DES MOINES, Iowa - The Western Michigan men's basketball team fell just one possession short in a difficult road contest, as the Broncos dropped a narrow 71-68 decision to the Drake Bulldogs at the Knapp Center on Wednesday. With the loss, the Broncos fall to 5-5 on the season; they will return home to host Prairie View A&M on Saturday, Dec. 21 in University Arena at 2 p.m.
David Brown finished the game with a game-high 23 points in 36 minutes of play, shooting 7-of-15 from the floor while also recording two steals and a blocked shot. Connar Tava recorded 16 points and nine rebounds, while Taylor Perry tied a career-high with a game-high 11 rebounds against the Bulldogs. Shayne Whittington also added 15 points.
The Broncos had their best shooting night in several weeks of play, going 24-of-53 (.450) from the floor to record their 68 points. WMU finished just one rebound shy of the Bulldogs, though, coming just short at 33-32, and the Broncos shot just 15-of-24 from the free throw line.
Drake re-took the lead with a lay-up make from Jacob Enevold at the 4:38 mark to make it 59-57, and Enevold later made a free throw to turn it into a three-point game. However, Brown drew contact on a lay-up with 3:53 remaining to pull the Broncos to within one point, and made the ensuing lay-up to tie it at 60-all. The Broncos took a 64-62 lead with 1:35 remaining on the clock on a hook shot from Whittington, but Richard Carter made a free throw with 1:07 on the clock to pull within one point, and Seth VanDeest picked up an offensive rebound and laid it in to put Drake ahead 65-64. Tava countered with a drive and a make at the 0:44 mark to put WMU ahead 66-65, but the Bulldogs scored five straight to take the 70-66 lead. Brown pulled WMU to within two points with a pair of free throw makes with five seconds remaining, but the Bulldogs held the Broncos off en route to the 71-68 win.
The Bulldogs opened the second half on an 8-4 run, taking a 41-40 lead on the Broncos thanks to a lay-up from Daddy Ugbede at the 16:02 mark. From there, though, the Broncos embarked on a 9-0 run, a rally that began with 15:04 remaining in the half when Austin Richie hit an open three-pointer from the left wing to make it 43-41. Brown followed it up with coast-to-coast drive and lay-up at the 13:54 mark, ripping the ball from the hands of Jacob Enevold on defense and laying it in through contact. Brown wrapped up the run with a right-handed lay-up coming in from the wing, soaring over the Drake post players for the score to make it 49-41 with 11:31 remaining.
The two teams battled through an extremely even, defense-oriented first half, with neither team building a lead of more than two possessions. Drake struck first when Chris Caird hit a three-pointer less than a minute in, but Whittington made a 15-foot jumper on the next possession and Brown gave WMU a 5-3 lead with a triple from the right corner at the 17:57 mark. Richie closed out the 7-0 run with a jumper from just inside the three-point line with 16:59 left in the first half, but the Bulldogs responded with a 13-4 run of their own, topping it off with a putback tip from Jacob Enevold to make it 16-11.
The Broncos fought their way back, though, and from there things were nip-and-tuck as the teams traded the lead five more times before the close of the half. Whittington re-took the lead for the Broncos with a spinning hook shot with 6:17 remaining, making it 21-20, and Tava drove for a lay-up at the 5:19 mark to make it 23-22. Richie banged home a three-pointer from the left wing to give the Broncos a 26-24 lead, and the Broncos never again trailed the Bulldogs in the first half. Tava made it a four-point edge with 3:10 remaining as he watched his lay-up bounce off the iron several times before falling in, and snapped 31-all tie at the 2:10 mark with a free throw. Whittington closed the scoring for the Broncos in the first half with a last-second jumper, pulling down the offensive rebound from Perry's missed three-pointer and pulling the trigger with fractions of a second remaining to put WMU up 36-33 at the half.
