ATHENS, Ohio - The Western Michigan men's basketball team went on the road gave Ohio all it could handle, but the Broncos' fell just short in losing 56-51 to the Bobcats at the Convocation Center in Athens. With the loss, the Broncos fall to 9-10 on the season, with a 3-3 record in MAC play.
WMU used a 14-1 run late in the first half to turn a large deficit into a tied score, and were able to take the lead midway through the second half and silence the historically hostile Ohio fans. Trailing 29-14 with 5:35 remaining in the first half, the Broncos saw Shayne Whittington throw down a ferocious two-handed dunk to ignite a big run.
Whittington would strike again at the 4:54 mark to cut the Ohio lead to 11 points, and Nate Hutcheson would carry the Broncos to the media timeout with a clutch three-pointer to make it 29-21.
The Broncos cut the lead to three points, and with 19 seconds remaining Austin Richie drilled a triple from well beyond the three-point arc to tie the score at 30-30 heading into halftime. Aiding in the Broncos' run was their ability to rebound; after being out-rebounded 15-12 with 3:48 remaining in the half, the Broncos out-rebounded the Bobcats 8-2 down the stretch to tie the score. For the game, the Broncos out-rebounded Ohio 43-32 and held them to just 35.3 percent shooting from the floor.
The high water mark came midway through the second half, when the Broncos finally broke through and were able to take the lead on the Bobcats. WMU initially took the lead early on when Richie hit a three to give the Broncos a 33-32 lead, but the Broncos' largest lead game six minutes later when Douglas hit an open trey from center court to make it 40-38 with 12:33 remaining.
However, Ohio began to force the issue on defense and get stops, eventually taking a six point lead with 6:27 remaining in the game. That lead held up for the duration of the half, with the Broncos ultimately falling 56-51.
Richie led the Broncos with 16 points on 4-of-8 shooting, including a 5-of-7 day from the free throw line. Douglas was next with 12 points, including a 7-of-8 day from the free throw line. Whittington finished with nine points and 13 rebounds in his third career start.
