OXFORD, Ohio – Despite have three players score in double figures the Western Michigan men's basketball team was unable to pull out a win on the road, falling to Miami 65-56 on Saturday afternoon.
For the sixth game this season the Broncos had three players score in double figures led by senior forward
Greg Lee with a game-high 20. It's the second game this season in which Lee has scored 20 or more and was just two points shy of his career-high.
Lee was a staggering 10-of-15 from the field to go along with seven rebounds and two assists against the Redhawks. Over the past three games Lee is averaging 19.6 points and 6.0 rebounds while shooting 61.3 percent from the field.
Behind Lee with 10 points each was the duo of sophomore B. Artis White and redshirt junior
Jason Whitens. White was 4-of-12 from the field with two three-pointers and ranked second on the team with six rebounds. The Canton, Mich., native also had one assist and two steals.
Whitens posted his third double-digit performance of the season and first since Dec. 22. Whitens was an efficient 5-of-7 from the field and had two rebounds and one assist in 24 minutes of action. The trio of Lee, White and Whitens combined to score 40 of WMU's 56 points.
Off the bench freshman
Josiah Freeman and sophomore
Titus Wright each contributed with five points while freshman
Daylan Hamilton had four and junior
Luke Toliver had two. Hamilton was 2-of-9 from the field to go along with three rebounds, one assist, two steals and one block.
As a team the Broncos shot 41.7 percent from the field including 56.7 percent in the second half. WMU was just 3-of-19 from behind the three-point line was 3-of-5 from the free-throw line compared to Miami's 18-of-23 clip. Western Michigan committed a season-low seven turnovers while forcing Miami to commit 10, scoring six points off of Miami mistakes.
Western Michigan now has an overall record of 2-11 and is 1-7 in Mid-American Conference play. The Broncos next contest is set for Saturday, Jan. 6 on the road at Bowling Green. WMU's home game on Tuesday, Feb. 2 against Northern Illinois has been postponed due to positive COVID-19 tests within the NIU program.
To begin the game, the Broncos went to redshirt junior
Jason Whitens who carried the offense scoring four of WMU's first seven points. The two teams went back and forth early in the first half as the score was tied at seven just five minutes into the game. Ball State pulled away midway through the first half, embarking on an 9-2 run to earn a 14-7 advantage with 11:54 remaining.
Western Michigan slowly clawed its way back after holding Miami scoreless for over two minutes. WMU trails 17-14 with 6:01 remaining in the half thanks to a 15-foot jumper from junior
Luke Toliver. Down the stretch of the first half, WMU made just one of its final 10 field goals as the RedHawks took a slim 25-21 lead into halftime.
It was a fast start for the Broncos in the second half, scoring the first six points of the second to gain a 27-25 lead. Miami responded back with a 10-0 run over their own over the next three minutes of play to earn a 35-27 advantage 15 minutes left to play.
The RedHawks ultimately ended up scoring 14 of the next 16 points earn a double digit lead.
Midway through the second half the Bronco offense came to life, connecting on nine of their next 10 field goals to pull to within four with 6:15 remaining. However, Miami rallied back and held the Broncos scoreless the next two minutes of action to extend its lead back to 56-48.
A jumper from sophomore guard B. Artis White with 4:19 left got the Broncos to within six before the Brown & Gold missed their next four field goal attempts. Despite WMU making its final three field goals the RedHawks pulled away late at the free-throw line. During the final four minutes of action Miami went 7-of-8 from the charity stripe to secure the 65-56 win.