Final Stats

USDvsWMUbox

(Kalamazoo, MI) - The USD Toreros (0-2) played well on the road at Western Michigan, and despite four Toreros reaching double-digit scoring, dropped a hard-fought 74-62 decision to the WMU Broncos (1-1). Sophomore guard Marcus Harris, getting his first collegiate start, paced the Toreros with a personal-best 13 points. He was followed in the scoring column by Brett Bailey (12 points), Brandon Perry (12 points) and Duda Sanadze (10 points).

"I thought we came to play, but fell a little short," said head coach Lamont Smith. "It was a tale of two halves. They did a good job of exposing us in the 2nd half. They are a very good team and executed down the stretch, and we didn't. I thought Marcus gave us some speed and quickness, but unfortunately he ran into some foul trouble. We have some things we can build on from this game, and I'm hoping we can take some of those positives and carry them into Saturday's game at Fullerton."

In the first half the Toreros got off to a sluggish start as they fell behind 8-0 out of gates. On the strength of 6-for-11 shooting beyond the three-point arc, the Toreros rallied to take a 34-28 intermission lead. Marcus Harris tallied 11 of his 13 points in the first 20 minutes of action.

The second half was a different story as the Toreros managed to connect on just 3-17 three-point attempts, and the host WMU Broncos heated up by making 15-28 shots over the final 20 minutes. The Broncos, who have won 20 or more games three straight seasons, were paced by forwards Tucker Haymond (17 points) and Thomas Wilder (13 points). Anthony Avery Jr. chipped in with 9 points and 12 rebounds. The Broncos out-rebounded USD 45-26, and attempted 38 free throws (25 made) to USD's 10 (5 makes).

The Toreros continue their road swing on Saturday with a 3:00 p.m. contest against Cal State Fullerton at Titan Gym. USD then heads to Anchorage, Alaska for three games in the GCI Great Alaska Shootout.