KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Western Michigan men's basketball team extended its season-long winning streak to seven games by surviving a slugfest with their in-state rival, muscling past Eastern Michigan 75-67 at University Arena on Sunday. With the win, the Broncos improve to 18-8 on the season, 11-3 in Mid-American Conference play.
Shayne Whittington recorded his third straight double-double with 22 points and 11 points, playing 37 minutes despite recovering from flu symptoms that plagued him earlier in the week. David Brown also reached the 20-point mark, scoring 20 exactly to go along with seven rebounds, two steals, and two assists. AJ Avery came off the bench to provide a big boost in the post with eight points, eight rebounds, and a block.
The Broncos patched up some of the mistakes that troubled them in their previous meeting with the Eagles, committing 10 fewer turnovers and shooting much better - 18 of 44 - from the floor. WMU's strategy involved attacking the rim, and it worked to great effect; the Broncos went 34-of-44 from the free throw line, compared to just 8-of-18 for the Eagles. The Broncos also held the Eagles to just a 39.7 percent shooting day from the field.
The Eagles held a 59-56 lead with 8:04 to play after Glenn Bryant notched a fast break dunk off a defensive rebound by his teammate Raven Lee. The Broncos battled back with a 6-0 run built entirely at the free throw line; Brown made two at the 7:45 mark to cut the lead to one point, Whittington added a pair to re-take the lead, and Avery capped the rally to make it 62-59 with 6:43.
WMU continued to roll over the Eagles late, with Whittington breaking a 62-all tie with a tip-in at the 4:32 mark that brought forth a roar from the crowd. Whittington elicited another ovation from the crowd with a tip-in dunk with 4:20 to play, drawing a foul from Da'Shonte Riley and sinking the free throw for the and-1 play to make it 68-62. Daylen Harrison sank a three-pointer with 43 seconds remaining to cut the Broncos' lead to just 70-67, but the Broncos went 5-of-6 from the free throw line in the final 30 seconds of play to seal the win.
EMU opened the game on an 8-2 run that was capped by a three-pointer from Mike Talley at the 17:11 mark. Brown drilled a three-pointer from the right wing to cut the lead to 8-5, and added a pair of free throws three minutes later to tie the score. J.R. Sims re-took the lead for the Eagles with another trey, but the Broncos took advantage of Darell Combs fouling Austin Richie on a three-point shot with 11:11 to play in the half as Richie made all three to take a 14-13 lead. Whittington notched an old-fashioned three-point play on a lay-up make and a foul from Mo Hughley to make it 19-13, and Brown made it an eight-point game with a three-pointer to make it 27-19. The largest lead of the half came when Kellen McCormick buried a three-pointer with eight seconds remaining, making it 34-24.
