KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Western Michigan men's basketball team, playing with a deeply shortened bench due to a rash of injuries, overcame disadvantage to defeat the Milwaukee Panthers 72-61 in University Arena on Tuesday. With the win, the Broncos improve to 6-8 on the season, while the Panthers fall to 10-6.
The Broncos utilized a balanced attacked against the Panthers, will all eight players that saw game time playing more than 10 minutes; of those players, four of them reached double-figures in scoring, including a game-high 21 points from Matt Stainbrook. Senior guard Demetrius Ward ran the point position and contributed 17 points, including a 9-of-11 effort from the free throw line. Back-up forward Dan Loney came off the bench to provide a spark for the Broncos, contributing career highs with seven points and eight rebounds.
The Broncos initially took the lead with 16:38 remaining in the second half, when Stainbrook hit a pair of free throws to give WMU a 34-32 lead. Stainbrook would make two more free throws on the ensuing possession, and Austin Richie would hit a three-pointer at the 12:31 mark to give the Broncos a 43-37 lead.
However, the Panthers battled back to the next media timeout, and tied the score 46-46 with 9:44 remaining in the second half. The Broncos would re-take the lead with 7:28 remaining when Stainbrook grabbed an offensive rebound off his own shot and tipped it in to make it 51-49, and would hit a pair of free throws to give the Broncos a four-point lead with 5:20 remaining.
The turning point of the game would come just seconds later, when Loney took a charge from Milwaukee's Ryan Allen at the 5:03 mark, quashing a potential Panthers scoring opportunity. On the Broncos' next offensive possession, Richie was fouled while shooting a three and made all three foul shots to give the Broncos a 56-49 lead with 4:23 remaining.
Now in control of the contest, the Broncos would expand the lead to eight points on a Ward free throw with 1:11 remaining. In fact, the Broncos would go 9-of-10 from the free throw line in the closing minute of the game to set the final deficit, with Ward draining two more foul shots to make it 72-61 with 17 seconds remaining.
The first half started out well in the Panthers' favor, as Milwaukee opened the game on an 8-2 run in the first three minutes. Ward would convert a three-point play with a lay-up, drawn foul, and free throw to make it 8-5, and the Broncos would eventually take the 9-8 lead on a 12-footer from Stainbrook at the 14:50 mark. The Broncos led by as many as seven points in the first half, but the Panthers closed the half on a 17-9 run to enter the half leading 29-28.
