KALAMAZOO, Mich.- The Western Michigan men's basketball team concluded preseason play in a rout of Kalamazoo College, winning by a final score of 107-50 in the exhibition contest on Saturday at University Arena. All 13 available WMU players saw minutes in the matchup with five players scoring in double digits.
Freshman Bryce Moore led the team with 16 points, while freshman Josh Davis and sophomore Thomas Wilder finished with 15 apiece. Junior Tucker Haymond finished with 10 points and led the team with four steals. Senior Taylor Perry finished with 10 points, six boards and three assists.
Western Michigan shot 42.4 percent from the field and was 8 for 19 from beyond the arc. The Broncos were able to get to the free throw line at will, shooting an eye-popping 62 free throws; they made 43 of their shots from the charity stripe for a 69.4 percent mark on the day. Moore led the way in that category with an 11-of-12 performance at the free throw line.
WMU controlled the paint from the very outset of the game, out-rebounding the Hornets 62-41 and blocking 10 shot attempts as a team. Sophomore Drake LaMont hauled in a game-high 10 rebounds while freshman Seth Dugan grabbed eight caroms and blocked three shots. WMU took care of the basketball as well, forcing 22 turnovers and committing just 10 themselves.
The Broncos started out strong and led 51-17 at the end of the first half, holding the Hornets to just a 6-of-40 (15.0) mark in the opening 20 minutes of action. Moore and Davis each chipped in nine points in the first half and Moore further filled the stat sheet with five rebounds and three assists in only 11 minutes of play. WMU opened on an 11-0 run and held Kalamazoo College off the scoreboard for nearly five minutes to start the game. Joeviair Kennedy made it 20-3 with a tip-in off his own miss, and the lead reached 21 points with 8:40 to go in the half after a putback by Moore. Wilder scored fast break lay-ups on back to back possessions to make it 39-13 and Moore pushed the lead up over 30 points with a transition bucket of his own at 46-15. Kellen McCormick drilled a three-pointer from the left wing as time expired in the half to make it 51-17 at the break.
WMU lengthened the bench the rest of the way as they continued their attack in the second half. The Broncos went to the line 36 more times in the second half and wore down the Hornet defense, with Wilder making it a 92-42 advantage with 6:30 left to go in regulation. Anthony Avery, Jr. drilled a late shot-clock three-pointer to put the Broncos over the century mark, and Davis closed the scoring for WMU with a three-pointer that made it 107-48 with just over a minute remaining.
