the 15th time this season.
Though WMU shot just 35 percent on 21-of-60 shooting, tough defense held the Eagles without a field goal for two separate stretches of seven or more minutes. Rebounding and second chance points also helped make up for the cold shooting night by the Broncos. WMU held a 46-30 rebounding advantage overall, including 23-13 on the offensive glass. That advantage allowed the Broncos to hold a 16-7 edge in second chance points.
One of those stretches of strong defense keyed the decisive run that allowed the Broncos to bury the Eagles for good. Eastern Michigan looked like it was going to hang around the rest of the afternoon with an early second half run. Hutcheson started the second half with a put-back dunk off a Stainbrook miss, but Derek Thompson responded for the Eagles with two threes to ignite a 9-0 Eagle run over a 1:01 span, capped by an old-fashioned three-point play by Jamell Harris. The 30-29 lead for the Eagles would be their only lead of the second half.
From there, WMU was able to shut down the Eagles en route to the decisive 26-3 run over the next 10:21 of playing time. During the first part of this run, WMU held the Eagles without a field goal for 8:42. Four points from Juwan Howard Jr. and Stainbrook, along with two apiece from Ward, Douglas, and Conteh pushed the Bronco lead to 44-31 with 9:23 to play.
A Kamil Janton jumper for the Eagles temporarily halted the Bronco surge, but WMU responded by scoring the next 11 points to push the lead to 22. An old-fashioned three-point play and layup by Stainbrook started the run, which was capped by back-to-back threes from Brandon Pokley and Alex Wolf. The 55-33 lead with 6:21 to play was the largest of the game for WMU.
The Eagles played WMU tough during the first half, with the Broncos taking their first lead after a late run. Trailing 21-17 with 5:52 remaining in the first half, the Broncos locked down defensively to hold the Eagles scoreless for the last 5:51 of the half. The shut-down effort on the defensive end resulted in 7:02 of game time passing between Eagle field goals and a 27-21 halftime lead for the Brown & Gold.
Hutcheson provided WMU with the offensive spark it needed during the run, scoring seven points during the stretch. Among the highlights during the run was a sequence where Hutcheson soared over the Eagle defense to grab a rebound, dribbled away from the basket down the left baseline, and drained a fall away jumper over an Eagle defender.
WMU will travel to Toledo on Wednesday, Jan. 19 for a 7:05 p.m. tip-off against the Rockets. Live coverage will be provided by the Bronco Radio Network.
