AKRON, Ohio- Western Michigan gave Akron a good fight but eventually fell to the Zips, 62-53, in the Broncos' first Mid-American Conference road game of the season. WMU trailed by 11 at the half, 34-23, and outscored Akron by two in the second half, 30-28.

The Zips are undefeated at home this year and are winners of their last 10 straight games. Akron's 13-2 overall record (2-0 MAC) is its best start in the Division I era.

The Broncos trimmed an early 13-point second-half deficit down to two, 43-41, with 8:54 remaining and were still within two possessions (53-48) with three minutes left to play.

Rebounding was a huge factor in the Broncos' ability to run with the Zips, as Western Michigan out-rebounded Akron by 15 (50-35). The Broncos had a season-high 24 offensive rebounds and only allowed Akron to grab 11 on its offensive glass.

“I was really pleased with our effort tonight, especially the last 30 minutes of the game,” said WMU head coach Steve Hawkins."If we give that sort of effort all year long, I think we will be fine. We just had a notrocious shooting night.

“We did a really good job defensively, we held them to five field goals in the second half and 34 percent overall, and that (Akron) is an outstanding offensive team.

“All of the physical stats - we out-rebounded them 50-35 with 24 offensive rebounds, I couldn't be more proud of. But we were 2-for-19 from the three-point line and 9-for-17 from the free throw line, it's really difficult to win basketball games when you shoot the ball like that.”

One player who had no trouble finding the bottom of the net for Western Michigan was sophomore point guard Thomas Wilder. Wilder shot 10-for-15 from the field and led all scorers with 26 points. He also had nine rebounds and two assists. It was his fifth 20-plus scoring game of the season and his third in the last four games. Tuesday against Kent State, Wilder totaled 28 points, as he has begun MAC play averaging 27.0 ppg over the first two games.

“Thomas is a special player,” Hawkins said. “Every time out on the floor he seems to grow a little bit more and a little bit more. He's got a lot of tricks in his bag, he's got a pull-up jumper, he's got a step-back jumper and he can get to the rim. He has a chance to do something really special in this conference.”

Senior forward Anthony Avery Jr. also had a solid night, recording his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Avery has totaled double-digit rebounds in each of the last three games, hauling in 10 against Kent State and 14 against Jacksonville.

The Zips did a good job containing WMU's leading scorer entering the contest in junior forward Tucker Haymond. Haymond went 3-for-14 from the floor and finished with eight points and nine rebounds.

Western Michigan shot 31.8 percent from the field and was just 2-for-19 from downtown. The Zips shot 34 percent and just 22.7 percent in the second half. The Zips were 9-for-29 from behind the arc.

Akron opened the game with a slight 10-7 advantage and used sloppy play by the Broncos (11 first half turnovers) to go on a 16-4 run to jump out to a 21-9 lead. At the 4:04 mark, Western Michigan had cut the Zips' lead to seven with a 9-2 run. Three of the four baskets came from inside the paint and second chance opportunities in part to offensive rebounds. Akron's Jake Kretzer answered with two big three's, helping his team build an 11-point buffer (34-23) at halftime.

Akron's Antino Jackson scored the first bucket of the second half to extend UA's lead to 13 before Western Michigan went to work and whittled the deficit down to two over the next nine minutes. Wilder had the final four points in that run.

Western Michigan trailed by five with three minutes left to play but six-straight points by the Zips, including a three by Kwan Cheatham Jr., put the game out of reach.

Jackson scored a team-high 15 points for Akron, adding eight rebounds and four assists. Kretzer came off the bench to hit four three's and score 13 points.

Western Michigan (6-9, 0-2 MAC) is home for its next two contests and is hosts of four of its next five games. The Broncos face Ball State Tuesday at University Arena at 7 p.m. and welcome Northern Illinois next Saturday, Jan. 16, also a 7 p.m. tip.