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MAC MVP David Kool received plenty of defensive attention Thursday, but his second half success propeled Western Michigan into Friday's MAC tourney semifinals. Below, David Brown skies for a layup. Photos by Mike Smith.

The Chippewas (15-15) led 47-35 with 13:51 remaining in the game.  The Broncos (18-14) responded with a 13-1 run in the next 3:20 to close within 48-46.  The teams then traded baskets until a Kool jumper at 4:44 gave WMU a 56-54 lead that it would not relinquish.

“They just got more physical,” CMU head coach Ernie Zeigler said.  “(They) really came at us, started to take it off the dribble.”

Kool did not score his first field goal until the 16:30 mark of the second half.  After shooting 0-4 in the first half, he shot 7-11 in the second frame.

“When we get down by 10, I feel like it's on me to get us back into it,” Kool said.  “Right in the middle of the second half, we felt like we were making a run.  The key was defense.  Our offense fed off our defense.”

CMU led 31-22 at halftime, paced by guard Robbie Harman's 13 points.  The senior made 3 of 6 three-point attempts and 5 of 9 overall.  As a team, the Chippewas shot 41.7% from deep.  Harman and fellow guard Jordan Bitzer both scored 5 points early in the second half as CMU pushed its lead to a game high 14.

“I feel like it was a tale of two halves,” WMU head coach Steve Hawkins said.  “They had their way on us in the first half.  I felt like we did a better job getting our game going in the second.”

The Broncos did a much better job of taking care of the ball in the second half, committing only three turnovers after coughing it up 9 times in the first half.  After shooting 44% from the field in the first half, CMU made 9 of 30 shots (30%) in the second and struggled at the line, converting 9 of 15 attempts.

WMU dominated the inside offensively, outscoring CMU 34-14 in the paint.  Both teams had 16 offensive rebounds, and CMU had 18 second chance points to WMU's 11.  However, the Broncos had 24 defensive rebounds and the Chippewas 13.  As a team, WMU shot only 12 triples out of 46 field goal attempts.

“We could not match or sustain any level of physicality... Ultimately, the most physical team won,” Zeigler said.

Harman led CMU with 20 points.  Bitzer contributed 15 and Amir Rashid added 14. The rest of team had 11.  Even though Harman and Bitzer, both All-MAC Second Team selections, accounted for a bulk of their team's scoring, they had few open looks.

“Harman looked like an NBA player on an NBA floor,” Hawkins said.  “There was a shot... Flenard Whitfield switched on him and was draped all over him, and he hit three anyway.  I thought, 'Uh oh.'”

Kool  had 5 assists in addition to a game-high 26 points.  Whitfield recorded a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.  Freshman David Brown scored 11 points in 13 minutes.

“(Brown) came in and gave us a great spark,” Kool said.

The Broncos advance to play the winner of Akron Friday at 7 p.m.