Temple outrebounds WMU by 10 as Owls down Broncos

By Adam Debrowski
Western Herald

(Chyn Wey Lee/Western Herald) WMU senior guard David Kool goes for a layup against Temple during Tuesday night's 70 -74 lost. Kool led the team with season-high 30 points.

If there’s anything that head coach Steve Hawkins wants to secure in his team, it’s rebounding. Unfortunately, outrebounding a team like Temple University is anything but an easy task.

The Western Michigan University men’s basketball team was outrebounded by 10 on the offensive glass Tuesday night as they fell to the Temple Owls 70-76 at University Arena. By halftime, Temple had as many offensive rebounds (14) as the Broncos had altogether.

“The numbers really don’t lie – we gave up 19 offensive rebounds,” Hawkins said. “By giving up all those offensive rebounds, we just gave them too many more possessions.”

Tuesday’s game marked the third time the Broncos (2-3) have lost by two possessions or less, having previously lost to the University of Detroit Mercy by six points and to Loyola University Chicago by two. However, WMU’s 70 points were the most Temple (5-2) had given up to date, despite having teams like Georgetown University, Virginia Tech University and St. John’s University already on its season résumé.

Senior guard David Kool notched 30 of the 70 points, going 10-for-19 from the field and a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line. Kool scored 15 of his points within the first nine minutes of the game, teaming with Martelle McLemore to score an early 20 for the Brown and Gold.

Kool’s hot hand led in part to a career-high in assists for Mike Douglas, who finished with 10. Douglas’ total marked only the 22nd 10-assist game in WMU history.

(Chyn Wey Lee/Western Herald) WMU freshman forward Nate Hutcheson goes for a hook shot against Temple during the first half of their match on Tuesday night.

“We felt like we put up a good enough fight to come out with a victory and when you don’t [win], it hurts,” Kool said. “I think we played well and I think that’s why we’re all so disappointed.”

Kool and McLemore led the Broncos to an early nine-point lead, which was eventually erased when Temple’s Juan Fernandez sank an 18-foot jumper to give the Owls a one-point lead with 24 seconds left. Kool answered with a pair of free throws to send the Broncos to the locker room with a slim one-point lead.

The second half saw a noticeable gap in long-range shooting, as Temple went 6-for-11 and Western Michigan went 1-for-12. Midway through the half, Temple big man Craig Williams carried the Owls to an eight-point lead by sinking three consecutive triples within a four-minute period. Williams’ four buckets from beyond the arc doubled his previous season-high of two.

“When [Williams] knocks one down, he thinks he’s hot,” Temple guard Ryan Brooks said with a grin. “When he got a couple down, he was smiling and thought everything was going down from then on.”

With Temple up by as much as 10 points in the half, the Broncos fought to within four points when Donald Lawson laid the ball in with 11 seconds left in the game. However, the Owls pulled out of reach when Williams hit both free throws from an intentional foul.

“It’s always tough to lose a basketball game, but we lost to a really good team,” Hawkins said. “We’ve played some very good basketball teams so far. I feel a heck of a lot better sitting here after five games this year than I did last year.”

The Broncos continue the season Dec. 9 when they travel to Charleston, Ill. to take on the Eastern Illinois Panthers.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAV_ZKJu9jg[/youtube]

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Posted by heraldstaff on Dec 1 2009. 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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