ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Western Michigan men's basketball team fell victim to a 16-0 second-half run in a 77-71 non-conference setback at St. Thomas on Friday night.
JaVaughn Hannah went 7-for-11 from the field to net a team-high 17 points for the Broncos (3-6). The junior was joined in double-figures by
Markhi Strickland and
Chansey Willis Jr., who tallied 13 points apiece.
In his WMU debut, Willis also added eight rebounds and a team-high five assists.
Owen Lobsinger had nine points and eight rebounds. Willis and Lobsinger's work on the glass led the way for Western Michigan, which held a dominant 46-30 rebounding edge for the night, including a 16-4 advantage in offensive rebounds.
St. Thomas (8-4) raced out to an 18-5 lead in the opening minutes of the contest. At 20-10, the Broncos rattled off eight in a row to close the gap to 20-18, just past the halfway mark of the period.
The Tommies answered with eight consecutive points of their own to restore the 10-point cushion, 28-18. Trailing 33-22, WMU put together a 12-point surge and took its first lead of the night, 34-33, on a Hannah dunk in the final 30 seconds. UST came back and hit a three-pointer on the other end just before time expired to take a 36-34 edge into the locker room.
Western Michigan continued its momentum from late in the first half into the second, tallying the first nine points out of the break to move in front, 43-36. In all, it was a 21-3 extended run for the Brown and Gold from the end of the opening period through the first few minutes of the second.
St. Thomas countered WMU's large run with one of its own, ripping off 16 straight to regain the lead, 52-43. The Broncos worked the margin back down to three, 64-61, on a Hannah three-pointer with a little less than six minutes to go. UST once again had a response, rattling off nine consecutive points to make it 73-61. Western Michigan got as close four, 75-71, in the final seconds before the Tommies put the game away at the free throw line.
WMU made 44.8 percent (30-of-67) of its field goal attempts for the evening, while St. Thomas shot 45.8 percent (27-of-59).
Western Michigan finishes up its road trip on Sunday afternoon as it visits North Dakota State at 2 pm.
