EVANSTON, Ill. – The Western Michigan men's basketball team held an early lead on the road, but the Broncos were unable to hold off a charge by Northwestern as the Wildcats won 67-61 at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Saturday. With the loss, the Broncos fall to 6-4 on the season. The game closed out what was a succession of seven straight games on the road.
Connar Tava finished just one rebound shy of a double-double, recording 11 points, nine rebounds and four assists, while Tucker Haymond recorded a team-high 12 points in the loss. David Brown joined the pair in double-digits in scoring, contributing 11 points, four rebounds and four assists. Drake LaMont set a new career-high with eight rebounds.
The Broncos led the game after the first half thanks largely to a hot shooting start, opening the game on an 11-2 run that included a pair of three-pointers by Haymond from deep in the left corner. The Wildcats cut into the lead with a runner in the paint by Bryant McIntosh, but Tava countered with a hook shot over his left shoulder at the 12:42 mark to make it 13-6. A 5-0 run pulled Northwestern into striking distance at 13-11, but Austin Riche bombed a three-pointer from the left wing to up the lead to five points.
Nathan Taphorn gave the Wildcats their first lead of the game with a three-pointer from the right wing, but Brown countered with one of his own on the next possession to make it 21-19 with 5:27 to go in the first half. Thomas Wilder drained a trey from the left corner to make it 25-23, and Brown closed out the Broncos' scoring in the half by taking a feed in the paint from Haymond and laying it in to make it 28-23. Taphorn made one more shot down the stretch to close out the half, and WMU held a 28-25 lead at the break.
The Wildcats jumped out to a 7-1 run to start the second half and at one point held a 34-31 lead. Richie tied it up with a three-pointer at the 14:34 mark, but Northwestern took the lead for good on the very next possession with a baseline drive and lay-up by Tre Demps. The closest WMU would come the rest of the way was at the 8:52 mark, when Haymond scored on a putback dunk to make it 45-43. The Wildcats built the lead back up quickly, though, and never allowed the Broncos within four points the rest of the way en route to the two-possession victory.
