KALAMAZOO, Mich. - Mike Douglas recorded eight assists to become the Western Michigan men's basketball program's career assists leader, but the Broncos were unable to top the Mid-American Conference's first place team, as the Broncos fell 69-66 to the Akron Zips in a nail-biter at University Arena. With the loss, the Broncos fall to 10-14 overall, 4-6 in the MAC.

Douglas hit Brandon Pokley in the left corner with a sharp pass, which Pokley took and fired for a three-point shot that rolled around the rim before falling in. It was the sixth assist of the night for Douglas and the 428th of his career, pushing him one past Billy Stanback for the top total in Bronco history.

However, the Zips did their best to make sure the Broncos would not get to enjoy the accomplishment, erasing a nine-point halftime lead for WMU and taking a 59-58 lead with 20.6 seconds remaining in the game. WMU head coach Steve Hawkins called his final 30-second timeout, and the Broncos came out of the break and drove to the hoop. Flenard Whitfield was fouled beneath the hoop and made 1-of-2 free throws with six remaining to tie the game and send it to overtime.

The overtime period was back and forth as the teams traded buckets, with Nate Hutcheson tying the score at 66-66 with 53 seconds remaining in the final stanza. Akron took a 68-66 lead with 37 seconds left when Zeke Marshall hit a pair of free throws; the Broncos held for last shot, missing with two seconds remaining. Forced to put the Zips back on the free throw line, Akron was able to make 1-of-2 free throws and seal the 69-66 win.

Akron entered the game as the overall MAC leader with an 8-1 conference mark, but it was the Broncos who looked like the team to beat early in the game. The Broncos out-hustled the Zips in the first half, holding them to just 9-of-29 (.310) shooting from the field in the first half. Akron started the game playing well offensively and led 12-8 at the 13:58 mark of the first half; however, the Broncos would lock the Zips down on the boards and hold them to just nine points over the rest of the first half.

WMU out-rebounded Akron 25-10 in the first half, drastically cutting down on the Zips' opportunities to score the basketball. The Broncos tied the game 12-12 at the 12:28 mark with a Flenard Whitfield lay-up, and took the lead for the first time with an Austin Richie lay-up on the ensuing possession. The Zips would tied the score at 17-17 with 6:32 remaining, but the Zips would not score another field goal for three and a half minutes as the Broncos went on a 14-3 run.

Nate Hutcheson knocked down a pair of free throws to give the Broncos the lead for good in the first half, making it 19-17; Douglas would score five points on consecutive possessions, including a three-point play when he drew contact on a lay-up attempt and made the basket. Douglas would aid the run with his passing ability as well, finding Dan Loney under the hoop for an easy lay-up at the 2:43 mark to make it 28-20, and again one minute later when he found Demetrius Ward in the corner for an open three-pointer to give WMU its largest lead of the night, 31-20 with 1:28 remaining in the half. The Broncos entered halftime with a 31-22 lead.

The Broncos will play their final MAC East crossover game on Saturday, February 11 when they travel to Buffalo to take on the Bulls. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.; the game will be aired on SportsTime Ohio.