KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan men's basketball team scored the first seven points of the evening and never looked back, as it earned a wire-to-wire 77-63 victory over rival Central Michigan on Saturday night at University Arena.   
 
For the second consecutive game, four different Broncos scored in double-figures, led by Lamar Norman Jr.'s game-high 25 points. The 25-point outburst extended Norman's double-digit scoring streak to 22 games in a row.
 
Gus Etchison added a career-high 14 points for WMU (5-20, 1-13), hitting three-of-five from the field and setting career-bests in both free throws made (6) and attempts (7). The freshman also handed out a career-high five assists.
 
Mileek McMillan tallied 12 points for Western Michigan, his fourth consecutive game in double-figures, while Markeese Hastings posted 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds. McMillan (3) and Hastings (2) combined for five of WMU's season-high eight blocks.
 
The Broncos jumped on the Chippewas (6-16, 5-6) early, netting the first seven points of the evening in the contest's first two-and-a-half minutes. CMU worked it down to a 12-9 WMU edge, but the hosts ripped off another seven straight points, five by McMillan, to push the margin to 19-9 at the 11:29 mark.
 
Central Michigan shrunk the gap to 21-14 near the midway point of the opening stanza, but a 10-3 spurt increased Western Michigan's advantage back into double-digits, 31-17, where it remained for the rest of the contest. Leading 33-22, the Broncos ripped off a 14-2 surge to end the first half, and took a 47-24 lead into the locker room. WMU shot 18-of-33 (54.5 percent) in the opening 20 minutes on the way to its season-high 47 first-half points.
 
Western Michigan remained in firm control in the early stages of the second half, and stretched the lead out to 25, 60-35, on an old-fashioned three-point play by Danny Kolp at the 12:37 mark. Runs of 8-2 and 9-0 helped the Chippewas draw within 12, 66-54, with four minutes to play. Ahead 69-57 as the clocked ticked under three minutes to go, Norman and Etchison nailed a three-pointer apiece to push the margin back out to 75-57, and seal WMU's third win in the last four meetings with CMU.
 
The Broncos connected on 24-of-55 (43.6 percent) from the floor for the evening, and made 13-of-27 (48.1 percent) from downtown. Western Michigan also converted 16-of-19 (84.2 percent) from the charity stripe. Defensively, WMU limited Central Michigan to 38.5 percent (25-of-65) from the floor and 30.8 percent (8-of-26) from three-point range. The Broncos held a 38-34 advantage in rebounding for the evening.
 
Western Michigan continues its homestand on Tuesday evening as it welcomes Akron to University Arena for a 6 pm tip. Fans can purchase tickets here. The game is also set to 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.

Postgame Press Conference with Coach Bates and Lamar Norman Jr: