ATHENS, Ohio – In its second meeting of the season the Western Michigan men's basketball team fell to Mid-American Conference East Division foe Ohio, 73-61 on Tuesday night inside the Convocation Center.

The Broncos cut the lead down to four with under 10 minutes remaining but was unable to mount a comeback on Tuesday night. Late in the game the Bronco defense held Ohio scoreless the final 4:13 from the field but the Bobcats secured the win at the free-throw line going 13-for-13 in the final three minutes.

Offensively Western Michigan was led by junior guard Michael Flowers with 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field with four three-pointers. The Southfield, Mich., native was also 3-of-4 from the free-throw line and ranked tied for second on the team with five rebounds.

With the 21-point performance, Flowers is now just one point away from becoming the 43^rd member of WMU's 1,000-point club. The junior guard also became the first Bronco this season to score over 400 points with 419. WMU has had a player score over 400 points every season since 1994-95.

Behind Flowers in double figures was sophomore Rafael Cruz Jr. off the bench with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field. Cruz Jr. in 21 minutes had two three-pointers to go along with two rebounds and one assist.

The duo of redshirt junior Brandon Johnson and freshman Titus Wright each had eight points while combining for 12 rebounds. Johnson, the reigning co-MAC West Player of the Week, had five rebounds to go along with one assist, one block and two steals on 3-of-10 shooting. For the fourth time in his career, Wright led the Broncos on the glass with seven rebounds.

Fellow freshman B. Artis White registered just three points on the night but had five rebounds, two steals and four assists in 23 minutes of action. Rounding out the Bronco scoring was senior Jared Printy with five followed by redshirt sophomore Jason Whitens with four and sophomore Patrick Emilien with two.

The Broncos outrebounded Ohio, 38-35 with the Bobcats holding a narrow 8-7 edge on the offensive glass. WMU shot 40.7 percent from the field and was 8-of-18 from behind the three-point line. WMU was plagued by turnovers, committing 18 on the night with Ohio scoring 17 points off of Bronco turnovers.

The loss snapped WMU's two-game win streak and now has an overall record of 11-13 and 4-7 in conference play. The Broncos are back on the road on Saturday, Feb. 15 for a match-up with in-state rival Eastern Michigan.

Western Michigan jumped out to an early 4-0 lead as the Brown & Gold forced Ohio to miss its first four field goal attempts. The Bobcats responded with four straight points of their own to knot the game up at the first media timeout. Neither team scored for over three minutes early in the first half before Flowers knocked down a three to spark a 5-0 run for the Broncos and a 9-4 lead with 12:30 remaining.

Both teams struggled to get going through the first 10 minutes of the first half as WMU held a 9-7 advantage with Ohio and WMU combining to go 6-of-20 from the field. After two Titus Wright free-throws followed by a 15-foot jumper from Flowers, the Broncos jumped out to their largest lead of the game at 16-9 with 7:48 to play.

However, Ohio responded quickly with an 8-0 run to take its first lead of the game and extended its lead to 21-18 at the 4:30 mark before Flowers knocked down a three to tie the game at 21—21. To end the first half, the Bobcats made five of its final six field goals to earn a 31-26 lead at halftime.

Western Michigan stormed out of the gate to begin the second half and at the 14:30 mark, freshman B. Artis White knocked down his only three-pointer of the night to tie the game at 35. Ohio once again responded making its next four field goals to widen its lead back to 44-37 with 12:40 remaining.

The Broncos continued to battle and trailed by just two at the halfway point of the second half thanks to a corner three from senior Jared Printy. The two teams then traded baskets before Ohoi's Jordan Dartis sunk a three with 6:50 left to give the Bobcats a 52-46 advantage.

Western Michigan cut its deficit down to six with under five minutes to play and held Ohio scoreless from the field the final 4:13 of regulation. Despite being held scoreless from the field Ohio was able to secure the game at the charity stripe, making its final 13 free-throws to capture the 73-61 win.