CHICAGO, Ill. – A young Western Michigan men's basketball team fell just short on the road in the 2015-16 season opener, with the Broncos dropping a 69-63 decision to the DePaul Blue Demons in Chicago on Saturday.  The Broncos (0-1) will make their home debut on Tuesday, Nov. 17 when they host the San Diego Toreros at University Arena.

Tucker Haymond tied his career-high with 24 points, going 8-of-17 from the field and 6-of-6 from the free throw line to pace all players in the game.  Thomas Wilder finished with 16 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals.  Drake LaMont came off the bench for a game-high eight rebounds.

WMU looked strong at the outset, taking an 11-point lead into the halftime break and ultimately leading by 12 points early on in the second period.  However, they were stymied offensively in the second half, shooting just 21.4 percent from the field in the last 20 minutes as the Blue Demons snuck past them. 

Haymond struck first for the Broncos, making a jumper just inside the three-point arc to open the scoring in the first half, and Taylor Perry drilled a wide-open three from the right wing to put the Broncos ahead 5-4 at the 17:26 mark.  Perry tied the game at 9-all with a contested three from the left corner, fighting through a foul by Eli Cain to nail the shot.  Wilder followed that up on the next possession, burying a trey from the right corner to make it 12-9. 

LaMont sparked a 10-0 run with a jumper from the head of the key at the 6:39 mark as the Broncos held the Blue Demons scoreless from 6:59 until there was just 3:04 remaining in the period.  Haymond capped the run with a driving lay-up in the paint, banking a shot off the glass with 3:21 left to make it 28-19.  Wilder closed out the scoring in the first half with a well-executed jumper as time wound down, making the shot with three second remaining to put the Broncos ahead 35-24 at the half.

Jared Klein sparked things early in the second half with a transition jumper to make it 38-29 but the Blue Demons hung tough and held WMU off the scoreboard for the next several minutes.  Haymond broke the drought with a three from the right corner at the 12:50 mark to make it 41-33, a lead that the Broncos carried into the media timeout.  The Blue Demons jumped ahead 43-41 on a three-point play by Cain and made it 45-41 on a make with 8:33 left to play.

Wilder breathed life back into the offense late in the half, scoring on an and-one with 7:21 left and sinking a pair of free throws with 6:07 left to cut the Blue Demons' lead to 53-51.  DePaul countered, however, taking a 63-55 lead on a lay-up by Darrick Wood.  He added another make with a minute to play, making it 65-56, and the Blue Demons held on for the victory.