FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Five players scored in double-figures to lift the Western Michigan men's basketball team to an 81-59 road win over Purdue Fort Wayne on Thursday night.
Julien Gomez paced the five Broncos (3-1) in double-figures with 19 points off of the bench. Joining the sophomore in double-figures for the Brown and Gold were
Augustinas Kiudulas (15),
Mason Bendinger (12),
Adam Harakow (10) and
Jaylen Washington (10). Harakow paced WMU on the glass with eight rebounds, while Bendinger handed out a team-leading four assists.
The two teams went back and forth for the first 10-plus minutes of the contest. With Purdue Fort Wayne (1-2) holding an 18-16 edge, Western Michigan put together a 13-point outburst to open up a 29-18 lead. The Mastodons worked the margin down to 35-28 heading into the break.
Purdue Fort Wayne notched the first six points after halftime to close to within one, 35-34. The Broncos countered with 10 in a row as part of a 20-4 surge to push their advantage back into double-digits at 55-38. Western Michigan maintained a double-digit cushion for the remainder of the evening, with the Brown and Gold's largest lead, 81-57, coming with just over a minute to play.
The Broncos were over 50.0 percent from the field for the second straight contest, hitting on 52.6 percent (30-of-57) of their field goal attempts. Purdue Fort Wayne was limited to 38.5 percent (20-of-52) from the floor and 20.0 percent (4-of-20) from three-point range. WMU was dominant on the glass, owning a 38-23 rebounding advantage over the Mastodons.
Western Michigan continues its road stretch on Sunday afternoon at Southern Indiana. Tip is scheduled for 4:30 pm on ESPN+.
