CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Western Michigan men's basketball team had the chance to take the lead with 14:27 remaining in the second half, but the Akron Zips caught fire from three-point range to defeat the Broncos 58-45 in the second round of the 2015 Mid-American Conference Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena. With the loss, the Broncos fall to 20-13 overall on the season and will now wait and see if they are offered a postseason bid.
Neither team was able to maintain a consistent offensive attack for much of the game, but the Zips enjoyed a stretch where they made three-pointers on four consecutive trips down the floor to take a 47-35 advantage with 6:24 left to go in regulation. Akron shot just 37.8 percent from the floor but went 12-of-29 (.414) from three-point range. The Broncos were held to a 25.9 field goal percentage in the game and were outrebounded 39-36.
Thomas Wilder scored a team-high 12 points and also led the Broncos with seven rebounds in 30 minutes of action. David Brown finished with nine points, five rebounds and three steals while Connar Tava registered seven points and six rebounds.
The start of the game was reminiscent of the teams' previous meeting on Jan. 24, with neither team lighting up the scoreboard in the early minutes. Richie opened the scoring with a three-pointer from the deep left corner but the Zips took off from there, going on a 14-2 run to hold a nine-point edge with 11:16 to play in the first half. Brown cut into the Zips' lead with four straight free throws, making it 18-11 with 7:50 to go in the half, and a three-pointer from the head of the key by Brown made it 18-14. Wilder capped the 9-0 run with a jumper from the free throw line to make it 18-16. The Broncos continued to struggle shooting, though, with the Zips taking a 27-20 lead into the halftime break.
The Broncos made the first two buckets of the second half to cut the deficit to 27-24, with Richie scoring on a baseline drive to make it a three-point game. Tava made a right-handed hook shot to reduce Akron's advantage to 30-26, and Haymond made it a one-possession game with a pair of free throw makes at the 15:20 mark. Brown tied it at 30 after another two free throw makes, but Antino Jackson made it 33-30 at the 12:50 mark with a three-pointer.
Tucker Haymond made it 33-32 when he drove late in the shot clock, getting around Isaiah Johnson and laying it in to cut the Zips' lead to just one point. Akron three-pointers on three straight possessions, though, with Reggie McAdams draining a long ball to make it 42-32 with 8:35 left in regulation. Johnson tacked on a pair of free throws to make it 47-35. Wilder scored on consecutive possessions to make it 47-39, but the Zips kept the Broncos at arm's length the rest of the way to complete the 58-45 decision.
