YPSILANTI, Mich. – Junior guard Michael Flowers etched his name into the WMU record book on Saturday afternoon becoming the 43^rd member of WMU's 1,000-point club as Western Michigan men's basketball fell to in-state rival Eastern Michigan, 69-51.

Flowers entered Saturday's contest needing just one point to eclipse the 1K mark and did so just two minutes into the game. At the 18:04 mark of the first half, Flowers knocked down a deep three-pointer from the top of the key to become the 43^rd player in school history to surpass 1,000 points.

The Southfield, Mich., native scored over 1,000 points in just 80 career games and 57 starts. For his career Flowers has registered 53 games in double figures and 18 20-point performances. Against EMU on Saturday, Flowers scored 10 points on 3-of-12 shooting from the field with two three-pointers. The junior guard also had two rebounds and three assists in 33 minutes of action.

Redshirt junior Brandon Johnson led the way offensively for the Broncos with 17 points. Johnson was 6-of-11 from the field to go along with a team-high seven rebounds. Johnson also recorded two assists and two blocks in 35 minutes. Johnson has now posted double digit performances in three of the last four games.

Behind Flowers and Johnson was freshman Titus Wright with eight points along with ranking second on the team with six rebounds. Over the past five games, Wright ranks third on the team with nine points and five rebounds per game.

Redshirt sophomore Jason Whitens earned six points on 2-of-4 shooting from the field with two rebounds, two assists and one steal against the Eagles. Off the bench junior Rafael Cruz Jr. led the way with five points on 2-of-3 shooting from the field with one three-pointer.

As a team the Broncos shot 40.9 percent from the field and was 5-of-19 from behind the three-point line. WMU outrebounded EMU, 29-27 while holding a 10-8 advantage on the offensive glass. However, the Broncos were plagued by turnovers committing 19 on the night resulting in 24 points for Eastern Michigan.

Western Michigan will be back at home two games next week beginning on Tuesday, Feb. 18 against Akron. The Broncos then host Mid-American Conference west division foe Toledo on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 2:00 p.m. WMU has now lost two straight contests and has an overall record of 11-14 and 4-8 in conference play.

After WMU scored the first points of the game on a Brandon Johnson dunk the Eagles rattled off five straight points to gain a 5-2 lead less than a minute into the game. WMU responded with an 8-0 run highlighted by a three from freshman B. Artis White to give the Brown & Gold a 10-5 lead at the first media timeout.

WMU widened its lead to 15-11 with 12:50 remaining before EMU embarked on a staggering 17-0 run to gain a 28-15 advantage with 8:54 left in the first half. Flowers knocked down a three-pointer to break the five-minute scoreless streak for the Broncos prior to WMU going scoreless the next three minutes of play as the Eagles gained a 34-18 lead.

Down the stretch the Broncos got four straight points from Johnson to cut its deficit down to 10 before EMU connected on a three as the half expired to take a 39-26 lead into the locker room.

Both teams went a combined 2-of-16 from behind the three-point line to begin the second half as EMU held a 46-30 lead with 15:28 to play. The Broncos trimmed their lead down to 12 at the 14:30 mark thanks to a 6-0 run which was highlighted by an and-one from Jason Whitens.

The Eagles kept their lead at double digits through the midway point of the second half before Rafael Cruz Jr., pumped faked and knocked down a corner three to slim WMU's deficit down to 52-43 with 8:45 remaining.

Eastern Michigan countered with another lengthy run, scoring 11 straight points while holding the Broncos scoreless for over six minutes to increase their lead to 63-43 with three minutes remaining. Down the stretch, EMU made five of its final six field goals to secure the 69-51 victory.