AKRON, Ohio -- The Western Michigan men's basketball team battled with preseason Mid-American Conference (MAC) favorite Akron from start to finish on the road Friday night, but the Zips came away with a 66-59 win after a late run down the stretch.
 
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The Broncos fall to 4-10 overall and 0-2 in the MAC on the young season while the Zips, who now boast a 25-game home winning streak, improve to 12-3 overall and 2-0 in the MAC. 
 
"In order to win at Akron you have to do it all, you can't miss on any of the phases," Head coach Steve Hawkins said. "They've got a tremendous home record here and they have a great crowd with great support and are obviously a very good basketball team with one of the best coaches in the league."
 
The two teams battled back and forth in the first half, with the score 32-32 going into the break and the largest lead by either team being just four points. WMU got out to a 3-point lead, its largest of the half, on two separate occasions. The first came as the Broncos went on a 7-0 run and held the Zips scoreless for nearly 6:00 midway through the half. Akron's Kwan Cheatham hit a contested fall-away 3-pointer as time expired in the half to tie it up. At the break, rebounds were tied at 16-16 and assists were tied 8-8 while field goal percentage was separated by less than 1.5 percent.
 
In the second half, senior Tucker Haymond opened with a mid-range jumper to get the Broncos a two-point lead. WMU held on to the lead for over 8:00, reaching a lead of six points twice, but the Zips went on an 11-0 run to jump out to a five-point lead with 7:48 to play. Haymond helped the Broncos grab a 54-53 lead on a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired with 6:47 to play, but that would be the last time the Broncos led. Junior Thomas Wilder converted a floater in the lane to tie it at 58-58 with 1:20 to play, but Akron went on an 8-1 run following that to end the game and come away with the win.
 
"I've been waiting for us to play like Western Michigan and it's been a long time coming but tonight we played like us for much longer than we have so far this season," Hawkins said. "It was a bloodbath out there tonight, both teams will be sore tomorrow morning."
 
Wilder led all scorers with 17 points and finished with three assists and two steals. Haymond did a little bit of everything, scoring 13 points, grabbing seven rebounds, leading the team in assists (4) and hitting three 3-pointers. Freshman Reggie Jones was also in double-figures with 11. Free throw shooting was a big part of the game, as the Zips went 9-for-15 from the line and the Broncos finished 5-for-13. Akron won the rebounding battle, 36-33.
 
Following this two-game road trip, the Broncos return home for two straight, first hosting Toledo on Tuesday, Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. and then welcoming in Kent State on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 2 p.m.