AKRON, Ohio – The Western Michigan men's basketball team dropped a back-and-forth affair at Akron on Saturday afternoon, 104-89.
 
Justice Williams paced the Broncos (7-11, 1-5 MAC) with 28 points on 11-of-15 shooting and hit 5-of-7 from three-point range. Jayden Brewer went 8-for-11 from the field on the way to 23 points and added a team-high seven rebounds. Jalen Griffith and Brady Swartz chipped in 14 points apiece, with Griffith also handing out a team-leading eight assists.
 
Nine straight points helped Akron (14-4, 5-1) grab a 13-6 advantage in the early going. The Broncos countered with a 14-2 run to move ahead, 23-18. At 37-31, Western Michigan notched eight consecutive points, capped by a Brewer three-pointer, to extend the margin to 45-31. The Zips answered with a 19-4 surge to regain the lead and took a 52-51 edge into the break.  
 
WMU notched the first seven points of the second half to move back in front, 58-52. The Zips came right back with 13 in a row to wrestle the lead away, 65-58. Western Michigan got back to within three, 71-68, on a Carson Vis old-fashioned, three-point play with just over 11 minutes to play. Akron then used a 10-2 stretch to extend the margin into double-digits, where it stayed for the remainder of the afternoon.
 
The Broncos made 55.7 percent (34-of-61) of their field goal attempts and tied their season high with 12 three-pointers. Akron connected on 56.7 percent (38-of-67) from the floor.
 
Western Michigan returns to University Arena for its next two contests, starting Tuesday evening as it welcomes Bowling Green to town for a 7 pm tip. For tickets to any WMU men's basketball home game, visit wmubroncos.com/tickets.