MUNCIE, Ind.- Western Michigan came up short on a 2-point conversion try in overtime, dropping a 42-41 decision at Ball State Tuesday.

Ball State connected on a 2-yard touchdown on the first possession of overtime and made the PAT to go-ahead 42-35. Western Michigan freshman Kaleb Eleby answered with a 1-yard quarterback sneak. The Broncos opted to go for the 2-point conversion which would have resulted in a win had it been successful, but a run play up the middle was stopped shy of the goal line.

With the loss, Western Michigan falls to 6-5 overall and 4-3 in the Mid-American Conference. The Broncos host MAC West champion Northern Illinois next Tuesday, Nov. 20 in the final game of the regular season.

Junior running back LeVante Bellamy and redshirt senior Jamauri Bogan were the driving forces for Western Michigan on the night. Bellamy rushed for a career-high 213 yards on 35 carries and one touchdown. Bogan went for 105 yards on 25 attempts with two touchdowns. The two combined for 318 of WMU's 361 yards on the ground.

Bellamy's 200-plus yards put him over 1,000 for the season for the first time in his career. With 1,120 yards to date, it marked the fifth-straight season WMU has had a 1,000-yard running back.

Bogan's two touchdowns gave him 40 for his career, as he passed WMU Hall of Famer Jerome Persell (39), moving into second place all-time at Western Michigan for career rushing TDs.

Making his second career start, Eleby completed 20 of 29 pass attempts for 187 yards with one touchdown passing, one touchdown rushing and no interceptions.

Junior tight end Giovanni Ricci hauled in a team-high seven catches for 65 yards. Ricci also caught a 2-point conversion in the fourth quarter that tied the game at 28-28 and then a 9-yard touchdown pass that evened the score at 35-35 with 1:48 remaining.

Cornerback Juwan Dowels made two key interceptions for Western Michigan that the Broncos were able to convert into 14 points. His second came with WMU trailing 28-20 midway through the fourth quarter after the Broncos had just turned the ball over on downs after going for it on 4th-and-goal.

Dowels had six tackles in the game. Junior linebacker Alex Grace made a team-high eight stops. The Broncos recorded three sacks and 10 tackles for a loss.

Freshman kicker Gavin Peddie was 2-for-2 in field goal attempts, connecting from 31 and 20 yards out.

Western Michigan's offense outgained Ball State's 548 to 349 and the Broncos controlled the time of possession 42:00 to 18:00. A WMU fumble at their own 32 set up a short-yardage Ball State touchdown drive in the second quarter.

Ball State scored first in the game and WMU led briefly, 14-7 with 8:16 left in the second quarter. That was the Broncos' only lead of the night. Western Michigan trailed 21-17 at the half.