KENT, Ohio – The Western Michigan men's basketball team trailed by as many as 17 in the second half, and climbed all the way back to within two, before eventually falling, 80-72, at Kent State in the Mid-American Conference opener for both teams on Tuesday evening.
 
Trailing 72-55 with under six minutes remaining, the Broncos (4-10, 0-1 MAC) reeled off 15 in a row, with a Lamar Norman Jr. layup capping the rally at the 2:19 mark. Kent State (11-3, 1-0 MAC) responded with the next six points, including a four-point play on its next possession, and hit its free throws down the stretch to hold off the WMU rally.  
 
Markeese Hastings posted a double-double (14 points, 11 rebounds) for the Broncos, his third of the season and seventh of his collegiate career. Tray Maddox Jr. paced Western Michigan in scoring with 18 points, and added five rebounds as well as a team-high five assists. Also in double-figures for WMU were Norman and Tafari Simms, who netted 12 points apiece.
 
Kent State tallied seven of the first nine points of the evening, but the Broncos answered with the next five to even the contest at 7-7 in the opening four-plus minutes of the game. The Golden Flashes countered with five straight to begin a 13-4 run which put the hosts up, 20-11, at the 9:35 mark of the half.
 
WMU responded with seven in a row, five of which came from Norman, to draw back to within two, 20-18, with 7:17 remaining in the opening period. KSU countered with seven straight of its own as part of a 15-3 surge which extended the hosts' lead into double-digits for the first time, 35-21, at the 2:28 mark. Kent State took a 38-26 edge into the halftime locker room.
 
Titus Wright tallied Western Michigan's first seven points out of the break to help trim the deficit back to single-digits, 42-33, with 17:31 to play. A Simms basket then got the Broncos to within seven, 46-39, with just over five minutes gone in the second half. Kent State briefly pushed the margin back into double-figures, but Maddox netted five in a row to bring WMU to within six, 50-44, at the 11:38 mark.
 
Western Michigan got to within five, 56-51, when JaVaughn Hannah buried a three-pointer in transition. Kent State answered with an old-fashioned three-point play on the ensuing possession to spark a 16-4 stretch which gave the Golden Flashes a 72-55 cushion with just over six minutes to play.
 
The Broncos shot 51.0 percent (26-of-51) from the floor and connected on 82.4 percent (14-of-17) at the charity stripe. The Golden Flashes hit 40.4 percent (23-of-57) of their field goal attempts for the evening and went 23-of-25 (92.0 percent) at the foul line.
 
Western Michigan wraps up its three-game road trip on Friday evening as it travels to Toledo. The Broncos and Rockets are set for a 6:30 pm tip on CBS Sports Network.  
 
WMU returns to University Arena on Tuesday, Jan. 10, for a 7 pm contest against Eastern Michigan. To purchase tickets to any Western Michigan men's basketball home game this season, visit wmubroncos.com/tickets.