KALAMAZOO, Mich.- Western Michigan had an off shooting night, connecting on just 36.5 percent from the floor in a 74-64 home loss to Ball State Tuesday. The Broncos will look to rebound Saturday night against Northern Illinois, hosting the Huskies at 7 p.m. at University Arena.

The Broncos were slow to get into a rhythm against Ball State and trailed by eight, 33-25, at the half. Western Michigan warmed up to make 50 percent of its shots in the second half but couldn't overcome a 25 percent (7-for-28) performance from the field in the opening stanza.

Sophomore point guard Thomas Wilder scored a team-high 21 points for Western Michigan with 10 of those points coming at the free throw line. Junior forward Tucker Haymond was the only other Bronco to score in double figures, totaling 14 points and seven rebounds.

After getting behind by as many as 20 in the second half, WMU made a push to cut Ball State's lead down to six with 7:08 remaining. The Cardinals followed with a 7-1 run over the next two and a half minutes to go back on top by 12 with 4:39 left to play to put the game away.

“This game came down to Ball State just having more passion at the front end of the game," said WMU head coach Steve Hawkins. "We dug ourselves a hole and I don't really know the answer for why that happened, but it did.

“We had some really good looks, we missed some bunnies around the rim and some really clean looks from three. They are a good defensive team but we just missed some shots.

"The answer to staying motivated is work. We have to draw a line in the sand. We have standards in this program and tonight we did not play up to those. That part of things will get better because I know our guys and so we will go back to work."

Sophomore center Drake LaMont was the next highest scorer for Western Michigan, tallying nine points and five rebounds. Senior forward Anthony Avery Jr. added six points and five boards.

“We were down by 20 and Coach Hawk just told us to play hard and with more energy," Avery said. "The ball just wasn't falling for us tonight, give credit to Ball State's defense but we need to make more shots around the rim. We just need to watch film, get in the gym, work to get better and move onto the next game.”

Ball State shot 51.9 percent for the game, including 58.3 percent in the second half and 10-for-22 from three. Ryan Weber led all scorers with 26 points on 10-for-12 shooting. The Cardinals also got 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting from Franko House and 11 points from Jeremie Tyler.

The Cardinals had a slight edge on rebounds, 35-29, and had 22 assists to Western Michigan's seven.

Western Michigan's record slipped to 6-10 on the season and 0-3 in Mid-American Conference play. Ball State improved to 11-5 overall and 2-1 in the MAC.