Demetrius Ward scored 14 points and hit two late free throws that gave Western Michigan the lead for good in a 68-65 BracketBusters victory over Illinois State on Saturday.
Ward hit double figures for the 10th straight game, and Alex Wolf and Matt Stainbrook had 12 points apiece for the Broncos (15-10), who won their third in a row.
Austin Hill led the Redbirds (11-17) with 12 points. Justin Clark hit three 3-pointers and scored 11, while Jon Ekey scored 10 for Illinois State, which has dropped six in a row. Tony Lewis had a game-high eight rebounds.
Ward sank two free throws with 3:12 left to break a 59-59 tie and put the Broncos ahead to stay.
Hill hit two foul shots for Illinois State to cut it to 66-65 with 43 seconds left, but Ward made two more free throws with 5 seconds left to seal it.
