KALAMAZOO, Mich.- Western Michigan men's basketball won its third straight to open the season 3-0 with a 91-75 victory over Drake Saturday at University Arena. Both teams put on an impressive shooting display, with the Broncos hitting 61.1 percent of its shots for the afternoon and Drake making 56.8 percent.
Western Michigan had to battle back from a 46-41 halftime deficit and outscored Drake 50-29 in the second half. The Bulldogs almost couldn't miss from behind the arc in the first half, burying nine consecutive 3's before finally missing on their 10th long range attempt. With its 9-for-10 performance from behind the arc, Drake shot 70.8 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes.
WMU stayed in step shooting over 60 percent in both halves and at halftime the defense made adjustments to limit Drake to just three 3's the remainder of the game. The Broncos also forced the Bulldogs into 14 second-half turnovers and 20 in the game. The increased pressure helped Western Michigan pull in front as the Broncos started the second half with a 16-1 run.
For the game, Western Michigan outscored Drake 24-6 off of turnovers and 40-18 in the paint.
WMU placed five players in double figures, led by sophomore
Tucker Haymond's career-high 24 points on 10-for-14 shooting. Junior
Connar Tava finished with 20 points, five rebounds and seven assists. Defensively, Tava was matched up down low against Drake's 7-foot center Jacob Enevold, helping to hold Enevold to eight points.
Also reaching double digits for Western Michigan was
David Brown with 14 points, as well as
Austin Richie and
Kellen McCormick, each with 11.
Western Michigan's 3-0 start is the best for the program since the Broncos opened the 1997-98 season with four straight wins.
After playing two of its first three games as home, Western Michigan heads out for a seven-game road trip beginning in Southern California at the DIRECTV Wooden Legacy Tournament, taking on San Diego, Long Beach State and others in the four-game tournament, Nov. 24-30. The three bracketed games of the tournament, starting with Long Beach, will be available on ESPN2, ESPNU, or online on ESPN3. The Broncos' next home game is exactly a month away when the team hosts Alabama A&M on Dec. 22.
