Broncos buck Bobcats

by Joe Arnold
Staff Writer

After being handed an 18-point loss by the Bobcats two weeks ago, the Western Michigan Broncos took to the perimeter Saturday, pounding the Ohio men’s basketball team 95-65.

Western Michigan (10-9 overall, 3-5 Mid-American Conference) set a school-record and tied the MAC mark by sinking 17 three pointers in the 30-point route.

Ohio (11-5, 6-2) began the three-point shooting contest with guard Steve Esterkamp connecting for the game’s first field goal. The lead proved short-lived, however, and Western Michigan’s duo of guards Robby Collum and Ben Reed combined to shoot 6 of 6 from behind the three-point line to put the Broncos ahead 20-11. Ohio never recovered from the opening barrage.

Esterkamp said the Broncos’ three-point shooting could not be stopped.

“We lost by 30,” Esterkamp said. “Every loss is a big loss for us. Defense is the hardest thing to play when they’re hitting that many shots.”

The Broncos’ defense saddled forward Brandon Hunter, Ohio’s leading scorer. Hunter managed only eight points and six rebounds. Hunter said triple teams forced him to pass the ball more than usual.

“They had three people guarding me,” he said. “I don’t know many players that can score with three people on them.”

The Broncos’ 21-of-31 first-half shooting, coupled with the Bobcats’ inability to collect rebounds allowed Western Michigan to take a 54-36 lead at halftime.

Western Michigan out-rebounded the Bobcats 42-19— Ohio’s worst margin all season.

Shooting against Ohio’s zone defense, Western Michigan opened the second half with the same hot hands from the first half. Forward Steve Reynolds sank two three-pointers and added a lay-up, and Collum added a trey to start a 15-2 Broncos’ run that put Western Michigan ahead 69-40.        

The Broncos’ perimeter shooting left Ohio coach Tim O’Shea scratching his head, he said.

“Tonight was a phenomenal display of shooting,” O’Shea said. “There’s not a coach in the country that can defense against shooting like that. Statistically, it was an aberration. Outside of Duke, nobody shoots the three as consistently as they did tonight.”

The Broncos took a 90-58 lead with 3:40 left with Reynolds canned the final three pointer for Western Michigan. The Broncos finished 36-of-60 shooting for the game.

Collum finished with 23 points, including a 7-of-8 shooting performance from beyond the arc. Forward Steve Reynolds chipped in 21 points and sunk 6 of 9 three-pointers. Reed finished with 14 points.

Reserve guard Sonny Johnson paced Ohio with 13 points, while Esterkamp added 11 points

Ohio returns to The Convo to face Akron at 7 p.m. Wednesday.