KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan men's basketball team dropped a 75-56 decision at the hands of Northern Illinois on Tuesday evening at University Arena.  
 
Lamar Norman Jr. netted a game-high 24 points for the Broncos (4-17, 0-10), going 10-for-18 from the field and hitting four three-pointers. The junior's 24 points extended his double-digit scoring streak to 18 in a row, and marked his fourth straight game of 20 or more points. Norman has scored 20+ points in 11 games this season, second-most in the MAC.
 
Markeese Hastings came one point short of a double-double, as the redshirt sophomore netted nine points and collected a game-high 12 rebounds. It was the seventh double-digit rebounding performance of the season for Hastings, five of which have come in conference play.
 
Both teams struggled to score in the early going, with Northern Illinois (6-13, 3-6) slowly edging ahead, 19-13, in the opening 10 minutes of the contest. After a Hastings layup made it a four-point game, the Huskies scored the next nine straight to push their lead to 28-15, the largest margin of the first half.
 
Western Michigan responded with a 9-0 spurt of its own, getting four points from B. Artis White and five from Norman, to get within 28-24 at the 4:41 mark. NIU briefly built its advantage back to 11, but Norman buried a three-pointer in the waning seconds of the period to cut the margin to 38-30 heading into halftime.
 
Norman came out hot in the second half, scoring eight of WMU's first 10 points after the intermission to get the Broncos to within three, 43-40, with 16:07 on the clock. Moments later, a Northern Illinois old-fashioned three-point play ignited a 15-4 run, which extended the visitors' lead back into double-digits, 58-44, with just under nine minutes remaining. The Huskies maintained a double-digit advantage the rest of the way.
 
For the evening, WMU connected on 23-of-54 (42.6 percent) from the field, while NIU made 30-of-54 (55.6 percent) from the floor.
 
The Broncos held a 9-6 edge on the offensive glass in the contest and a 14-7 advantage in points scored off of turnovers.
 
Western Michigan begins a three-game road trip on Thursday night as it heads up to Mount Pleasant to take on Central Michigan. Tip between the Broncos and the Chippewas is set for 7 pm, and the game is slated to be broadcast on ESPN+ 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.