Jan. 21, 2006
Box Score
KALAMAZOO, Mich.--A 59.1 percent first-half shooting effort by Western Michigan left Miami University's men's basketball team trailing 13 at the half, and the RedHawks were not able to recover as the Broncos pulled out a 59-50 win at University Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Western Michigan improved to 5-11 overall and 2-4 in Mid-American Conference play. The loss was the RedHawks' (9-6; 6-1 MAC) first in conference play and snapped a five-game win streak.
Miami took a quick seven-point lead off a Tim Pollitz layup at the 16:36 mark of the first half, 7-2. The RedHawks would lead by five points three times, the last coming at the 12:08 mark off a William Hatcher jumper, 15-10. Over the remainder of the half, the Broncos would outscore the RedHawks 24-6, including a 10-0 run from 11:53 to 8:35.
Penno tossed in a layup with 7:50 to end the RedHawks' scoring drought and keep Miami within three, 20-17. Western Michigan was able to extend its lead to 10 points over the next three minutes, 27-17. Layups by Pollitz and Hatcher cut the lead to six by the 3:30 mark, 27-21. Brian Snider scored six of the Broncos next seven points over the remainder of the half to give WMU its largest lead of the game at the intermission, 34-21.
A layup and a pair of free throws by Nathan Peavy and a layup and a free throw from Hatcher helped cut the Western Michigan lead to eight, 36-28, by the 16:19 mark. Derek Fracalossi knocked down a pair of free throws with 13:52 remaining to give Western Michigan a 40-28 lead. Miami staged an 11-0 run over the next five minutes, getting six points from Pollitz and five from Monty St. Clair, to shrink the gap to one by the 7:58 mark, 42-41.
Stane's Buford scored six points as Western Michigan built a six-point cushion by the 5:25 mark, 48-42. A 3-pointer and a jumper from Hatcher again pulled the RedHawks within one, 48-47, with 4:05 remaining. A Hatcher 3-point play at the 2:31 mark put the RedHawks within two, 52-50, but Joe Reitz hit 5-of-6 free throws and Snider tossed in a layup down the stretch as the Broncos collected the 59-50 win.
Hatcher led Miami with 19 points, while Pollitz added 16 points and Peavy notched 10 rebounds.
Reitz paced the Broncos with 19 points, while Snider tallied 14 points and Hershberger chipped in 10 points.
Miami returns home to host Kent State at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 24.
CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS
Notes: William Hatcher played all 40 minutes his sixth complete game of the season ... WMU hit just six field goals in the second half, cooling off considerably from the field, shooting 26.1 percent in the second half ... Miami lost its fourth straight loss at Western Michigan.
