ROCHESTER, Mich. - The Western Michigan men's basketball started the holiday season on the right foot on Friday, going on the road to defeat the Oakland Golden Grizzlies 91-76 in front of a packed house at Oakland's O'Rena. With the win, the Broncos improve to 5-7 overall this season and have won four straight games.
The win was a special one for WMU head coach Steve Hawkins, as it was the 150th win for Hawkins as head coach of the Broncos. He is just the third Bronco to win 150 games as a head coach, joining Herbert "Buck" Read and Bob Donewald.
Freshman off-guard Austin Richie exploded offensively in his second career start, scoring a team- and career-high 22 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field and a perfect 8-of-8 day from the free throw line. He was one of five Broncos to reach double-digits in scoring, including Mike Douglas (19), Matt Stainbrook (16), Nate Hutcheson (12), and Demetrius Ward (12). The Broncos were ablaze from the field, shooting 30-of-54 (.556) and nailing 10 three-pointers.
The Broncos bucked their recent trend of starting out the first half slowly, taking command of the tempo at the opening tip-off. After forcing a defensive stop to begin the game, Nate Hutcheson launched a three-point attempt from the left corner to give the Broncos a 3-0 lead.
Demetrius Ward stripped the Golden Grizzlies' Reggie Hamilton on the very next possession and fed Hutcheson again, who laid the ball in for his fifth point in less than a minute. Ward Hutcheson, and Austin Richie would add three-pointers on subsequent possessions for the Broncos, who began the game on a 14-5 run and stunned the packed O'Rena.
Stainbrook stretched the lead to double-digits at the 10:06 mark, taking a slick under-the-hoop pass from Ward and making a lay-up to give the Broncos a 23-12 lead. It was then that the Broncos began to establish their control down low, with Douglas and Stainbrook in particular keeping the Grizzlies on their heels.
The Broncos out-rebounded the Golden Grizzlies 21-10 in the first half and out-scored them 12-2 in second chance opportunities; in addition, WMU out-scored Oakland 18-14 in points in the paint, thanks largely to the abilities of Stainbrook and Douglas to attack the hoop.
The Golden Grizzlies jumped out to a hot start in the second half, opening on an 11-4 run and putting pressure on the Broncos in the early going. The Broncos responded with a 16-5 run of their own, though, with Richie blasting the Grizzlies for seven points on consecutive possessions. Richie drove to the hoop and drew a foul at the 13:12, but not before making his lay-up to convert a three-point play.
On the very next possession, Richie fired a three-point shot from the right corner. Laval Lucas-Perry shoved him as he released the shot, but Richie's aim was true and the Broncos were afforded the opportunity to convert a rare four-point play. Richie buried the free throw to give the Broncos a 60-41 lead with 12:35 remaining.
The Broncos would set their biggest lead of the evening at the 11:13 mark when Muhammed Conteh pushed a lay-up off the glass and drew contact; Conteh made the free throw to give WMU a 66-43 lead. The Grizzlies would claw their way back, though, with star guard Reggie Hamilton nearly single-handedly bringing Oakland back to within single digits.
After the Broncos' lead dwindled to just 10 points, Douglas hit a pair of clutch free throws to make it 83-71 with 3:51 remaining. They would spark a series of six straight points for Douglas, eventually pushing the lead to 87-71 at the 2:27 mark. Richie would make four straight free throws to seal the win for the Broncos.
