OXFORD, Ohio - Head coach
Steve Hawkins achieved something that
no other Bronco coach can lay claim to, and the Western Michigan men's
basketball team defeated Miami 72-68 at Millett Hall on Wednesday. With
the win, the Broncos improve to 13-7 overall, 5-2 in Mid-American
Conference play. The win marks the fifth straight victory for the
Broncos, and the third straight road win in conference.
The win marks the first time in program history that the Broncos have
won back-to-back games at Miami; the Broncos took the last meeting at
Millett Hall, an overtime win in 2011. Hawkins is the first coach to
win three games against Miami since Vernon Payne won three between
1988-89.
The Broncos were out-rebounded 37-29 in the game, allowing Miami to grab
17 offensive rebounds; however, WMU shot 24-of-41 (.585) from the field
and saw four players break double-digits in scoring. Shayne
Whittington led the way with 13 points despite being in foul trouble for
most of the contest and playing just 16 minutes;
Darius Paul added 12
points, and
Nate Hutcheson and
Brandon Pokley scored 11.
The Broncos trailed as late as the 4:07 mark in the second half, when
Quinten Rollins made a pair of free throws to put Miami ahead 63-62.
Paul made a strong play to the hoop on the next possession, driving to
the hoop from the lefthand side to lay the ball in and put the Broncos
ahead. The lead reached four points when
David Brown stripped the ball
from Will Felder and laid it in on the fast break, drawing a foul at the
same time to get to the free throw line. Brown made the ensuing foul
shot to give the Broncos a 67-63 lead with 3:26 remaining.
Felder and Reggie Johnson made three free throws to cut the Broncos'
lead to one point, but Whittington dunked an offensive rebound to make
it a 69-66 lead with 53 seconds remaining. Rollins made a jumper to
make it a one-point game with 22 second remaining, but Whittington iced
the game with a pair of free throws to set the final deficit.
Things didn't start out so smoothly for the Broncos, who found
themselves in an early hole thanks to Miami's red-hot shooting. The
RedHawks jumped out to a double-digit lead with a 13-2 run to start the
game, with Will Sullivan capping the run with a three-pointer from the
left corner.
Jared Klein responded with a triple of his own to stop the
bleeding, and
Brandon Pokley scored on a baseline lay-up to make it
13-7 at the 15:28 mark.
The Broncos continued their comeback despite the full court pressure of
the RedHawks, with
Shayne Whittington getting open on the back end of a
press and throwing down a two-handed dunk to make it 13-9. Pokley
struck again, this time with a three-pointer in the deep left corner off
an inbounds play, and the Broncos took their first lead with the night
on a
Connar Tava tip-in at the 12:44 mark.
The teams traded the lead back and forth for a while, but the Broncos
took it for their first extended period of time when
Nate Hutcheson made
a lay-up in traffic to make it 18-17. The lead eventually swelled to
six points, with Daris Paul and Tava making lay-ups on consecutive
possessions to make it 28-22 with 6:42 to play. However, the Broncos
went cold from the floor for the remainder of the half, and the RedHawks
took a 35-32 lead entering the halftime break.
The Broncos bounced back with a hot start to the second half, opening
with a 7-0 run to re-take the lead. Whittington got things started with
a lay-up at the 19:49 mark, and Hutcheson scored on consecutive
possessions to extend the lead to two possessions. The senior first
scored on a lay-up at the 18:14 mark, slashing to the hoop and finishing
with the right hand, and after Miami's Will Felder turned it over on
the next possession, Hutcheson buried a three-pointer from the head of
the key to make it 39-35 with 17:37 remaining.
