FORT MYERS, Fla. – Western Michigan junior guard Lamar Norman Jr. netted a career-high 31 points to lift the Broncos to an 81-77 overtime victory over Southeastern Louisiana on Sunday afternoon in the final game of the FGCU Invitational.
 
The Broncos (3-4) broke a 62-62 tie by scoring six in a row with just under four minutes to play in the second half. Southeastern Louisiana (3-5) answered with the next five, trimming the margin to 68-67. Norman connected on a jumper in the final 30 seconds, but the Lions came down and tied it with a three-pointer to send the game into overtime.
 
Western Michigan scored seven of the first nine points of overtime to take a 77-72 advantage at the midway point of the extra session. In the final minute, the Lions got back within two, 77-75, but the Broncos were able to seal the game at the free throw line to win in overtime for the second straight day. It marked the first time WMU has won back-to-back games in overtime since beating Ball State and Toledo in overtime in January of 2015.
 
With his 31 points on Sunday, Norman became the first Bronco to net 30 in a single game since Michael Flowers poured in 35 at Toledo on March 9, 2020. For the afternoon, Norman made 11-of-20 from the floor and knocked down six three-pointers.
 
Markeese Hastings collected his first collegiate double-double, scoring 14 points and grabbing a career-high 12 rebounds. Mack Smith added 14 points, all of which came after halftime. Titus Wright snared a season-high nine rebounds and added a career-best three blocks.
 
Southeastern Louisiana led for the majority of the first half, and matched its biggest advantage of the period in the final seconds, as a triple made it 37-31. Moments later, Gus Etchison raced up the court and beat the buzzer with a layup which cut the halftime margin to 37-33.
 
Smith scored WMU's first 10 points of the second half to bring the game level at 43-43. SLU responded with five in a row to briefly regain the lead, but the Broncos used a 10-0 surge to take a 53-48 edge at the 11:18 mark.
 
Western Michigan shot better than 50.0 percent for the second straight day, hitting 28-of-54 (51.9 percent) from the field and 11-of-27 (40.7 percent) from downtown. The Broncos knocked down 14-of-18 (77.8 percent) at the charity stripe. Southeastern Louisiana made 37.9 percent from the floor (25-for-66) and 36.4 percent (12-for-33) from beyond the arc.
 
WMU held a 22-16 advantage in bench points, and outscored SLU 34-24 in the paint for the contest.
 
Western Michigan returns to Kalamazoo next Sunday, Dec. 5, for a non-conference tilt against Valparaiso at University Arena. Tip is set for 2 pm. Fans can purchase tickets at wmubroncos.com/tickets, or by calling 1-888-4-WMUTIX. The game is also slated to be streamed live on ESPN3/ESPN+ and the Bronco Media Network.