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Western Michigan rallies to beat VCU

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WESTERN MICHIGAN 83, VCU 67

Saturday:Oklahoma at VCU, 7:30 p.m., Siegel Center

STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
Published: November 19, 2009

KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Martelle McLemore had a game-high 22 points and David Kool had 17 as Western Michigan rallied from a 17-point first-half deficit to beat Virginia Commonwealth 83-67 last night.

McLemore and Kool each added nine rebounds to contribute to the Broncos' 52-37 rebound advantage. Donald Lawson had 13 points and 11 rebounds for Western Michigan (1-1).

Bradford Burgess led Virginia Commonwealth (1-1) with 16 points. Brandon Rozell had 12 points and Jay Gavin added 10 for the Rams.

Virginia Commonwealth surged to a 26-9 lead at the 11:40 mark of the first half on a layup by Joey Rodriguez before Western Michigan began its comeback and narrowed the gap to 42-35 at halftime.

"I was really pleased with our guys' effort in the first 10 minutes," said VCU coach Shaka Smart. "We really got into the press we wanted to and did all we talked about doing this week in practice."

In the second half, the Broncos took the lead during an 11-0 run midway through the period. Nate Hutcheson's jumper in the paint at 12:38 gave the Broncos a 51-50 lead, and they never trailed thereafter.

Western Michigan outshot the Virginia Commonwealth 46.6 percent (27 of 58) to 30.7 percent (23 of 75). The Broncos were hot in the second half, hitting 60.7 percent.

"We have a lot of work to do on the defensive end of the court," Smart said, "and understanding our responsibilities in the press. Not making shots certainly hurt that, but we still have to be able to recover and make a cohesive effort to force turnovers and force bad shots."

VCU (1-1)

Sanders-------------------------	20	2-6	3-6	7	4	0	7
Gwynn-------------------------	23	3-8	2-2	6	4	1	8
Gavin-------------------------	19	4-7	2-3	1	2	0	10
Rodriguez-------------------------	38	2-16	0-0	1	2	3	4
Burgess-------------------------	35	3-11	8-8	4	2	1	16
Grayson-------------------------	0+	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0
Theus-------------------------	4	0-2	0-0	1	3	0	0
Pishchalnikov------	11	1-3	0-0	6	3	0	2
Daniels-------------------------	3	0-1	0-0	0	0	0	0
Rozzell-------------------------	26	2-4	0-0	2	4	0	12
Nixon-------------------------	21	2-3	0-0	5	2	1	8
Team				4
Totals -------------------------		23-75	15-19	37	26	6	67

WESTERN MICHIGAN (1-1)

McLemore------------------------	34	9-13	3-3	9	1	4	22
Whitfield-------------------------	21	4-8	0-0	6	4	3	8
Lawson-------------------------	35	4-8	5-6	11	4	0	13
Douglas-------------------------	28	2-5	0-3	3	2	1	4
Kool-------------------------	36	3-12	11-12	9	1	4	17
Ward-------------------------	12	1-2	4-4	4	0	2	6
Hutcheson------------------------	16	3-6	2-4	6	3	1	9
Whittington----------------	3	0-0	0-0	0	1	0	0
Brown-------------------------	15	1-4	2-3	0	2	0	4
Team				4
Totals -------------------------		27-58	27-35	52	18	15	83

VCU ------------------------- 42 25 -- 67
Western Michigan ------------------------- 35 48 -- 83

3-point goals -- VCU (6-27): Nixon 2-3, Rozzell 2-4, Burgess 2-6, Sanders 0-1, Theus 0-1, Daniels 0-1, Gavin 0-1, Gwynn 0-2, Rodriguez 0-8. Western Michigan (2-15): Hutcheson 1-2, McLemore 1-4, Whitfield 0-1, Brown 0-2, Douglas 0-2, Kool 0-4.

Turnovers -- VCU (11): Rodriguez 4, Rozzell 2, Gavin 2, Pishchalnikov, Burgess, Gwynn. Western Michigan (18): Douglas 4, Kool 3, McLemore 3, Lawson 2, Ward 2, Whitfield, Hutcheson, Brown.

Blocked shots -- VCU (3): Pishchalnikov, Sanders, Rozzell. Western Michigan (4): Lawson 3, Whitfield.

Steals -- VCU (11): Rodriguez 6, Rozzell 2, Pishchalnikov, Burgess, Gwynn. Western Michigan (5): Kool 2, Ward, Whittington, Lawson.

A -- 2,654.