MUNCIE, Ind. – The Western Michigan men's basketball team fell into a 15-point first-half hole, came all the way back to take the lead in the early stages of the second period, but ultimately fell, 83-72, at Ball State on Saturday afternoon.
 
Lamar Norman Jr. and B. Artis White led the way for Western Michigan (4-16, 0-9) offensively, netting 22 and 21 points, respectively. Norman connected on 7-of-11 from the field, including 4-of-7 from downtown, to extend his double-digit scoring streak to 17 games in a row and secure his 10th game of 20+ points this season. White buried seven of his 10 field goal attempts, including five triples in eight tries.
 
Markeese Hastings and Mileek McMillan contributed 10 points apiece, putting four Broncos in double-figures for the second time this season. Hastings also collected a team-high nine rebounds for WMU.
 
Ball State (10-10, 5-4) jumped in front early, racing out to a 17-2 advantage in the opening five minutes of the contest. Back-to-back triples by Danny Kolp and White helped get Western Michigan back to within eight, 24-16, halfway through the first period.
 
The Cardinals built their lead back to 37-23 at the 6:21 mark of the opening stanza. The Broncos netted nine of the next 10 to trim the gap to 38-32 with just over three minutes remaining until halftime. BSU pushed the margin into double-digits again, 46-34, but Norman scored the final five points of the half, including a buzzer-beating layup in transition on a feed from White, to cut WMU's halftime deficit to seven, 46-39. Both teams shot over 61.0 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes of play.
 
Western Michigan came out of the break with the first 10 points of the second half, and took their first lead of the afternoon at 49-46 on a White three-pointer at the 16:01 mark. Over the extent of the 15-0 WMU outburst, the Broncos held Ball State without a point for more than five minutes.
 
BSU responded with the next seven in a row to ignite a 12-2 surge which helped the hosts wrestle the advantage back, 58-51, with 12:49 to play. Norman scored the next eight points for the Broncos to lead an 8-2 charge which brought WMU within one, 60-59, with 10:57 remaining.
 
An 8-2 Ball State response pushed the Cardinals' edge back to 68-61 with just under nine minutes remaining. Again, Norman helped Western Michigan claw back into it, canning a three-pointer at the 5:13 mark to draw the Broncos to within 69-67. BSU put together one final run, a 12-2 spurt, which pushed the advantage back into double-digits and put the game beyond reach for WMU.
 
Both teams shot above 55.0 percent for the afternoon, with WMU hitting 24-of-43 (55.8 percent) field goals, while Ball State went 31-of-53 (58.5 percent) from the floor. The Broncos buried 10 triples, marking the fifth time this season Western Michigan has canned double-digit baskets from downtown. WMU also converted 14-of-17 (82.4 percent) at the foul line.
 
Western Michigan returns to University Arena on Tuesday, Feb. 1, for its lone regular season meeting with Northern Illinois. Tip is set for 7 pm, and fans can purchase tickets here. The game will also 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.