On Wednesday, the Western Michigan University men’s basketball team fell to the University of Akron, 79-70, in front of 3,041 fans at University Arena.
Senior guard David Kool led the Brown and Gold with 30 points to set a new WMU career scoring record with 1,790 points. Kool’s pair of free throws with 48 seconds remaining in the game allowed him to surpass Manny Newsome’s 1,787 points that has held since 1964.
Akron took an early lead as Steve McNees knocked down a three-pointer but the Broncos were able to hang in within one shot, 9-8, after sophomore guard Mike Douglas found Kool for a lay-up with 14:21 left to play in the half.
At the end of the first, the Zips led 35-27.
The Green and White opened the second half with a 14-2 run to increase their lead to 16 after a three-pointer at the 15:12 mark. The Broncos echoed back with a 9-3 run to cut the lead to 10, 50-40. After a baseline jumper from Kool, the Zips were forced to take a timeout with 12:03 left to play.
Less than a minute later, Kool hit his first shot from beyond the arc for the night to cut the deficit to eight but Akron managed to answer back with a three in the next possession and a pair of free throws after a steal to lead by 13.
The Zips controlled play for the remainder of the game, despite the Brown and Gold’s best efforts.
Senior center Donald Lawson had a career-high 14 rebounds and 12 points for his fourth double-double of the season. Sophomore Demetrius Ward also scored a season-high 10 points off the bench and Douglas led all players with eight assists.
Coming off a tough loss, the Broncos were hopeful for a win against Kent State University on Saturday; however, the Brown and Gold were edged out in a 74-73 decision.
Kent State led by as much as nine in the first half as a lay-up from Tyree Evans at the 14:36 mark increased the score to 11-2.
The Brown and Gold managed to tie the game 20-20 at the 10:04 mark but the Blue and Gold would finish the first half with a 35-29 lead.
In the first 20 minutes of play, the Broncos finished only 10-for-32 in the field and only 1-for-11 from beyond the arc. The Golden Flashes connected on 14-for-27 from the paint and 6-for-7 from the free throw line to add to their six-point lead at the half.
The first points of the second half came within the first 30 seconds of play as freshman Nate Hutcheson dished the ball to Kool for a quick lay-up. Less than a minute later, Kool found himself at the line, connecting on both shots to cut the deficit to two.
At the 17:11 mark, WMU’s Douglas connected for a three-pointer to tie the game at 37 all. The Brown and Gold took their first lead of the night with a jumper from sophomore Flenard Whitfield at the 15:41 mark.
Western Michigan managed to keep the lead until the 1:23 mark when the Gold and Blue’s Anthony Simpson connected on a massive dunk to tie the game at 69.
In the end, the Broncos were unable to answer back and fell to the Golden Flashes.
Leading the way for the Brown and Gold was Kool who finished the night with a career-high 38 points, moving him to 19th place in MAC history with 1,828 career points. Kool also chipped in one assist and two steals.
Hutcheson also finished the night with nine points, four rebounds and two assists in 25 minutes of play. Close behind Hutcheson was Whitfield with seven points and four rebounds.
Western Michigan University returns to play on Monday when they travel to the University at Buffalo to face the Bulls at UB’s Alumni Arena. The match-up is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
