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Western Michigan University Athletics

Broncos Force OT, but Fall on Road to EMU

Men's Basketball Sean Fagan, Assistant Director of Media Relations

Broncos Force OT, but Fall on Road to EMU

YPSILANTI, Mich. - Nate Hutcheson drained a buzzer-beating three-pointer from the corner to send it to overtime, but the Western Michigan men's basketball team was unable to find magic a second time around in falling 62-59 to the Eastern Michigan Eagles in Ypsilanti. With the loss, the Broncos fall to 8-10 on the year, 2-2 in Mid-American Conference play.

Trailing 53-50 with 4.8 seconds remaining in regulation, the Broncos ran a set play to get Hutcheson the ball in the corner. Point guard Mike Douglas, who earlier in the evening became just the third player in program history to reach 400 career assists, dished it off to Hutcheson in the right corner. Just a blink of an eye before the close reached zero, Hutcheson released the ball , which cleanly swished its way through the net to force overtime.

The Broncos got the quick jump in overtime when Stainbrook took a pinpoint pass from Douglas and laid it to give WMU a 55-53 lead. The Eagles would score the next five, though, until Stainbrook again broke the drought, scoring on a layup and drawing a foul in the process, hitting the free throw to cut EMU's lead to 59-58. However, the Eagles were able to seal the win with free throws, taking the game 62-59.

The Broncos led for the greater portion of the game, holding a lead as large as nine points in the second half when Demetrius Ward slashed to the hoop for a layup at the 16:08 mark, making it 33-24. Flenard Whitfield would hit a jumper not long after to keep the deficit at nine points. But the Eagles battled back to tie the score at 50-50 with 59 seconds remaining, and took their first lead of the night when Antonio Green hit the three-pointer to make it 53-50 with 4.8 seconds remaining, setting up Hutcheson's heroics.

The Eagles' 2-3 zone defense had perplexed MAC opponents already this season, and early in the first half Broncos worked hard to break the zone. The Broncos took the initial lead when Hutcheson buried a three from just beyond the head of the key at the 19:28 mark, and the junior forward would add a lay-up just one minute later to give the Broncos a 5-0 lead. The Eagles would tie the score at 5-5 on an Austin Harper lay-up, but Stainbrook responded one possession later with a 10-foot jumper to give the Broncos the lead for good in the half. Freshman Austin Richie would give the Broncos their biggest lead of the half at the 13:59 mark when he drained a three-pointer from the left corner to make it 12-5.

While the Eagles' defensive scheme managed to keep the score close throughout the rest of the half, the Broncos never allowed Eastern Michigan to even the score or take the lead. The closest the Eagles would get was at the 5:39 mark, when Anthony Strickland made a lay-up to make it 19-18. Hutcheson countered with another three-pointer 20 seconds later as Stainbrook collected and offensive rebound and kicked it out to Mike Douglas, who found an open Hutcheson for the triple. The Broncos set the halftime margin with 1:12 remaining when Shayne Whittington slammed home a two-handed dunk with one second remaining on the shot clock to give WMU a 26-22 lead.

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Players Mentioned

Mike Douglas

#5 Mike Douglas

G
6' 0"
Freshman
Demetrius Ward

#1 Demetrius Ward

G
6' 2"
Freshman
Flenard Whitfield

#33 Flenard Whitfield

F
6' 7"
Freshman
Nate Hutcheson

#11 Nate Hutcheson

F
6' 7"
Freshman
Austin Richie

#22 Austin Richie

G
6' 2"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Mike Douglas

#5 Mike Douglas

6' 0"
Freshman
G
Demetrius Ward

#1 Demetrius Ward

6' 2"
Freshman
G
Flenard Whitfield

#33 Flenard Whitfield

6' 7"
Freshman
F
Nate Hutcheson

#11 Nate Hutcheson

6' 7"
Freshman
F
Austin Richie

#22 Austin Richie

6' 2"
Freshman
G