MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The Western Michigan men's basketball team dropped a 73-52 decision at Central Michigan on Saturday evening in Mount Pleasant.
 
Markhi Strickland led the Broncos (5-14, 2-5 MAC) in scoring with 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Owen Lobsinger nearly had a double-double, as he tallied 10 points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds in his 100th game for the Brown and Gold. Donovan Williams and Chansey Willis Jr. netted nine points apiece, with Willis also handing out a team-high five assists.
 
The two teams traded baskets in the opening five-plus minutes, and a Strickland layup at the 14:34 mark put Western Michigan on top, 11-9. Central Michigan (9-10, 3-4) proceeded to score the next 14 points to ignite a 22-5 surge which put the hosts up 31-16. The Broncos netted seven of the final 10 points of the period to trim the deficit to 34-23 at halftime.
 
After Lobsinger knocked down his second triple of the night and Willis got to the free throw line, WMU whittled the margin back down to 10, 40-30, with 15 minutes left. The Chippewas answered, and maintained a double-digit lead for the remainder of the evening.  
 
WMU struggled from the floor, as it made 32.2 percent (19-of-59) of its field goal attempts. Central Michigan hit 43.3 percent (26-of-60) for the evening.
 
Western Michigan concludes its two-game road stretch on Tuesday evening as it heads down to Muncie, Ind., to face Ball State. Tip between the Broncos and Cardinals is slated for 7 pm on ESPN+.