Tough South Carolina Defense Befuddles Broncos, Western Michigan Falls, 78-60

The Western Michigan Broncos headed to Columbia, SC, to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks in a resume’ builder contest. The notable South Carolina defense was too much.

The Broncos held tough early, and a Thomas Wilder trey closed the gap 17-16 with 10:17 to play in the first half. A three by Reggie Jones and a dunk by Seth Dugan pulled Western Michigan within one again at the 7:55 mark, and it looked like we were going to have ourselves a good, old fashioned slug fest. A Wilder layup a few possessions later tied it up, 23-23 and then the floodgates opened.

Kory Holden hit a jumper and then Felipe Haase and David Beatty each hit a three. All three players came off the bench. Chris Silva and Beatty each hit a pair of free throws to put the Gamecocks up 35-25 with 3:31 left in the first half and the Broncos could never recover, thanks to the home crowd and tough South Carolina defense.

Thomas Wilder had 21 points, 5 assists, 6 steals, and a goose egg in the turnover column for the Broncos. Bryce Moore added 12 points and Josh Davis 11. Davis led the team with 8 rebounds. Jarrin Randall was the only other Bronco off the bench to get into the scoring column.

It was a team effort for the Gamecocks as 4 starters managed double digits in scoring, and 24 points came off the bench.

The Broncos had a terrible night shooting, only hitting 36% from the floor, 23.8% from three, and 52% from the line. 12 missed free throws can make any win tough. They were also out rebounded 46-32

Western Michigan falls to 1-1 o the season and heads to the Myrtle Beach to take on Tulsa as part of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Basketball Tournament. It was relocated to South Carolina because of the aftermath of hurricane Maria.