KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Trailing by as many as 17 late in the first half on Friday evening, the Western Michigan men's basketball team rallied to outscore Akron 59-39 in the second half and claim a 90-84 victory on its Senior Night at University Arena. The win sealed a berth for WMU in next week's Mid-American Conference Tournament in Cleveland for the first time since the 2019-20 season.
 
Trailing 53-40 four minutes into the second half, Western Michigan (12-19, 9-9 MAC) used an 18-4 surge to storm back and take its first lead of the evening, 58-57, with 11:11 on the clock. Moments later with the game even at 61-61, Javonte Brown made a layup to begin a 7-0 run to put the Broncos in front, 68-61, as the clock ticked into the final six minutes.
 
Akron (21-10, 13-5) closed the gap to 68-64, but WMU answered with another eight consecutive points, including back-to-back dunks by Titus Wright and Anthony Crump, to boost the margin to 76-64. The Zips inched a little bit closer with some three-pointers while the Broncos made their free throws at the other end, but the visitors drew no closer than six for the remainder of the contest.
 
B. Artis White paced the five Western Michigan players in double-figures with 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 5-of-8 on three-pointers. Brown totaled 16 points on 7-of-9 from the floor, Wright and Seth Hubbard tallied 13 points apiece, and JaVaughn Hannah added 12.
 
The Broncos had a healthy 39-28 rebounding advantage in the contest, with Owen Lobsinger's nine boards leading the charge. Jefferson De La Cruz Monegro collected seven rebounds and Crump added six to the WMU cause.
 
Akron held the lead for the majority of the first half, with the visitors using runs of 8-0 and 10-0 to build a 34-19 margin with just over four minutes remaining in the opening stanza. The Zips led by as many as 17, 41-24, in the opening frame and took a 45-31 margin into the locker room.
 
The Broncos shot 50.9 percent (29-of-57) from the field for the night, and hit field goals at a 63.0 percent (17-of-27) clip in the second half. Western Michigan made a season-high 26 free throws on 35 attempts (74.3 percent). Akron connected on 50.8 percent (32-of-63) from the floor in the contest.
 
Before the game, Western Michigan honored Alika Edmonds, Anthony Crump, Titus Wright and B. Artis White as a part of its Senior Night celebration.
 
The Mid-American Conference is slated to announce the full bracket for the 2024 MAC Men's Basketball Tournament later on Friday evening. Stay tuned to www.wmubroncos.com for Western Michigan's quarterfinal matchup and game time.