Struggling RedHawks fall to Western Michigan

The Western Michigan Broncos went into their Mid-American Conference game against Miami on Tuesday at Millett Hall winless in 13 games away from home.

The punchless, reeling RedHawks proved to be just the tonic needed by Western Michigan.

Freshman guard Reggie Jones scored a career-high 26 points and the Broncos capitalized on a poor shooting night by the MAC’s least-productive offense, pinning a 72-55 loss on Miami before a crowd of 3,061, the second-largest of the season. A large contingent of sorority members and other students were drawn by a free raffle for students.

Freshman guard Marcus Weathers was the only Miami player to reach double figures, scoring 13 points for the RedHawks (9-15, 2-9 MAC), who have lost four straight and nine of their last 10 games. Western Michigan (8-15, 4-7) had lost five of its last six games.

The RedHawks, who went into the game averaging a conference-low 72.7 points per game, set a season low for made 3-pointers with two in 12 attempts while tying their single-game season low for scoring.

Western Michigan’s defense was “tougher” than Miami’s offense, RedHawks coach John Cooper said.

“I thought we started the game with the right mentality, but then we got into some foul trouble, and that definitely slowed us down,” the fifth-year coach said. “That took us out of our rhythm. In the second half, we started to break down on our ball screen coverage, and they made us pay.

“It’s not acceptable. We’ve had some games where we didn’t play well, but we at least competed. We never found our rhythm in the second half. You can attribute some of that to their defense, but we’ve got to have better composure and put ourselves in better position to be competitive.”

The Broncos never trailed after putting together an 8-0 run during a six-minute Miami scoring drought that left them with a 22-18 lead with 4:09 left in the first half.

Miami’s frustration never was more evident than when 6:09 was left in the game. That’s when freshman guard Michael Weathers was called for a technical foul, which doubled as his disqualifying fifth personal foul, for a foul called on junior Rod Mills.

“We’ve talked to the team about that,” Cooper said. “No matter what happens, you have to maintain your composure. We don’t condone it.”

The RedHawks wrap up their three-game home stand Saturday at 3:30 against a Central Michigan team led by 5-9 junior guard Marcus Keene, who went into the Chippewas game on Tuesday at Ohio leading the nation in scoring with an average of 30.2 points per game. Keene erupted for 50 points in Central Michigab’s 101-92 shootout win over Miami at Mount Pleasant, Mich., on Jan. 21. He scored 41 in Central Michigan’s win over the Bobcats.

Third-year junior forward Dion Wade watched Tuesday’s game from the bench accompanied by crutches after apparently suffering a knee injury during Tuesday’s shootaround.

About the Author