KALAMAZOO, Mich. – After trailing by nine with under three minutes to play the Western Michigan men's basketball team rallied back and nearly completed its comeback as its game-tying shot bounced off the left side of the rim in an 85-82 loss to preseason Mid-American Conference Favorite Bowling Green on Tuesday night inside University Arena.

The Broncos gained a two-point lead with just under six minutes to play before Bowling Green answered with an 11-1 run to take an 82-73 lead with 2:51 remaining. WMU roared back and cut the BGSU lead down to three with 15 seconds left to play.
After a missed three-pointer from junior Michael Flowers, the Broncos received the ball with 0.7 left on the clock.

On the inbound play redshirt sophomore Jason Whitens found freshman B. Artis White in the left corner for a game-tying three-pointer that bounced off the left side of the rim as the clock hit zeros.

Western Michigan had four players score in double figures led by Flowers with 28 points on 11-of-21 shooting from the field. Flowers registered his fourth 20-point game of the season and 16th of his career. Flowers was also 6-of-8 from the free-throw line to go along with four rebounds, three assists and two steals. The Southfield, Mich., native has now scored in double figures in 20 straight games dating back to last season.

In 37 minutes of action redshirt junior Brandon Johnson ranked second on the team with 18 points with six rebounds, three assists and one steal. Johnson was 6-of-12 from the field against the Falcons and 6-of-8 from the free-throw line. It was Johnson's fourth straight game scoring in double figures and is averaging 17.5 points over the last four contests.

Freshman B. Artis White notched his seventh double digit scoring game of the season with 14 points. White was 5-of-11 from the field with four three-pointers and three assists. It's the fifth game this season White has registered at least three three-pointers.

Off the bench the Broncos were led by junior Rafael Cruz Jr. with 10 points while recording four rebounds and two threes. Redshirt sophomore Jason Whitens led the Brown & Gold on the glass nine rebounds, just one shy of tying his career-high.

For the game WMU shot 49.2 percent from the field while going 6-of-19 from long distance. BGSU narrowly outrebounded WMU, 35-34 with both teams recording 11 turnovers on the night. The Falcons doubled the Broncos off the bench, outscoring WMU 30-13.

Western Michigan has now dropped three straight contests and has an overall record of 8-9 and 1-3 in Mid-American Conference play. The Broncos stay in Kalamazoo for its next contest, hosting Kent State on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 4:30 p.m.

To begin the game WMU raced out of the gate and earned an 8-4 lead at the 16-minute mark before BGSU registered a four-point play to tie the game up one minute late. Cruz Jr., propelled the Broncos back out in front at the 13-minute mark, scoring four straight points to take a 14-10 lead.

The two teams went cold midway through the first half as WMU and BGSU combined to go just 1-of-12 from the field en route to a 15-14 for the Broncos at the halfway point. The Falcons earned their first lead of the game at the nine-minute mark and embarked on a 6-0 run three minutes later to gain a 27-21 advantage.

Ending the first half the Broncos cut BGSU's lead down to three after a tip-in lay-up from freshman Chase Barrs with 30 seconds to play. To end the half BGSU forward Daeqwon Plowden drilled a jumper from the free-throw line to give the Falcons a 39-34 lead at halftime.

It was a fast and furious start to the second half for both squads as WMU made its first six field goals while BGSU made five of its first seven to gain a 53-49 lead with 14:58 left to play. Bowling Green extended its lead to double digits midway through the second half after knocking down nine straight field goals to hold a 65-54 advantage.

However, the Broncos roared back with four straight field goals, highlighted by a dunk from Johnson followed by a steal and score from Flowers to tie the game at 69 with 8:08 remaining. WMU regained the lead two minutes later after a lay-up from Whitens before BGSU responded with back-to-back three-pointers to move back in front.

Late in the second half BGSU embarked on an 11-1 run to take a nine-point lead with 2:51 left to play prior to the Broncos surging back to cut their deficit down to two with 54.4 remaining. The Broncos comeback was highlighted by a three from White followed by a 15-foot jumper from the top of the key by Flowers.

WMU cut the lead down to three with 25 seconds left and was forced to foul BGSU. At the line, BGSU missed the front end of a one-and-one, giving WMU the ball and trailing by three in the winding seconds. Flowers raced up the court and got off a three-point attempt from the right wing that went off the right side of the rim and out of bounds with 0.7 seconds left.

On the ensuing inbound Whitens found White in the left corner for a game-tying three that bounced off the left side of the rim to secure the 85-82 victory for Bowling Green.