KALAMAZOO, Mich.- Western Michigan maintained a lead a majority of the game, but Bowling Green found a way to slip past the Broncos in the final minutes, handing WMU a 79-78 home loss Tuesday evening.

The Broncos built a 10-point lead in the first half and led 43-38 at halftime. Bowling Green kept the game within two possessions in the second half and after tying the game at 74-74 with 1:23 remaining got a big three from Matt Fox in the corner with 53 seconds left to pull ahead and hold on for the victory.

The 3-pointer by Fox came off of three missed opportunities by the Broncos to extend what was a 74-70 advantage. A layup by BGSU's Ismail Ali cut the deficit to two and on WMU's next offensive trip down the floor sophomore Thomas Wilder had his shot blocked in the lane. The Broncos rebounded the ball and Wilder took a look at a three which was off the mark. Free throws by Bowling Green tied the score at 74-all before WMU's Tucker Haymond was sent to the line to shoot two for the Broncos. Haymond missed both attempts with 1:06 on the clock and Fox put down his triple on Bowling Green's next possession.

"Just have to get a lot of credit to Bowling Green, they just out toughed us," said WMU head coach Steve Hawkins.

“They were able to get a lot of loose balls and offensive rebounds. Their guards drove on us and we didn't move our feet well enough. When we did and forced a bad shot, we didn't get in position to rebound the ball. I felt like Bowling Green was the quicker team to the ball all night.

"The game should have never came down to the last minute, we lost the battle for rebounds and were in a dog fight that we shouldn't have put ourselves in."

Bowling Green outrebounded Western Michigan 40-33 and had five more offensive rebounds, including a plus-three advantage in the second half.

Haymond led all scorers with 20 points and had six rebounds. Wilder followed with 17 points, with 10 of those coming at the charity stripe. Haymond and Wilder each had four assists.

Sophomore center Drake LaMont had 10 points and five rebounds for WMU and freshman Seth Dugan worked inside for nine points.

Bowling Green had a balanced attack with four players scoring in double figures. Wes Alcegaire scored a team-high 14 points. The Falcons outscored WMU on the break 11-0 and 13-4 on second-chance buckets.

BGSU shot 44.6 percent from the floor while WMU hit 43.1 percent of its shots.

The loss dropped Western Michigan's record to 8-12 overall and 2-5 in the Mid-American Conference. The Falcons improved to 13-7 and 4-3 in the MAC.

WMU returns to University Arena Saturday to host West Division rival Eastern Michigan at 2 p.m. The Eagles (10-10, 2-5 MAC) dropped their contest Tuesday at Kent State 73-58 and enter Saturday's matchup on a four-game losing streak.