MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - The Western Michigan men's basketball team earned their fourth straight Mid-American Conference victory with a strong road performance, as the Broncos defeated the Central Michigan Chippewas 76-59.  With the win, the Broncos improve to 12-7 on the season, 4-2 in MAC play.

Shayne Whittington scored a game-high 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting, who used the size and strength mismatch to his advantage not just in scoring the basketball, but in finding open teammates as well.  The Broncos shot 8-of-21 (.381) from three-point range in the game, including a 2-of-5 performance from Brandon Pokley and a 3-of-6 performance from David Brown.  Brown finished second on the team with 13 points, Pokley posted 10, and Nate Hutcheson scored 12 points on 4-of-4 shooting.

As a team, the Broncos shot 46.0 percent from the field and held the Chippewas to just 29.8 percent from the floor; WMU also held the 42-27 advantage in rebounding, including grabbing 14 offensive boards.  The Broncos were especially dangerous when capitalizing on Chippewa turnovers; the Broncos out-scored CMU 25-16 in points off turnovers, and out-scored them 13-7 on the fast break.

Hutcheson quelled the closest thing to a  Chippewa rally in the game, as he hit a three-pointer at the start of the second half to make it 36-29. Pokley made it a nine-point game with a pull-up jumper on the baseline with just under 18 minutes to play, and Whittington scored on two straight possessions to push the WMU lead back to 11 points with 13:06 to play.  Brown launched a three-pointer from the corner less than a minute later to stretch the lead to 14 points, and the rout was officially on.

Central Michigan pulled to within 10 points when Blake Hibbitts hit a three-pointer at the 10:04 mark, but Whittington made a pair of free throws on the next trip down the floor, and Pokley knocked down a three-pointer at the 7:58 mark to push the Broncos to a 17-point advantage.  Darius Paul made it a 20-point game with a lay-up on a no-look pass from Austin Richie at the 5:16 mark, making it 71-51, and Paul hit another lay-up with 4:01 remaining to make it a 21-point contest.  The Broncos closed out the half strong to seal the win.

The Chippewas opened the game on a 6-2 run, but the Broncos quickly responded and took the lead on their in-state rivals.  Nate Hutcheson hit a three-pointer at the 16:35 mark to pull the Broncos within one point, and Brandon Pokley made a pair of free throws at 16:01 to give the Brocos the lead for the remainder of the half.  Austin Richie drained a three-pointer off a ball screen on the right win to give the Broncos a 10-6 lead, and Connar Tava made it a six-point lead with 14:36 in the half with a made lay-up.  

Brown was integral in the Broncos' effort in the first half, making baskets on three consecutive possessions to increase his team's lead to 12 points.  Brown made a circus lay-up on the drive in the lane at the 12:12 mark, making it 16-10, and the next trip down the court buried a three-pointer from the right corner to make it 19-10.  He would add one more tripped just over a minute later, bombing one from the outside at the 10:23 mark to give the Broncos a 22-10 lead and cap a 10-0 run.

The lead again reached 12 points when Jared Klein made a free throw at the 8:19 mark, making it 25-13, but from there the Chippewas would cut into the deficit.  Dan Loney made it 33-21 with just under three minutes to play with a pair of free throw makes, but CMU scored the final five points of the half to cut the Broncos' lead to 33-26 at the halftime break.