ATHENS, Ohio – The Western Michigan men's basketball team won its sixth game in a row in convincing fashion, snapping what had been a nine-game losing streak in Athens with a 73-63 victory over the Ohio Bobcats at the Convocation Center on Wednesday. With the win, the Broncos improve to 17-8 on the season, 10-3 in Mid-American Conference play.
WMU exorcised some of the demons that had plagued them in games played at the Convocation Center, with the win representing the first for the Broncos since Jan. 22, 2000. More significant than that, though, were the implications of the victory; WMU guaranteed that it would remain at the top of the overall MAC standings heading into the upcoming weekend's games.
David Brown led all scorers with 23 points on 8-of-17 shooting, including a 4-of-10 mark from the three-point arc. Shayne Whittington recorded his ninth double-double of the season and second in as many games with 11 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, while Connar Tava contributed 18 points, six rebounds, five assists, and four steals. The Broncos maintained a 34-28 advantage on the glass against the Bobcats, including a 14-10 edge in offensive rebounds that led to a 27-9 deficit in second chance points.
The turning point of the game came early in the second half after Ohio's Jon Smith cut the Broncos' lead to 35-32 with 16:28 remaining in regulation. WMU was able to stifle any momentum the Bobcats had built when Austin Richie knocked down a jumper from the elbow on the next possession; just seconds later, Tava picked off a pass from Smith and drove the lane, making a fast break lay-up to make it 39-32. Richie and Brown made back-to-back three-pointers to cap a 10-0 run for the Broncos, making it 45-32 with 13:33 to play.
Maurice Ndour pulled the Bobcats to within 10 points on a baseline dunk with 9:27 left, making it 50-40, but the Broncos went on a modest 6-0 run to continue to keep Ohio at bay. Tava scored four straight points to put the Broncos ahead 62-47 with less than five minutes to play, and Tucker Haymond gave WMU its largest lead of the night with a lay-up off a bounce pass from Tava, making it 72-55 with a minute remaining. The Broncos held on to the double-digit lead for the win.
Ohio's only lead of the night came one minute into the game, with Ndour opening the proceedings with a jumper from the right side. Brown drilled a wide-open three from the wing to put the Broncos ahead3-2, and Whittington capped a 10-2 run with a tip-in of his own missed shot with 15:10 to play in the first half. The largest lead of the first half came with 5:28 to play, when Brown parted a slew of defenders and laid it in on the fast break to make it 31-18. The Broncos went cold for the rest of the half, though, as Ohio pulled to within six points at the break on another mid-range jumper from Ndour.
