EVANSTON, Ill. - The Western Michigan men's basketball team struggled to find its offensive rhythm and the Broncos fell 51-35 to the Northwestern Wildcats at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Saturday. With the loss, the Broncos fall to 5-3 on the season, while the Wildcats even their record at 5-5.
The Broncos authored a strong defensive effort against the Wildcats, holding their opponents to 18-of-55 (.327) shooting from the floor; however, the Broncos themselves struggled from the floor, shooting just 10-of-41 (.244) from the field and turning the ball over 15 times.
Shayne Whittington led the Broncos' with a team-high 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, giving him his fourth double-double of the season. David Brown added 10 points and five rebounds in 37 minutes of play, and Connar Tava contributed seven points, five rebounds, and three blocked shots. Drew Crawford led the Wildcats with 15 points.
The first half saw the Broncos struggle to score on offense as the Wildcats stifled their ability to drive into the paint and draw contact. The very start of the game was even, however; WMU trailed just 6-2 at the first media timeout, with Shayne Whittington providing a baseline dunk on a good feed from Austin Richie. Brown narrowed the Wildcat lead to four points with a pair of free throw makes at the 14:22 mark, and WMU pulled to within 8-6 when Whittington made a reverse lay-up at the 13:19 mark.
The Wildcats pushed the lead to double-digits with a jumper from Dave Sobolewski at the 9:58 mark, making it 16-6, and the lead went as high as 14 points on a 15-foot jumper from Nathan Taphorn at the 1:53 mark to make it 24-10. David Brown slashed into the Northwestern lead late in the half, though, taking a transition feed from Taylor Perry and laying it in just seconds remaining on the clock, making it 24-12 at the half.
The Wildcats kept the pressure on in the second half, opening on a 7-1 run through the first 5:28 to take a 31-13 lead over the Broncos. The lead reached its high water mark at the 7:56 mark of the second half, when Crawford made a three-pointer from the corner to give Northwestern a 41-21 advantage. Tava cut the lead to 46-30 with a lay-up make at the 3:57 mark, and Richie cut it to just a 14-point deficit with a lay-up on the next possession, but the Wildcats were able to work around the Broncos' press, keeping them at arm's length and closing out the 51-35 win.
