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Broncos move into first place; Hawk gets 250th win

By Alan Gerould, Senior Writer, Bronco Blitz

KALAMAZOO -- The Western Michigan University men's basketball team rewarded head coach Steve Hawkins with his 250th win in nearly 14 seasons at the helm of the program. The 80-55 beat down of first place Ball State University was the sixth win in a row and seventh in the last eight games since the Broncos lost to the Cardinals in Muncie back on Jan. 28, 84-78. The victory elevated the Broncos (13-15, 9-7 Mid-American Conrefence) into a share of the MAC West lead.

The Broncos achieved the milestone for Hawk just the way he would want, with tenacious rebounding (the Broncos held a 40-25 advantage on the boards), fierce defense (the Cardinals only shot 41 percent from the floor and had its lowest scoring total this season) and contributions from everyone on the team.

"We just had to get back to Hawks style, our style of Bronco Basketball," senior swingman Tucker Haymond said. "We were playing alright offensively but we were passive on defense and were not getting the type of stops that we need to to be a championship caliber team. Some of us upperclassmen took a look in the mirror and decided we had to pick it up in the defensive end if we were going to have success this season. The increased intensity had a trickle down effect on the younger guys."

The Broncos, who limped out of its last game against the Cardinals with a 2-6 conference record, have only a blemish at Central Michigan on its record since then and were up in that game by as many as 18 points before they had a lapse that caused them a narrow loss at the end.

"The game after Ball State, when we were down by 23 to Ohio in the first half, is when things started to click," junior guard Thomas Wilder said. "We were sick of losing and just dug down a little deeper and played each possession as if it were for the championship." The Broncos came back to win that game 90-85 and have not looked back since.

Hawkins, who is typically humble, refused to take to much credit for his success during his tenure at WMU.

"I learned from Coach (John) Wooden over the years that coaches get to much credit and get paid to much money," Hawkins said. "I have just managed to surround myself with some great coaches and we have combined to recruit some solid kids over the years."

Consistency of this program speaks for itself with top three finishes in the MAC West in the last 11 seasons.

While Haymond, 21 points, 6-of-8 from the field and 8-of-11 from the free throw line, and Wilder, 16 points, 5-of-12 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free throw line, led the team in scoring, Hawkins singled out several others as key to the teams success.

"I think Bryce Moore and Drake Lamont are two guys that don't get nearly as much credit as they should. Bryce is a lock down defender who is generally going to draw the opposing teams best guard and he just does so much to disrupt the other teams offensive flow," Hawkins said. "Drake has been coming off the bench with many of the freshman like Reggie, Jarrin and Jared and he has a calming effect on them and is able to keep them in the flow of the game. I don't think of those guys as freshman anymore as much as just valuable pieces to our overall game planning."

Hawkins also mentioned front court starters Seth Dugan and freshman Brandon Johnson as players that have steadily improved throughout the season and are playing their best basketball at the right time of the season.

The season has only two games left. WMU travels to Dekalb, Ill. for a Tuesday night game versus Northern Illinois and has a quick turn around with its regular season finale at University Arena hosting Central Michigan University. The two division winners along with the next two with the best conference records earn first round byes in the MAC tournament. Seeds 5-8 host seeds 9-12 at home courts in the first round.Hawkins is not thinking that far ahead.

"We (coaches) tend to be in the moment," Hawkins said. "We will enjoy this one for a few hours and then its on to the next possession and NIU."

Bronco Nation is hoping that will bring Hawk and the Broncos a 251st "W" and counting. Fight on!

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