KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan men's basketball team fell to Toledo, 92-50, on Tuesday evening at University Arena.
Markeese Hastings and
Lamar Norman Jr. tallied nine points apiece to pace the WMU offense, while Hastings and
Titus Wright each secured seven rebounds for the Broncos (6-22, 2-15). Norman also collected a game-high three steals.
An early 8-0 run helped Toledo (22-6, 14-3) move head, 14-5, in the opening five minutes of the contest. Western Michigan countered with the next six, four of which came from
Mack Smith, to trim the margin to 14-11 at the 12:37 mark of the first half.
The Rockets used a 7-0 spurt to stretch the margin into double-digits, 23-13, but
B. Artis White connected on back-to-back three-pointers to trim the deficit to 23-19. With WMU trailing 28-21, Norman hit a pair of triples and Wright made a layup to put the Broncos ahead, 29-28, with 5:32 remaining until halftime.
Toledo answered with two straight three-pointers of its own to regain the lead, and took a five-point advantage, 41-36, into halftime.
The visitors scored the first 28 points out of the locker room to seize firm control of the contest, and kept Western Michigan at arm's length for the remainder of the evening.
WMU was limited to 27.7 percent (18-of-65) from the field, while Toledo connected on 51.4 percent (36-of-70) of its field goals.
The Broncos equaled their season low with eight turnovers in the game, and did not commit a single miscue in the first half.
Western Michigan hits the road for its next two games, beginning on Saturday at Bowling Green. The game is set for 5 pm and will be broadcast on
ESPN3 and the
Bronco Media Network.
WMU's final home game of the season is set for Friday, March 4, at 6 pm against Ball State. To purchase tickets, visit
wmubroncos.com/tickets, or call 1-888-4-WMU-TIX.