KALAMAZOO, Mich.- All 13 active Broncos scored as Western Michigan men's basketball rolled to a 108-57 exhibition win over visiting Kalamazoo College Saturday.

WMU's top two returning scorers, junior Thomas Wilder and senior Tucker Haymond, played limited minutes (11 and 15, respectively), and junior center Drake LaMont did not dress, as he still is working his way back from an offseason injury. With the veterans on the bench, there was plenty of opportunity for the younger players to shine.

"It was good to twist the cap off the season," said WMU head coach Steve Hawkins. "We needed to go through a game-day, with the game-day routine. It kind of worked out well that some of the upperclassmen got into foul trouble so we were able to get the freshmen a lot of minutes. As the game progressed, I thought we got more comfortable on the floor and that was key."

Freshman Brandon Johnson joined Wilder, Haymond, and sophomores Seth Dugan and Bryce Moore in the starting lineup. Johnson made his presence felt early, throwing down the first of several WMU dunks in the game. Johnson logged the most minutes of the freshmen, recording 17 points and seven rebounds in 26 minutes.

Redshirt Joeviair Kennedy was also explosive, scoring a game-high 25 points on 8-of-10 shooting, going 4-for-4 from beyond the arc. Kennedy and freshman Reggie Jones had University Arena on its feet midway through the second half. Jones had a big put-back dunk and then Kennedy stole the ball on the defensive side of the floor and hammered down a tomahawk jam on the breakaway.

The Broncos heavily out-matched the Hornets in terms of athleticism and forced Kalamazoo into 32 turnovers. Western Michigan led at the half, 49-12. The second half margin was not as wide, WMU outscoring K-College, 59-45, but the game in general was slowed down by fouls and free throws. WMU and Kalamazoo combined to shoot 82 free throws on the afternoon.

"If you were here today, you can definitely see that we are a much more athletic team than we have been in years past," Hawkins said. "We can extend our pressure a lot more. Of all the things I saw today, I was probably most pleased with our tenacity. K-College does a lot of things away from the ball, and our guys had to fight through screens. Many of the mistakes we made were able to cover up with our athleticism."

The 2016-17 season officially begins for the Broncos with a home game against Marygrove next Friday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. WMU travels to Rochester, Mich., for its first away game, Nov. 14, renewing the series with in-state Horizon League counterpart Oakland. Following the Oakland contest, WMU heads to the ESPN Charleston Classic for games on Nov. 17, 18 & 20. The Broncos open the classic against defending national champion Villanova.

"The 10 days of practice this summer before Europe, the four games in Europe and the preseason all lead up to Friday night," Hawkins said. "We need to go back to the film and watch our performance with a critical eye and see what we can improve on."