Broncos gut out win over UW-Milwaukee,,,MAC play opens Saturday

By Alan Gerould, Editor,  SW Michigan Sports Review

PORTAGE — Despite  playing with only nine “healthy players” Western Michigan University rebounded from a 40-pont loss to Duke with a gutsy win over defending Horizon League Champions UW-Milwaukee.

“I knew we were in trouble when I saw  (walk on) Nick Stapert was  all bandaged up — Suds Sumney

Western’s makeshift lineup hustled  on every possession and played tenacious defense , Limiting the Panthers to just 3-16 shooting at one point in the first half…

Western freshman Guard Hayden Hoardemann is one of those energizer bunny types with a high motor. I just hope that he doesn’t choke on his mouth guard before the end of the season…

A real testament to Hawks coaching is the number of former players that keep coming back to watch the young Broncos at UA. I’ve seen a lot of Ricki Willis, Brian Snider, Andrew Hershberger, Ben Reed and even Joe Reitz who had heretofore been wrapped up as a  left guard for the Indianapolis Colts….

Shayne Whittington has the largest and loudest of all of the local fan clubs…D Ward looks like the Pillsbury doughboy with his all white underarmor …I really missed seeing Graham Couch at the game…He has been rumored to be done at the Gazette and he will really be missed as the Gazette beatwriter for the last six years..

Now thanks to Sean Fagan, WMU media relations who provided the following game story…

KALAMAZOO, Mich.- The Western Michigan men’s basketball team, playing with a deeply shortened bench due to a rash of injuries, overcame disadvantage to defeat the Milwaukee Panthers 72-61 in University Arena on Tuesday. With the win, the Broncos improve to 6-8 on the season, while the Panthers fall to 10-6. The Broncos utilized a balanced attacked against the Panthers, will all eight players that saw game time playing more than 10 minutes; of those players, four of them reached double-figures in scoring, including a game-high 21 points from Matt Stainbrook. Senior guard Demetrius Ward ran the point position and contributed 17 points, including a 9-of-11 effort from the free throw line. Back-up forward Dan Loney came off the bench to provide a spark for the Broncos, contributing career highs with seven points and eight rebounds.

 The Broncos initially took the lead with 16:38 remaining in the second half, when Stainbrook hit a pair of free throws to give WMU a 34-32 lead. Stainbrook would make two more free throws on the ensuing possession, and Austin Richie would hit a three-pointer at the 12:31 mark to give the Broncos a 43-37 lead.

 However, the Panthers battled back to the next media timeout, and tied the score 46-46 with 9:44 remaining in the second half. The Broncos would re-take the lead with 7:28 remaining when Stainbrook grabbed an offensive rebound off his own shot and tipped it in to make it 51-49, and would hit a pair of free throws to give the Broncos a four-point lead with 5:20 remaining.

 The turning point of the game would come just seconds later, when Loney took a charge from Milwaukee’s Ryan Allen at the 5:03 mark, quashing a potential Panthers scoring opportunity. On the Broncos’ next offensive possession, Richie was fouled while shooting a three and made all three foul shots to give the Broncos a 56-49 lead with 4:23 remaining.

  points on a Ward free throw with 1:11 remaining. In fact, the Broncos would go 9-of-10 from the free throw line in the closing minute of the game to set the final deficit, with Ward draining two more foul shots to make it 72-61 with 17 seconds remaining.

 The first half started out well in the Panthers’ favor, as Milwaukee opened the game on an 8-2 run in the first three minutes. Ward would convert a three-point play with a lay-up, drawn foul, and free throw to make it 8-5, and the Broncos would eventually take the 9-8 lead on a 12-footer from Stainbrook at the 14:50 mark. The Broncos led by as many as seven points in the first half, but the Panthers closed the half on a 17-9 run to enter the half leading 29-28.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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