OXFORD, Ohio - David Brown made a go-ahead free throw with two seconds remaining to give his team the final edge, and the Western Michigan men's basketball team extended its season-long win streak to four games by winning an overtime thriller 78-77 against Miami (Ohio) at Millett Hall on Saturday. With the win, the Broncos improve to 9-5 on the season, 2-0 in Mid-American Conference play.

Brown drove the lane on the Broncos' final possession and drew contact from Bill Edwards, putting the team's senior leader on the free throw line with the chance to take the lead. Brown sunk the first free throw to put the Broncos head, and Connar Tava picked up the offensive rebound of the second to ensure the RedHawks had no opportunity to send up a desperation shot.

The Bronco offense continued to be the model of shooting efficiency, going 23-of-41 from the field for a 56.1 shooting percentage. They built their lead in the first half by holding the RedHawks to just a 29.2 percentage in the first half, while the Broncos shot nearly 62 percent from the field themselves. The game stayed close due to the Broncos' trouble with turnovers; they gave the ball away 16 times in the game, compared to just six turnovers for the RedHawks.

Brown finished with a game-high 25 points, going 6-of-13 from the floor and 9-of-12 from the free throw line. Tava did not finish far behind him with 22 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two blocked shots; the sophomore missed just one field goal attempt, going 7-of-8 from the field, and shot a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line. Shayne Whittington added 12 points and a game-high eight rebounds.

The overtime period saw the teams trade points on consecutive possessions, with Tava making a pair of free throws on the Broncos' first trip with the ball to tie it at 67. Bill Edwards, who finished with a team-high 24 points for Miami, made two free throws on his next possession to re-take the lead, but Richie tied it with a pair of free throw on makes with 4:03 remaining in the period. The biggest spark came when the RedHawks committed a costly turnover at half court, leading to Tava driving to the hoop, making a lay-up, and drawing contact from Joshua Oswald in the process to put WMU up 72-69. The lead went as high as five points when Whittington made a pair of free throws with 2:50 remaining in overtime, but a 5-2 Miami run tied the game at 77 thanks to a jumper in the paint from Edwards with seven seconds remaining. Brown broke the RedHawks' full court press, drew a foul on the way to the hoop, and knocked home the game-winner to send the Broncos' home with a W.

The Broncos could not seem to miss in the opening minutes of the game, catching fire early on and leading by as many as 14 points in the first half. Brown made a three-pointer from the right corner at the 18:41 mark to give the Broncos a 5-2 lead, an advantage that would hold up until late in the second half. Tava converted on an and-1 to put the Broncos ahead 10-4, and Tucker Haymond sparked the team with three-pointer makes on consecutive possessions to make it 18-4 at the 11:38 mark of the first half. The lead briefly dipped below 10 points on a pair of free throw makes from Will Sullivan, but Taylor Perry pushed it to 14 points again with a baseline drive and lay-up to make it 28-14 with 6:05 left. Will Felder pulled the RedHawks to within six points with 59 seconds remaining, but Brown banged home another three-pointer to send the lead to 35-26 at the halfway point.

Miami came out with great sharpness in the second half, though, pulling to within one possession at the 16:34 mark on a transition lay-up from Felder. The lead dipped to just one point on a lay-up from Willie Moore at the 12:49 mark, but the Broncos did not relinquish the lead until Edwards drained a three-pointer from the head of the key to make it 58-56 with 4:57 remaining. Edwards made another three-pointer to keep it a two-point lead with 3:53 left in regulation, but Tava put WMU ahead 64-63 with two free throw makes at the 1:25 mark. Brown made it a two-point lead by making the front end of a 1-and-1, but Moore made a finger roll with two seconds remaining to tie the score and send it to overtime.