BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Western Michigan men's basketball team scored a season-high 97 points on the way to a big 97-64 road win at Buffalo on Tuesday evening.
 
Markhi Strickland led the five Broncos in double-figures with a career-high tying 20 points. Joining Strickland in double-figures for WMU (9-17, 6-7 MAC) were JaVaughn Hannah (18), Donovan Williams (16), Chansey Willis Jr. (16) and Max Burton (10). Hannah's 18 points came on 8-of-11 shooting and were a new season high.
 
The Brown and Gold tallied 27 assists, tying their season high and for the second-most in a game in program history. Willis handed out a career-high tying eight helpers, while Williams added a career-best five assists. Western Michigan was dominant on the glass for the second straight game as well, outdueling Buffalo 40-24. Williams was WMU's top rebounder for the second consecutive contest with eight boards.
 
Seven straight points from Strickland helped Western Michigan get off to a 9-0 start in the opening three minutes of the contest. After Buffalo (8-18, 3-10) worked the margin to five, 15-10, the Broncos put together a 12-2 stretch to increase their cushion to 27-12 just past the halfway mark of the first period.
 
At 32-17, WMU reeled off 11 consecutive points to push its advantage to 43-17. The Brown and Gold's lead ballooned to 29 just before the break, as Strickland drained a three-pointer to send his team into the locker room up 52-23.   
 
Western Michigan shot 59.5 percent (22-of-37) from the field and hit 50.0 percent (7-of-14) of its three-point attempts in the opening period. The 52 first-half points are the most the Broncos have scored in a single half so far this season.
 
As the contest approached the midway point of the second half, WMU hit its largest lead of the night, 39, when a 10-0 run made it 73-34. The Brown and Gold maintained a cushion of more than 30 for much of the remainder of the night.
 
Western Michigan made 41-of-71 (57.7 percent) from the field, and hit 13-of-26 (50.0 percent) from downtown in the contest. The field goals and three-pointers made, as well as both shooting percentages, were all season-bests for the Brown and Gold. Buffalo was 19-of-43 (44.2 percent) from the floor, and WMU's defense limited the hosts to 2-of-13 (15.4 percent) from three-point range.
 
The Broncos return to University Arena for Alumni Day on Saturday as they welcome in rival Central Michigan for a 1 pm tip. For tickets to any WMU men's basketball home game, visit wmubroncos.com/tickets.