AKRON, Ohio – The Western Michigan men's basketball team led throughout much of the second half, but Akron ended the contest on an 11-0 run to eke past the Broncos, 74-73, on Tuesday evening at James A. Rhodes Arena.
 
With 2:40 remaining, Titus Wright found Markeese Hastings for a slam, giving Western Michigan (4-13, 0-6) a 73-63 lead. Akron (10-5, 3-2) hit a three-pointer on its next possession, forced a turnover, then knocked down another triple to trim WMU's edge to 73-69 with 1:57 to play.
 
After a timeout, the Zips created another turnover, and buried a three-pointer to get within one, 73-72. The Broncos stayed in front by a point until the final seconds, when UA's Ali Ali hit a jumper to make it 74-73 with 5.4 seconds remaining. Western Michigan had once last chance, but its shot attempt was no good, sealing the come-from-behind win for Akron.
 
B. Artis White paced the Broncos with a career-high 23 points, which included a career high tying six three-pointers. Lamar Norman Jr. netted 19 points to extend his double-digit scoring streak to 14 games in a row. Norman sunk five triples for Western Michigan, his second straight game with five or more. Hastings added 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds for WMU.
 
Akron opened up a 16-8 advantage in the early going, but back-to-back three pointers by Norman and Mack Smith ignited an 8-0 run which brought the Broncos even at the 13:34 mark. The Zips countered with a 12-2 surge to regain the lead at 28-18, just past the midway point of the period.
 
WMU answered with seven straight points, as Hastings converted an old-fashioned three-point play, and White completed a four-point play to get Western Michigan within three, 28-25, with 8:07 on the clock. Akron pushed the margin back out to 33-27, but Adrian Martin buried three-pointers on consecutive possessions to kickstart a 12-2 run which put the Broncos in front for the first time, 39-35, with 3:25 left in the half.
 
Tied at 41-41 in the final seconds of the half, White found Norman in the corner, and Norman canned his fourth triple of the opening stanza to send the Broncos into the locker room with a 44-41 edge. As a team, Western Michigan hit nine of its 15 three-point tries in the first half.
 
The Zips drew level at 46-46 in the first three minutes after halftime, but WMU countered with the next six to seize a 52-46 edge at the 15:48 mark. Akron trimmed the deficit down to one, 55-54, but White then heated up for the Broncos, scoring 11 points during a 13-2 run which pushed Western Michigan's cushion to 68-56 with 6:55 to play.
 
Western Michigan shot 25-of-47 (53.2 percent) from the floor for the evening, including 14-of-24 (58.3 percent) from downtown. The 14 triples were one short of WMU's season high. The Broncos also knocked down 9-of-10 at the free throw line. The Zips made 29-of-63 (46.0 percent) from the field.
 
The Broncos continue their road trip on Thursday night as they head to Mount Pleasant to take on Central Michigan. Tip is set for 7 pm, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN3 and the Bronco Media Network.
 
To purchase tickets to any Western Michigan men's basketball home game this season, visit wmubroncos.com/tickets, or call 1-888-4-WMU-TIX.