KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan men's basketball team authored a disciplined effort from start to finish on Tuesday, leading for almost the entirety of the game in defeating the New Hampshire Wildcats 70-56 at University Arena. With the win, the Broncos improve to 8-4 overall on the season.
The Broncos led throughout the game but completely locked down the Wildcats in the second half, holding them to a 33.3 field goal percentage in the final 20 minutes and forcing five turnovers. Conversely, WMU committed just two turnovers in the second half and attacked the hoop aggressively, going 10-of-13 from the free throw line. The Broncos shot 41.1 percent from the field and managed 70 points despite going just 3-of-13 from three-point range.
Connar Tava scored a game-high 15 points while also recording six rebounds, three assists, and two steals, while David Brown posted 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field. Drake LaMont tied his career-high with 11 points in just 18 minutes of play, while Tucker Haymond recorded 10 points, six rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Mario Matasovic came off the bench to produce five points, three rebounds, and three steals in just 10 minutes of play.
New Hampshire opened the score with a free throw make to start the game and lead 6-5 with 18:25 to go in the first half, but that would be the last time they ever held the advantage as WMU took control of the game for the remainder. LaMont put the Broncos ahead for good with an old-fashioned three point play in the opening minutes of the game, taking a pick-and-roll feed from Haymond and drawing contact from Jalen Smith on the way to a lay-up make; the freshman center made his free throw to put the Broncos ahead 12-9. Matasovic provided solid minutes in the first half, making a pair of free throws to put the Broncos ahead 17-11, and Haymond sparked a fast break that was terminated by a Tava lay-up to make it a 22-14 advantage for WMU.
Brown gave the Broncos their largest lead of the half with 7:51 to go in the period, making a shock three-pointer for a 27-15 lead, and Von Washington III kept the lead at a dozen with a drive and lay-up at the 2:59 mark to make it 39-27. The Wildcats scored the final five points of the half to cut the halftime lead to just 39-32.
The Broncos were up to the task in the second half as well, taking a 10-point lead on a jumper from the head of the key by Haymond at the 18:32 mark. Austin Richie drained a moving three-pointer from the right wing with 11:06 remaining to make it 53-42, and the lead reached double-digits for good less than three minutes later when Thomas Wilder hit a spinning jumper in the paint to make it 59-47. The advantage reached 17 points after Richie swiped the ball from Iba Camara at the 6:10 mark, with the possession ultimately ending in a lay-up by LaMont to make it 64-47, and Brown made a hook shot in the post with less than five minutes remaining to give WMU its largest lead of the night at 66-48. WMU cleared its bench at the end of the game, with Charles Harris III making a lay-up in the final minute of competition as the Broncos won 70-56.
