KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Junior guard Lamar Norman Jr. poured in a career-high 25 points, but the Western Michigan men's basketball team fell 80-63 to Saginaw Valley State on Thursday night at University Arena.
 
Norman's career-high 25 points came on 8-of-15 shooting, including a career-best seven three pointers on 12 attempts. Josiah Freeman added 14 points on 5-of-6 from the field, and buried four of his five attempts from beyond the arc. Mack Smith led WMU (1-2) with five rebounds, while Adrian Martin handed out a team-leading five assists, a new career high.
 
The Broncos made their first three shots from the field on the way to a 7-2 start in the opening minutes of the game. SVSU (3-1) responded with a 13-2 run to grab a 15-9 advantage with just over 11 minutes remaining in the first half. The Cardinals led by as many as 11, 25-14, in the opening half.
 
A trio of Norman triples got WMU to within four, 27-23, at the 5:02 mark. Gus Etchison buried a three-pointer with 1:28 remaining in the half to cut the deficit to 33-30, but three free throws in the final seconds put the visitors on top 36-30 at the break.
 
Saginaw Valley State scored the first seven points after halftime, but WMU answered with eight in a row to close the gap back to 43-38. Trailing 45-38, Western Michigan used a trio of three-pointers, two from Norman and one from Freeman, to spark a 9-2 surge which evened the game at 47-47 with 14 minutes to play.
 
Back in front by one, 54-53, the Cardinals used an 8-0 surge to extend their lead back to 62-53 with six-and-a-half minutes remaining. WMU drew no closer than seven for the remainder of the evening.
 
For the game, Western Michigan connected on 22-of-51 (43.1 percent) from the floor, including a season-high 13 three-pointers on 28 attempts (46.4 percent). Saginaw Valley State made an even 50.0 percent of its shots (25-of-50), and made nine of 20 three-point tries (45.0 percent).
 
The Broncos held a 30-29 edge on the glass, but turned the ball over 15 times, while forcing SVSU into seven miscues. The Cardinals outscored WMU 18-4 in points off of turnovers.
 
Western Michigan heads back out on the road for its next four games, beginning on Monday night, Nov. 22, as it visits Iowa. The game is set to tip at 8:30 pm and will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network and the Bronco Radio Network.