KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Tyree Appleby scored a career-high 24 points, but Western Michigan used a strong performance at the free throw line – hitting 27-of-37, including 24-of-33 in the second half – to defeat Cleveland State, 78-67, on Wednesday night.
WMU improved to 5-4, while the Vikings fell to 2-6.
Appleby hit 8-of-10 from the floor, including 4-of-5 from three-point and knocked down all four of his free throws. The reigning Horizon League Freshman of the Week added three rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Kenny Carpenter scored 13 points with three rebounds, five assists and three steals, while Bobby Word had 13 points.
Kasheem Thomas scored nine points with three rebounds and three steals and Anthony Wright finished with seven points, nine rebounds and three assists.
WMU led by two points (16-14) at the 11:32 mark, but would score the next 14 points to open up a 16 point lead with 7:41 on the clock. The Vikings closed the half on a 16-8 run to slice the deficit in half.
Carpenter capped the scoring with a 30-footer in transition just before the buzzer after a WMU turnover.
CSU pulled within three points (44-41) on Word's jumper with 14:37 to play, but the Broncos, who made just one field goal in the opening 10-plus minutes of the second half, maintained the lead by hitting 14-of-18 free throws during the stretch.
The Broncos would finish 24-of-33 at the free throw line in the second half to maintain the lead.
CSU finished with 12 steals, forcing 23 turnovers.
The Vikings are back in action on Sunday (Dec. 10) when the Vikings host Notre Dame (OH) at 2:00 pm in the Wolstein Center.