EAST LANSING, Mich.   – To close out the 2019 non-conference schedule the Western Michigan men's basketball team challenged one of the best teams in the nation on Sunday, falling to No. 14 Michigan State 95-62 inside the Breslin Center.

The loss snapped WMU's three-game winning streak as the Broncos end non-conference play with an overall record of 7-6. The Brown & Gold will begin Mid-American Conference play at home on Saturday, Jan. 4 against Ohio. Tip-off is set for 4:00 p.m.

Offensively WMU was led by the backcourt duo of junior Michael Flowers and freshman B. Artis White with 12 points each. White was 5-of-11 from the field with four rebounds to go along with a career-high six assists. White notched his fifth double-digit performance of the season and first since having 13 against Youngstown State.

Flowers continued his double digit point streak on Sunday night with 12 points and has now scored in double figures in 16 straight games dating back to last season. Flowers was 5-of-12 from the field to go along with five assists. The Southfield, Mich., native is averaging 3.8 assists over the past five games.

Freshman Titus Wright for the fourth time this season matched his career-high with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field. Off the bench, sophomore Patrick Emilien led the way with seven points on 3-of-4 shooting in six minutes of action.

Leading the way for the Broncos on the glass was redshirt junior Brandon Johnson with five rebounds, three of which came on the offensive glass. Johnson also had four points and two assists in 25 minutes. Overall, 10 of the 13 players that saw the court scored for the Brown & Gold against Michigan State.

As a team WMU shot 41.9 percent from the field to go along with seven three-pointers. The Spartans dominated the glass, outrebounding the Broncos 46-24 and held a 17-8 edge on the offensive glass. Western Michigan got another solid performance from the bench, scoring 20 points off the bench for the eighth time this season.

WMU ends non-conference play with an overall record of 7-6 and will host Ohio in its conference opener on Saturday, Jan. 4 at 4:00 p.m. inside University Arena.

The Broncos got off to a fast start against the nationally ranked Spartans as Flowers scored the first five points for WMU en route to a 5-5 tie at the 16:40 mark of the first half. A three-pointer from senior Jared Printy along with a lay-up from freshman Chase Barrs highlighted six straight field goals made to give WMU a 14-8 lead with 14:20 remaining.

However out of the media timeout the Spartans flexed their offensive muscle, embarking on a 25-0 run to take 33-14 lead. Ultimately Michigan State went on a 28-4 run and held a 36-18 advantage with five minutes to go in the first half. Down the stretch the Spartans went on a 7-0 run to close out the half and take a 48-24 lead into the locker room.

Redshirt sophomore Jason Whitens got the second half scoring going for the Broncos after an offensive rebound led to an easy lay-up. After the lay-up from Whitens, WMU went scoreless the next four minutes of play as MSU widened its lead to 30 at 57-27.

Midway through the second half the Spartans continued to extend their lead, embarking on a 13-0 run to grab a 74-31 advantage with 10 minutes to play. Late in the second half both offenses came to life as the two teams combined to go 8-for-10 from the field during a three-minute stretch. The hot shooting was highlighted by four straight points from sophomore Adrian Martin along with five straight points from Emilien.

To end the game, WMU made eight of its final 11 field goals as No. 14 Michigan State cruised to a 95-62 victory.