MUNCIE, Ind. – Trailing by one point, Western Michigan had a pair of chances on the final possession of the game, but the Broncos could not get either shot attempt to go in, and ultimately fell, 71-70, to Ball State at Worthen Arena on Tuesday evening.
 
A tight game throughout, Ball State (13-5, 4-1 MAC) held a 66-59 lead with just under four minutes to play. Western Michigan (6-12, 2-3 MAC) put together a 7-0 run to tie the game, with a Markeese Hastings old-fashioned three-point play tying the score with 2:20 on the clock.
 
After trading baskets, the two teams were deadlocked once again at 68-68 as the game entered the final minute. With 49 ticks remaining, Titus Wright made a tip-in off of an offensive rebound to put the Broncos up, 70-68. BSU came down on its next possession and got a three-point play of its own to go back in front by a point.
 
WMU missed its initial attempt on its final possession, but got another chance when the rebound went off of a Cardinal and out of bounds. Western Michigan got one more shot off in the dying seconds, but it did not go down, giving Ball State the one-point victory.
 
Lamar Norman Jr. posted his third 30-point game of the season and seventh of his career, as the senior netted a game-high 31 points. For the evening, Norman made 6-of-9 from beyond the arc and all seven of his free throw attempts.
 
Norman's 7-for-7 mark was part of a perfect 17-for-17 night at the foul line for the Broncos, which tied a single-game program record for made free throws without a miss. The prior instance also came in a conference road game, a 17-for-17 performance on March 3, 1990, at Toledo.
 
Hastings just missed out on a double-double, as the Grand Rapids native tallied 12 points and pulled in nine rebounds. Wright grabbed a game-high 11 boards for the Broncos, who held a 40-34 rebounding advantage in the contest.
 
After a pair of Western Michigan three-pointers in the opening minutes, Ball State answered with a 10-0 run to open up a 14-6 edge at the 15:08 mark. The Broncos responded with a 12-2 stretch, capped by a Norman three-pointer, to go back in front, 20-18, with 9:19 on the clock.
 
The Cardinals tallied eight of the next 10 points to move back ahead, 26-22. Norman scored Western Michigan's final seven points of the half to help the Broncos briefly regain a 29-28 edge, but a three-pointer in the final seconds sent Ball State into the locker room with a 31-29 advantage.
 
Ball State slowly rebuilt a five-point edge, 41-36, in the early portion of the second half, but Norman drained triples on the next two possessions to put Western Michigan back on top, 42-41, with 14:46 to play. At the 11:48 mark, JaVaughn Hannah buried a three-pointer to give the Broncos a four-point cushion, 50-46.
 
Hannah connected on another triple to make it 55-52 just past the halfway mark of the period, but Ball State responded with 10 in a row to regain a 62-55 advantage with 6:30 to play.
 
Western Michigan shot 22-of-57 (38.6 percent) from the floor in the contest, while Ball State made 27-of-59 (45.8 percent) of its field goal attempts. WMU connected on 50.0 percent of its three-pointers (9-of-18), while limiting the Cardinals to 4-of-15 (26.7 percent) from beyond the arc.
 
The Broncos are back at home on Saturday, Jan. 21, for a doubleheader with the WMU women's team. The women's team begins the day at noon against Buffalo, with the men's team taking on Akron at 2:30 pm. Saturday will be a celebration of the 25th anniversary of Western Michigan's 1997-98 MAC Championship team, which will be honored at halftime of the men's game. To purchase tickets to any Western Michigan men's basketball home game this season, visit wmubroncos.com/tickets.