KALAMAZOO, Mich.- Thomas Wilder and Tucker Haymond led a late second-half Bronco rally, but Western Michigan's comeback attempt fell short on the road at Ball State as the Cardinals prevailed, 84-78.

Western Michigan fell behind 10 at halftime, 44-34, after Ball State took the lead with 7:13 left before the break. Wilder picked up two fouls early and played just 10 minutes in the first half, scoring two points.

The Cardinals were able to outscore WMU 20-10 in the paint in the first half and 10-2 on nine Bronco turnovers.

Ball State extended its lead to as many as 14 midway through the second half. Trailing nine with 6:17 to go, WMU put together a 7-0 run, including five-straight from Wilder to cut the deficit to two, 71-69, with 4:05 remaining. Wilder then came down and answered a Franko House 3-pointer with another one of his own.

Ball State hit four free throws over its next two possessions to push its lead back up to six with just under three minutes left to play. WMU pulled within three with 59 seconds on the clock, but Ball State free throws by House with 33 seconds left again gave the Cardinals a cushion.

Haymond ended the game with 21 points on 7-for-11 shooting and had five rebounds and three assists. Wilder finished with 19 points (17 in the second half), two rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Seth Dugan had 10 points (eight in the first half) and seven rebounds. Bryce Moore contributed 11 points and three assists.

Western Michigan shot 50 percent from the floor, but the Bronco defense couldn't slow down Ball State. The Cardinals shot 58.3 percent from the field and were 19-for-25 from the free-throw line. WMU grabbed five more offensive boards to win the rebounding battle, 29-24.

Tayler Persons went 9-for-11 from the floor and had a game-high 24 points and six assists for Ball State. House totaled 18 points, six rebounds and four assists.

Ball State's record moved to 14-7 overall and 5-3 in the Mid-American Conference. WMU fell to 6-14, 2-6 in the MAC.

Western Michigan returns to Kalamazoo to host Ohio on Tuesday, Jan. 31 at 6 p.m. The game will be televised live on the American Sports Network (ASN). It will be the second meeting between the Broncos and the Bobcats this season.