KALAMAZOO, Mich.- Western Michigan men's basketball handed Ball State an 80-55 loss to pull even with the Cardinals and into a tie for first place in the Mid-American Conference West Division standings with two regular season games to go.

After dropping six of its first eight conference matchups - including five on the road - Western Michigan has bounced back to win seven of its last eight and its last six in a row.

The Broncos' record sits at 13-15 and 9-7 in the MAC, which would also be good enough for third place in the overall conference standings. WMU is 11-2 at home this season.

The win was No. 250 for head coach Steve Hawkins at Western Michigan. Hawkins is in his 14th season as the Broncos' head coach and has his team in the hunt for what would be the eighth MAC West title in his tenure.

Ball State held a one-possession lead over the first seven minutes of the game until WMU took over with 12:09 remaining in the first half. Senior Tucker Haymond converted a layup for two of his game-high 21 points to give the Broncos a 12-10 advantage and WMU never looked back.

Western Michigan built its lead up to 11 at halftime, 38-27, and outscored the Cardinals 42-28 in a dominating second half. The 25-point margin of victory was WMU's largest of the season.

"I really liked our temperament throughout the course of the game," Hawkins said. "It was even-keel. We weren't too emotional and there wasn't a big run in the game. We did string together some defensive stops in the second half and our guys just grinded, a bucket at a time a possession at a time.

"Our defense was really good again against a really good offensive basketball team and then again the rebounding part of things was huge for us."

Western Michigan out-rebounded Ball State 40-25, including 9-3 on the offensive glass. WMU also shot a higher percentage from the field - 48.1 percent to BSU's 41.2 percent - and went 20-for-25 from the free-throw line while the Cardinals were 7-for-12.

Thomas Wilder had 16 points, four rebounds and six assists for the Broncos. Freshman Brandon Johnson recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Haymond also had five boards to go along with his 21 points.

Tayler Persons had a team-high 15 points for Ball State, followed by Franko House with 13. The two scored 24 and 18, respectively, the first time WMU and BSU met this season - an 84-78 Bronco loss in Muncie on Jan. 28.

Western Michigan splits its last two games between the road and home. The Broncos head to Northern Illinois Tuesday, Feb. 28 and host Central Michigan on Friday, March 3 at 7 p.m.

Fans can purchase Rivalry Special tickets for the CMU game, which includes an upper level game ticket, hot dog, popcorn, small fountain drink and NO CHIPS for just $12.