KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan men's basketball team fought and rallied for 40 minutes but were unable to take a tight decision against Akron, as the Broncos fell 71-69 to the Zips at University Arena. With the loss, the Broncos fall to 13-6, 4-2 in Mid-American Conference play.
Taylor Perry came off the bench to post game- and career-highs, scoring 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 from three-point range. He also helped out defensively with five rebounds, two blocked shots, and two steals in 26 total minutes of play. Tucker Haymond posted 14 points and six rebounds while David Brown added 13 points and three assists. Freshman guard Thomas Wilder made his first career start and played very well, contributing six points, six rebounds and four assists compared to just one turnover.
The game began as a defensive battle, with neither team getting on the scoreboard until Brown knocked down a three-pointer from the left wing at the 16:25 mark of the first half. Akron took a 12-7 lead thanks to a three-pointer in the corner from Reggie McAdams, but Taylor Perry cut the Zip advantage to just 16-13 with a three-pointer from the deep left corner. On the very next defensive possession, Mario Matasovic swatted a shot by BJ Gladden, with Brown picking up the loose ball and rushing down the court. Brown converted an old-fashioned three-point play on the fast break, making the lay-up while drawing contact from Antino Jackson.
Perry struck again to put the Broncos within striking distance, draining another three-pointer from the right wing to make it 21-19, and the junior wing wrapped up his hot streak with a steal and a lay-up at the 7:44 mark to tie the game up at 21. Kellen McCormick put the Broncos ahead 30-28 with 4:15 remaining, grabbing an offensive rebound and making a trey from the left wing, but the Zips re-took the lead and held a 36-30 advantage with less than two minutes remaining. Haymond scored on a reverse lay-up on the baseline to cut it to four points, and Tava made it a one-possession game with a free throw make at the 1:20 mark. McCormick added a pair of foul shots to make it 36-35 with 14.7 seconds remaining in the first half, but Akron entered the locker room at half with a 37-35 lead.
WMU opened the second half on a 5-0 run, with Drake LaMont scoring on a putback to open the half and Haymond making a transition jumper to give the Broncos a 40-37 lead. The Zips responded with a 7-0 run of their own, taking a 44-40 lead at the 16:43 mark. Haymond tied the game at 49 with 13:00 remaining with a spinning jumper in the key, and Tava kept it tied at 51 with a paint catch and lay-up on the next offensive possession. Perry made a pair of free throws at the 8:27 mark to pull the Broncos to within two points, but Akron again built the lead and held a 63-57 advantage with 5:32 to go. Brown made three straight free throws after Jackson was assessed a technical foul to make it 65-62, and Thomas Wilder made a lay-up off an offensive rebound to cut it to 65-64.
The Broncos finally broke through and took the lead with 2:45 to play in regulation, with Brown driving coast-to-coast and making a lay-up to make it 66-65. Akron re-took the lead with two free throws on the other end, but LaMont struck with a tip-in to make it 68-67 with 1:26 left in regulation. Haymond was fouled by Gladden on his way to the hoop and made one of two free throws to tie the game at 69, but Isaiah Johnson made two foul shots with 27 seconds remaining and the Zips held on for the two-point win.
