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KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The Ohio men's basketball team (13-7, 5-4 MAC) was saddled with a 90-85 loss to Mid-American Conference West Division foe Western Michigan (7-14, 3-6 MAC) on Tuesday (Jan. 31) at University Arena.

The Bobcats led by 10 with 4:58 to play, but the Broncos stormed back with a 19-5 run to secure the come-from-behind victory. Ohio led by as many as 21 with three minutes to play in the first half and did not relinquish the lead to Western Michigan until 32 seconds remained in the contest.

Ohio fell despite shooting 52.7 percent (29-of-55) from the field. Western Michigan shot just 40.6 percent (13-of-32) in the first half but bounced back with a 57.7 percent (15-of-26) effort over the final 20 minutes of play. The Broncos won the battle of the boards, 37-29, and outscored the Bobcats' bench, 28-10. Ohio was also plagued by 15 turnovers.

"I feel sick," said third-year head coach Saul Phillips. "We should have got that one and didn't do it. It better light a fire under us."

Freshman forward Jason Carter (Johnstown, Ohio) led Ohio with a career-high 21 points. He also added five rebounds, a block, an assist and a steal over 27 minutes. Carter has provided the Bobcats with at least 20 points in two of the last three games.

Redshirt junior guard Jaaron Simmons (Dayton, Ohio) chipped in 18 points, a game-high six assists and a rebound in 33 minutes of work.

Redshirt senior forward Kenny Kaminski (Medina, Ohio) went 5-of-7 from the field -- including 4-of-6 from three-point range -- to finish with 16 points. He also contributed three rebounds and an assist in 24 minutes before fouling out. Kaminski has knocked down at least five treys six times this season -- including each of the last two games -- and has achieved the feat 13 times in his Ohio career.

Sophomore guard Jordan Dartis (Newark, Ohio) also finished in double figures for the Bobcats with 12 points. His stat line also included four rebounds, three assists and two steals in 39 minutes.

Junior guard Thomas Wilder keyed the Western Michigan comeback with a game-high 29 points -- 22 of which came in the final 20 minutes of play. He went 8-of-15 from the field and 10-of-15 from the charity stripe. Wilder also contributed seven rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal in 34 minutes.

Senior guard/forward Tucker Haymond produced 20 points off of 6-of-12 shooting from the field and a perfect 6-of-6 performance from the free throw line. He also logged six rebounds, an assist and a steal over 37 minutes.

A pair of Broncos posted double-digit scoring efforts off of the bench. Junior center Drake LaMont tallied 11 points while freshman guard Jarrin Randall chipped in 10. LaMont also pulled down five rebounds in 19 minutes.

Ohio utilized a 14-point effort by Kaminski powered by four treys and nine points by Carter to build a 21-point lead with just over three minutes to play in the first half. Freshman guard Rodney Culver (Columbus, Ohio) hit a jumper in the paint to make it 44-23 in favor of the Bobcats.

Culver's jumper marked Ohio's final points of the first half, though, as Western Michigan closed the gap to six courtesy of a 15-0 run over the final 2:46, taking advantage of an and-one layup by Haymond and a jumper and a three by Wilder.

Another layup by Wilder marked the first basket of the second half and trimmed Ohio's lead down to four, but the Bobcats countered with a 14-5 run to go back up by 13 with 15:36 to go. A three by Simmons and back-to-back triples by Dartis were bookended by layups by Carter.

The Bobcats led by 12 with just under nine minutes to go after Simmons knocked down a three, but a 7-0 run by Western Michigan trimmed Ohio's lead down to five at 71-66 with 5:31 to go. An and-one jumper by Haymond and a jumper by Wilder helped the Broncos climb back in it. A triple from sophomore guard/forward Gavin Block (Lincoln, Ill.), a conventional three-point play by Simmons and a layup by Block pushed Ohio's lead back to double digits at 81-71 with just under five minutes to play.

Unfortunately for the Bobcats, Wilder took over the game from there, scoring 10 of Western Michigan's final 19 points. His free throw with 32 seconds left gave the Broncos their first lead of the game at 86-85. Two more free throws by Wilder and two by Haymond made the score final. Western Michigan came away with points on 13 of its final 14 possessions while Ohio went 0-of-4 from the field in the final 48 seconds.

Ohio plays host to a nationally televised matchup against MAC East Division rival Akron (19-3, 9-0 MAC) on Saturday (Feb. 4) at the Convocation Center. The contest is set to tip-off at noon ET and will be televised live on CBS Sports Network. The game, which was originally scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. ET tip-off, was moved due to being selected as a MAC wildcard game.

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