DAYTON, Ohio – The Western Michigan men's basketball team closed what was an early double-digit deficit to as little as eight in the second half, but ultimately fell, 67-47, at Dayton on Wednesday evening.
 
Lamar Norman Jr. was Western Michigan's leading scorer for the sixth consecutive game, as the senior tallied 10 points. In his first start of the season, Tafari Simms added nine points, while JaVaughn Hannah netted eight off of the Bronco bench. Hannah's eight points helped the WMU bench outscore Dayton's reserves 16-2. Also in the starting lineup for the first time, Tray Maddox Jr. snared a team-high six rebounds for the evening.
 
Dayton (4-4) was out of the gates quickly, as the hosts raced out to a 13-1 advantage in the opening six-plus minutes of the contest. The Flyers led by as many as 19 in the opening period, but Western Michigan (2-6) was able to chip away and get back within 12, 34-22, in the final moments of the half. The margin was 37-24 in favor of Dayton at the break.
 
On the first possession of the second half, Hannah banked in a triple to bring the Broncos to within 10, 37-27. An 8-3 stretch, including an old-fashioned three-point play by Jefferson Monegro, trimmed the gap to 44-36 at the 13:14 mark.
 
Western Michigan held Dayton without a field goal for more than seven-and-a-half minutes, but the Flyers kept the Broncos from getting any closer than eight by getting to the free throw line. During the field goal drought, UD had eight consecutive points come from the charity stripe.
 
After a Markeese Hastings jumper drew WMU within eight again, 48-40, the Flyers countered by rattling off seven in a row to extend the margin back into double-digits, and the hosts' lead remained in double-figures for the remainder of the contest.
 
Western Michigan struggled from the floor, as it was limited to 17 field goals on 53 attempts (32.1 percent). Dayton connected on 21-of-44 (47.7 percent) from the field. The Broncos kept the Flyers in check from downtown, as UD made just three three-pointers on 16 tries (18.8 percent). Both the three triples and 18.8 percent three-point percentage were season lows allowed by the WMU defense.  
 
The Broncos return to University Arena on Monday, Dec. 5, to face Concordia Ann Arbor at 7 pm. To purchase tickets to any Western Michigan men's basketball home game this season, visit wmubroncos.com/tickets.