KALAMAZOO, Mich. – In a back and forth battle in which neither team led by more than 11 the Western Michigan men's basketball team was unable to fend off Kent State in the second half in a 76-69 loss on Tuesday night inside University Arena.  

The Broncos led for nearly 29 minutes on Tuesday night and outshot the Golden Flashes, shooting 44.8 percent from the field with nine three-pointers. WMU made six of its final eight field goals but Kent State countered with a 6-0 run during the final 1:05 of play to secure the win.

Western Michigan led for the first 28 minutes of play before Kent State embarked on an 11-0 run to take a three-point lead with 9:37 remaining. Down the stretch the Broncos cut its deficit down to one with 1:32 left and after a lay-up from Kent State's Danny Pippen trailed 72-69 with 1:05 to go.

On the ensuing possession the Broncos committed a costly turnover that led to another Pippen field goal to extend the Kent State lead to 74-69. After a WMU missed lay-up, Kent State iced the game with a pair of free-throws During the final 10 minutes of play, Kent State made 16 straight free-throws and was 27-of-29 on the night.

The Broncos had a pair of players score in double figures led by sophomore B. Artis White with 20 points, matching his career-high. White scored 18 of 20 points in the first half and was 6-of-12 from the field and 5-of-9 from the behind the three-point line. White's five three-pointers matched his career-high and marked the third straight game the sophomore guard has made at least four threes'.

White was also a perfect 3-for-3 from the free-throw line to go along with a team-high six rebounds and five assists in 37 minutes.

Along with White, senior forward Greg Lee had 19 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field with five rebounds and two assists. Lee was 1-of-2 from long distance and a perfect 2-for-2 from the free-throw line. Lee has now scored in double figures in six of
the last seven contests.

The duo of William Boyer-Richard and Kawanise Wilkins each scored seven points against Kent State. Boyer-Richard was 2-of-4 from behind the three-point line and had a career-high five rebounds to go along with three assists. Off the bench Wilkins provided a spark for WMU with seven points on 3-of-8 shooting from the field with two rebounds, one assist and two steals.

Off the bench freshman Daylan Hamilton poured in six points on 3-of-7 shooting from the field in 10 minutes. Hamilton's seven points was one shy of his career-high. Behind Hamilton redshirt junior Jason Whitens registered five points with five rebounds along with sophomore Titus Wright scoring three points and freshman Josiah Freeman having two.

As a team the Broncos shot a staggering 44.8 percent from the field and was 9-of-20 from long distance. Kent State narrowly outrebounded WMU, 35-34 while the Broncos recorded 15 assists on 26 made field goals. Western Michigan forced Kent State to commit 12 turnovers on Tuesday night, scoring 15 points off those mistakes.

With the loss Western Michigan now has an overall record of 4-13 and 3-9 in Mid-American Conference play.

It was a stellar start to the first half for the Broncos as WMU began the game on a 9-0 run after Kent State scored the first basket of the game. Midway through the first half WMU embarked on an 8-0 run to gain a double digit lead with 11:39 remaining. The 8-0 run for the Brown & Gold was highlighted by back-to-back three-pointers from B. Artis White.

Western Michigan took its largest lead of the game (11) at the six-minute mark of the first half as the Broncos made three straight field goals to gain a 33-22 advantage.  Down the stretch of the first half Kent State slowly clawed its way back as WMU took a 40-36 lead into the locker room.

Coming out of halftime Kent State registered back-to-back and-one buckets to trim the Bronco lead down to one with 16 minutes remaining. However, WMU responded with a quick 7-0 run after a Jason Whitens fast break lay-up to give WMU a 51-43 lead with 13:30 remaining.

The Golden Flashes battled back and held WMU scoreless the next four minutes as KSU went on an 11-0 run to earn a three-point lead just past the halfway mark of the second half. Senior Greg Lee scored six straight points late to tie the game at 64 with under four minutes remaining.

With under a minute remaining Kent State knocked down a 15-foot jumper to gain a 72-69 advantage prior to WMU making a costly mistake and turning the ball over on the next possession. Kent State's Danny Pippen made his second straight field goal with under 30 seconds left to ice the game for the Golden Flashes. Down the stretch Kent State used a 6-0 run in under a minute to secure the 76-69 win.