MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – With 1.8 seconds remaining senior forward Greg Lee knocked down a 15-foot jumper over two defenders to secure a thrilling 67-65 victory for Western Michigan men's basketball over in-state rival Central Michigan on Saturday afternoon inside McGuirk Arena.  

The game-winner from Lee clinched WMU's first regular season sweep of CMU since 2016 and marked the first time the Broncos have won back-to-back road games since the 2016-17 campaign. The win also made first year head coach Clayton Bates just the fifth coach in school history to sweep CMU in the regular season in his first season.

Western Michigan used a 9-2 run late to capture the road win over the Chippewas. Prior to it's late-game run CMU embarked on a 5-0 run and held a 63-58 lead with less than three minutes remaining. The Broncos quickly responded with a jumper from Lee followed by a three-pointer from sophomore B. Artis White to tie the game at 63.

WMU led by two with 34 seconds remaining after freshman Josiah Freeman nailed a pair of free-throws. Central Michigan countered with a pair of free-throws to tie the game at 65 with 24 seconds remaining. With the clock winding down, White passed the ball to Lee who rose up from 15-feet away with two defenders on him to knock down the eventual game-winner.

Lee led the way for the Broncos with 16 points on a staggering 8-of-12 shooting from the field. The senior forward in 27 minutes also led the team with eight rebounds and had two assists and one steal. It's the fifth straight game Lee has scored in double figures and ninth time this season.

Also in double figures with 16 points was sophomore guard B. Artis White. White was 6-of-13 from the field and connected on four three-pointers, one shy of his career-high. The Canton, Mich., native in a team-high 34 minutes registered five rebounds to go along with one assist and one steal.

For the first time in his career freshman Josiah Freeman entered double-digits with a career-high 11 points. Freeman was 3-of-6 from the field with all three field goals being from behind the three-point line. Off the bench Freeman had one rebound, two assists and one steal.

Redshirt junior Jason Whitens tallied nine points and ranked third on the team with five rebounds against the Chippewas. Playing just 15 minutes, junior Danny Kolp ranked second on the team with six rebounds and had five points. Junior Patrick Emilien collected five rebounds to go along with three assists and one block.

As a team the Broncos shot 43.1 percent from the field, 9-of-26 from behind the three-point lien and 8-of-11 from the free-throw line. WMU outrebounded CMU 33-30 and held a 13-7 advantage on the offensive glass.

Western Michigan earned its second straight win and improved its overall record to 4-11 and 3-7 in Mid-American Conference play. The Broncos look to continue their winning ways in its next game on the road on Tuesday, Feb. 9 at Buffalo.

It was a slow defensive battle to begin the game as WMU jumped out to a 6-2 lead before both teams went scoreless from the field for over three minutes. WMU had an 8-2 lead at the 14:30 mark before CMU clawed its way back to cut its deficit down to two. Midway through the first half, WMU embarked on a 7-0 run with five of the seven points coming from Danny Kolp to give the Brown & Gold a 15-8 advantage.

The Bronco offense got hot late in the first half making seven of eight field goals to gain a 24-18 lead with four minutes remaining. However, WMU went scoreless the next two minutes as CMU slowly marched back into the game. Josiah Freeman hit a three-pointer with under 10 seconds remaining to give WMU a 32-28 lead heading into halftime.

Western Michigan cruised to begin the second half and after back-to-back threes from B. Artis White and Kawanise Wilkins the Broncos led 40-34 with 15 minutes remaining. WMU earned its largest lead of the game (10) at the 11:03 mark of the second half thanks to a three-pointer from freshman Daylan Hamilton.

Central Michigan bounced back and over the last seven minutes went on a 17-3 run to take a 58-54 lead with 4:24 remaining. A 5-0 run for WMU highlighted by a three from White tied the game at 63 with two minutes left. The Broncos and Chippewas each knocked down a pair of free-throws with under 30 seconds remaining to give WMU the ball with 24 seconds left.

Out of a timeout, Western Michigan got the ball into the hands of Greg Lee who drew two defenders and still got off a 15-foot jump shot that hit nothing but the net to give WMU a 67-65 lead. On the ensuing inbounds play CMU threw the ball down the court but was stolen by White to secure the two-point victory for the Broncos.