NORMAL, Ill. - Senior
Nate Hutcheson posted his first career double-double and first of the season, but the Western Michigan men's basketball team suffered an 85-63 loss at the hands of the Illinois State Redbirds at Redbird Arena on Saturday. With the loss, the Broncos fall to 6-3 on the season.
Hutcheson broke back into double-digits in scoring to bounce back from a low scoring night against Michigan on Tuesday, posting a team-high 15 points and 10 rebounds in 37 minutes played. Following Hutcheson in scoring was freshman
Darius Paul, who contributed 14 points and eight rebounds for his eighth straight double-digit scoring performance. Senior
Brandon Pokley also added 13 points, breaking double-digits in points after two games below the mark.
The stout defense of the Redbirds proved to be a sticking point for the Broncos, who shot just 33.9 percent from the floor. Illinois State went aggressively at the Broncos, recording seven steals and 10 blocked shots.
The Broncos took an early lead on the Redbirds, stunning the home crowd with an 8-0 run to open the game.
Shayne Whittington got things going early when he plucked an offensive rebound off the glass and tipped it in at the 19:04 mark, and
Austin Richie scored a bucket in transition one minute later when Whittington swiped the ball from Bryant Allen and hit Richie in stride for the fast break lay-up.
Paul would keep the run alive with a tip-in on Hutcheson missed shot at the 17:44 mark, forcing the Redbirds' head coach Dan Muller into a 30-second timeout to regroup his team. Paul would seal the run for the Broncos at the 16:07 mark, hitting a turnaround jumper to give the Broncos an 8-0 lead. The Redbirds would storm back, but the Broncos held the lead as late as the 11:24 mark of the half, when
Jared Klein made a pair of free throws to keep WMU on top 14-13.
The Redbirds went on a 12-3 run late in the half, taking a 29-20 lead with 5:40 to play and keeping the Broncos on their heels. The Broncos' best chance to cut into that lead came early in the second half, when a torrid shooting streak pulled the Broncos to within two possessions. After the Redbirds scored the first basket of the second half, the Broncos responded with a three-point bucket of their own. Richie hauled down a defensive rebound and shot a pass across halfcourt to Pokley. Pokley faked a drive and forced his defender beneath the three-point line, and proceeded to drill the wide-open triple to cut ISU's lead to 44-38.
The closest the Broncos would from that point came several minutes later, when Hutcheson missed the second half of a pair of free throws at the 17:42 mark. Paul leapt into the lane and grabbed the loose ball, throwing down the dunk to make it 47-40. Illinois State would control the rest of the game, with the Broncos pulling only as close as nine points the rest of the way.
