By Katrina Murphy
Sports Editor
The Western Michigan University (13-10, 5-5 Mid-American Conference) men’s basketball team edged out Bowling Green State University on Saturday with a 65-64 win in front of 3,515 fans at University Arena.
This is the third game of the last four that has come down to a last possession shot.
“The kids deserve incredible credit,” said Bronco head coach Steve Hawkins. “They are resilient. The conversations in the huddles were good, and they got after it in the press. We got the momentum going in our favor and made some plays from there.”
During warm-up, senior guard David Kool practiced shot after shot deep from the corner – and for good reason. Within the first 30 seconds of play, Kool knocked down the same shot he had been practicing to give the Brown and Gold a quick 3-0 lead. At the 19:03 mark, senior forward Martelle McLemore echoed Kool’s three with one of his own, putting the Broncos ahead by six.
“I can’t believe that we won the game,” said Kool. “We battled and battled. It’s a great feeling to get a positive result out of all of our hard work.”
Western Michigan kept the Falcons from scoring until the 17:31 mark when senior forward Erik Marschall drove in for a quick two points. From then on, it was a battle between the two teams, as possessions were traded back-and-forth for the next five minutes until the Brown and Gold were able to put points on the board with a jumper from Flenard Whitfield.
Whitfield had a strong first half for the Broncos, putting up 10 points after finishing 4-for-4 from the field and 2-for-5 from the free-throw line.
Western Michigan finished 11-for-20 (.550) from the field and 5-for-9 beyond the arc during the first 20 minutes of play, while managing to limit the Falcons to only 14-of-33 from the floor.
At the start of the second half, sophomore guard Mike Douglas put the Brown and Gold on the board with a shot from the field and a three-pointer from Kool at the 17:25 mark put the Broncos in the lead for the first time since the first minute of play for the night.
Bowling Green dominated play in the second, leading by as much as 11 with 8:20 left in the game. A big play for the Falcons came at the 10:55 mark when Coach Hawkins received a technical from the officials after voicing his displeasure for a call. BG’s Dee Brown finished the play at the line, putting in both shots.
The momentum of the game switched at the 6:37 mark when freshman forward Nate Hutcheson was sent to the line for two. After making both, the Broncos forced a Falcon turnover and after a bad attempt from Kool, Douglas picked up the rebound and put it in for two. The Brown and Gold then transitioned from a half-court press to full, forcing yet another turnover which Kool finished for another two points.
On the next possession, a big Donald Lawson block returned to ball to the hands of Kool who drove to the basket for two, cutting the lead to four.
With less than a minute left in the game, Bowling Green led by three. Kool battled to the basket and managed to put the ball up for two points with 11.9 seconds left in the game. The Falcons inbounded the ball, putting it in the hands of Joe Jakubowski. Kool and Hutcheson moved to pressure the ball, but Jakubowski broke free. As he attempted to run, Jakubowski had the ball deflected away by Douglas. Kool picked up the loose ball and drove to basket for a lay-up to seal the win.
“We trapped him [Jakubowski] in the corner, and I found the ball on the floor, it was like a treasure to me,” Kool said. “I was like ‘How did that happen?’ It was crazy, but I picked it up off the floor and threw it up against the glass.”
Kool finished the night with 23 points after finishing 9-for-19 from the field and 4-for-6 beyond the arc. Kool also brought down four rebounds and dished out four assists.
Sophomore guard Demetrius Ward also had a strong night for the Broncos, leading the Brown and Gold with a career-high eight rebounds off the bench. He also contributed six points, two assists and one steal.
“When we were struggling defensively, Demetrius came in for Martelle [McLemore] and did an excellent job,” Hawkins said. “I thought he might have very well been the difference in the game because of the effort areas he was able to win.”
Western Michigan returns to play on Tuesday when they travel to Ohio University (12-10, 3-5 MAC) in the last game of conference crossover play. The match-up is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
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