YPSILANTI, Mich. - The Western Michigan men's basketball team lost in a heartbreaker on Saturday, as the Eastern Michigan Eagles prevailed over the Broncos 50-49 in overtime at the EMU Convocation Center. With the loss, the Broncos fall to 18-10 on the season, 9-5 in the Mid-American Conference.
Despite the loss, the Broncos clinched a top-four seed in the upcoming MAC Tournament, due to Bowling Green falling to Ohio earlier in the day. The Broncos need either a win or an Eastern Michigan loss next week to clinch an outright MAC West division championship.
Shayne Whittington recorded his ninth double-double of the season with 11 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, and also added three blocks.
Austin Richie and
David Brown each posted nine points and three assists. The Broncos out-rebounded EMU 33-32 and held the Eagles to 39.6 percent shooting from the field.
The Broncos caught fire after the first media timeout of the second half, turning what was a five-point halftime deficit into a four-point lead at the 11:52 mark. Whittington tied the score at the 16:19 mark with a lay-up off a pass from
Brandon Pokley, and the lead swelled to four points when Richie hit an NBA-range three from the left side to make it 32-28.
Richie drilled another three-pointer at the 10:02 mark to give the Broncos their largest lead of the day, making it 53-8, but the Eagles came back and took a one-point lead with 5:26 to play on a Glenn Bryant jumper. Brown drilled a triple from the deep corner with 3:04 on the clock to give WMU a 42-39 lead, but Derek Thompson responded with a long-range shot of his own to tie the score at 42 with 1:36 to play.
The score remained that way until the end of the half, but EMU jumped out to a two-point lead with a bucket on the opening possession of overtime. The Broncos briefly took a one-point lead when Whittington converted an old-fashioned three-point play, scoring on a lay-up at the 2:36 mark while drawing contact from Anthony Strickland; Whittington made the free throw to give WMU a 47-46 lead.
Eastern Michigan would answer, though, and out-scored the Broncos 4-2 down the stretch to seal the win. Brown had a chance to hit the game-winner as time expired, but the shot was off the mark.
The first half was a slugfest, as the Eagles slowed the tempo of the game down and kept both teams in slow half-court sets. EMU took a 4-0 lead on a lay-up from Daylen Harrison, but Paul put the Broncos on the board at the 17:25 mark with a lay-up from the low post. The teams traded baskets back and forth, with the Broncos getting no closer than two points until
David Brown drained a fast break three-pointer from the right wing to cut the Eagles' lead to 14-13.
The Broncos took their first lead of the afternoon at the 6:39 mark, when
Darius Paul knocked down a 16-foot jumper from the head of the key to give WMU a 15-14 lead. The Eagles went on a 7-0 run, taking a 21-15 lead with 3:42 to play in the half, but
Brandon Pokley drilled a triple from the right wing to make it 21-18 with 2:01 remaining. Da'Shonte Riley tacked on a pair of free throws with less than a minute left on the clock, and the Broncos entered halftime trailing 23-18.
