KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Guided by 42 points off the bench including a game-high 22 from junior
Rafael Cruz Jr., the Western Michigan men's basketball team improved to 4-1 with a 102-56 victory over Alma College on Tuesday night inside University Arena.
The Broncos 42 points off the bench was the most this season and the most since recording 49 off the bench last season in a 99-52 victory over Aquinas College. With the win, WMU improves its overall record to 4-1 for the first time since the 2012-13 campaign.
Leading the way for the Broncos was junior guard Rafael Cruz Jr, who in 15 minutes scored a game-high 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field with four three-pointers. Cruz Jr. became the third different Bronco to lead the team in points in a game with all 22 points coming in the second half.
Senior
Adida Ikongshul posted quite a game off the bench as well, recording 10 points to go along with five rebounds in 13 minutes of action. Ikongshul was 4-of-6 from the field and 2-of-3 from the free-throw line against the Scots. It was Ikongshul's second career game scoring in double figures and was two points of his career-high set back on Nov. 11, 2017 versus Siena Heights.
Cruz Jr. and Ikongshul were two of five Broncos to score in double figures against Alma College. Ranking second on the team was junior guard
Michael Flowers with 17 points along with four rebounds, six assists and two steals. Behind Flowers was freshman
B. Artis White with 15 points on a career-high five three-pointers.
Redshirt junior
Brandon Johnson recorded his third straight game in double figures with 13 points while leading the team in rebounds for the fourth time this season with seven. The freshman duo of
Titus Wright and
Chase Barrs also recorded seven rebounds to match Johnson on the night.
As a team the Broncos shot a season best 52.3 percent from the field with 12 three-pointers. From the free-throw line, WMU was 22-of-29 and is now shooting 76.3 percent from the charity stripe this season.
WMU dominated in the paint, outscoring Alma 28-14 while forcing the Scots to commit 15 turnovers and scoring 16 points off those turnovers. Overall, 10 of the 13 players that saw the court for WMU on Tuesday scored.
With a 4-1 overall record, Western Michigan begins a three-game road stretch beginning on Friday, Nov. 22 against Oklahoma State. The Broncos then travel to Orlando, Fla. for two games in two days at the NIT Season Tip-Off, Nov. 25-26. WMU squares off with Yale on Monday, Nov. 25 before taking on either Bucknell or Seattle the following day.
The Broncos got off to a slow start in the first half as Alma College embarked on an 8-0 run at the 12-minute mark to gain a 14-9 advantage. The Scots continued to battle and took a double-digit lead over the Broncos at 23-13 with 10:13 remaining in the first half after making 5-of-7 from the field.
WMU's offense found its groove with under five minutes remaining in the first half as White knocked down a transition three-pointer to cap off a 14-2 run to give WMU a one-point lead. However, Alma rallied back and took a 33-30 lead with 3:17 left in the first half before the Broncos closed the half on a 17-2 run to take a 47-35 lead into the locker room. To end the first half, WMU made its final five shots as Flowers scored eight of his 17 in the final three minutes of play.
In the second half WMU widened its lead as White knocked down another three in transition to give WMU a 20-point lead at the 17:45 mark. WMU widened its lead to 30 midway through the second half as the Broncos went on a 12-2 run, making six straight field goals to gain a 74-44 advantage.
WMU extended its lead to 40 at the five-minute mark after holding Alma scoreless from the field for nearly five minutes while embarking on a 15-1 run. Ultimately, WMU used a 20-1 run to gain its largest lead of the game at 48 with 1:56 remaining. The Bronco defense shut down Alma in the second half, outscoring the Scots 55-21 during the final 20 minutes of play. Alma made just one of their final 17 field goal attempts in the 102-56 loss.
