Men’s basketball falls to IUPUI, 76-68

By Roger Sievers
Western Herald

(Robert Youngs / Western Herald) Western Michigan’s David Kool takes an off-balance layup as IUPUI’s Robert Glenn defends in the Broncos’ 76-68 loss on Saturday.

The growing pains for the young Western Michigan University men’s basketball team continued Saturday, as the team lost to Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis 76‑68 Saturday in front of 2,574 fans at University Arena.

Western Michigan erased a 19-point second half deficit to get within four, but did not have enough to take the lead in the final minute. The loss marked the first time since 2000 that Western Michigan (2-5) has lost consecutive games at home.

The Jaguars jumped out to a 26‑18 lead before Western Michigan cut it down to 28‑24 at halftime. In the second half, IUPUI shot a lights-out 73 percent, connecting on 16‑of-22 shots including, 6‑for-6 from behind the three-point arc.

“They were hitting some pull‑up jumpers that we had not seen them hit,” said WMU head coach Steve Hawkins.

IUPUI (4‑2) pushed their lead to 19 points midway through the second half before a flurry of shots started falling for the Broncos. The Jaguars started a trend of missing the front end of its one‑and‑one free throw attempts. The Broncos cut the deficit to four after a layup by junior Martelle McLemore with 40 seconds left.
However, IUPUI hit its free throws on the intentional foul and were able to fend off the Broncos. The win was IUPUI’s first victory in school history on a Mid‑American Conference team’s home court.

IUPUI senior point guard Gary Patterson was the star for the Jaguars, returning to action for the first time since breaking his hand in late October. He had only practiced for a day and a half before scoring 16 points and going 3-for-6 from beyond the three-point line. He also added a career‑high eight assists Saturday.

“Without him, the engine just runs a little differently,” said IUPUI head coach Ron Hunter.

Sophomore guard LeRoy Nobles added 15 points, going 4‑for-6 in three-point field goals for the Jags. Junior forward Jon Avery contributed 14 points as well on 6‑for-7 shooting from the field.

While IUPUI was on fire, the Broncos lack of inside presence, coupled with the Jaguars zone defense, pressured Western Michigan into taking 27 three-point attempts. Of those, the Broncos were only able to get seven to fall.

Western Michigan shot 35 percent from the field as a team in the first half. WMU improved, shooting 48 percent in the second half, but failed to capitalized due to struggles from long range in the game.

The trio of junior guard David Kool, senior guard Shawntes Gary and junior guard Martelle McLemore scored 15 points each for the Broncos. Gary was 7-for-9 from the field, including a highlight worthy put back slam in the waning moments of the game that was part of Western Michigan’s rally.

McLemore went 3‑for-5 from deep to go along with his six rebounds. Kool, however, found himself stuck in the worst shooting slump of his career. In Kool’s last three games, he has gone 11‑for-46 from the field with 4‑for-24 from the three-point range (he went 4‑for-15 Saturday, including 2‑for-11 from three).

“It’s tough because I feel like I’ve got to hit some shots for us to get going a little bit,” said Kool. “When that’s not happening, it’s tough, but you’ve just got to continue to work through it … you can’t ever lose confidence in yourself and I never will.”

Western Michigan was coming off a road win over Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas on Nov. 25. Senior forward Derek Drews hit a go-ahead three‑pointer for WMU with 8 seconds left to break a 62‑62 tie as Western Michigan won the game 65‑62. Shawntes Gary led the Brown and Gold with 16 points, seven rebounds and two assists as Drews finished with 13 points, six rebounds and three assists. McLemore went 4‑for-5 from the floor for 11 points, including all three of his three‑pointers.

Western Michigan (2‑5) will return to the road for its next three games, starting with Virginia Commonwealth University on Dec. 4. The Broncos will return home Dec. 18 to face off against Iona College.

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Posted by HeraldAdmin on Dec 1 2008. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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