WMU men’s basketball loses to Ohio, outscored 50-10 in the paint by the Bobcats | Sports

30 points from Lamar Norman Jr. wasn’t enough for Western Michigan men’s basketball to get its first conference win of the season, as the Broncos fell to Ohio, 77-64.

Western Michigan (4-19, 0-12) started the game on a 7-2 run after a three-pointer by B.Artis White and four points scored by Norman. A 10-2 Broncos run followed shortly thereafter to make the score 17-7 WMU with 14:43 to go in the first half. Five points from Mileek McMillan and Norman contributed to the run. Ohio (19-3, 10-1) answered in a big way with a 14-0 run to take the lead 21-17 midway through the first half.

Ohio held on to the lead until Markeese Hastings made a three with 1:39 left in the first half to tie the score at 35. A jumper by Norman with 15 seconds left in half put the Broncos back in front, but a Bobcat three-pointer gave Ohio a 40-39 lead going into the half.

Two three-pointers, one each by Josiah Freeman and Norman, gave Western Michigan the lead back at 45-42 in the first two minutes of the second half. Ohio went on another big run, scoring the next seven points en route to a 13-2 run which put the Bobcats back in the driver’s seat, leading by double digits 58-48 with 13:35 to go in the contest.

Western Michigan clawed back in the game, cutting the Ohio lead to 60-54 with 11:37 to play, but another 7-0 Ohio run put the Bobcats in front by 13, 67-54. WMU cut the lead to 73-64 after back-to-back threes by Hastings and Norman, but it was too little, too late, as Ohio finished the deal and ended the contest with a 13-point victory.

McMillan and Hastings finished with double-digit points alongside Norman, with McMillan finishing with 11 points and Hastings finishing with 10. Hastings also had a double-double, coming down with a team-high 10 rebounds.

WMU shot 44.7% (21-47) from the field and 40.7% (11-27) from three point range. Ohio ended the game shooting 49.2% (32-65) from the field and 25.9% (7-27) from three point range. It was the sixth time this season that the Broncos shot double-digit three-pointers. Western Michigan was outscored by Ohio in the paint 50-10.

The Broncos will finish the road trip Tuesday with a trip to Oxford, Ohio, for a matchup against Miami (OH). Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be streamed on ESPN3.