JASON WHITENS

KALAMAZOO (AP) — Former North Central High School standout Jason Whitens notched a collegiate career-high 16 points, but Western Michigan’s late comeback fell short in a 71-63 loss to Milwaukee on Sunday.

In his first start since Nov. 25, the redshirt junior Whitens poured in 6-of-9 shooting from the field with four rebounds in 33 minutes of action.

Whitens was also 1-of-2 from long distance, 3-of-4 from the free-throw line and had one assist. In the last two games against Milwaukee, Whitens had recorded 31 points.

Te’Jon Lucas had 16 points for Milwaukee.

DeAndre Gholston had 13 points and six rebounds for Milwaukee (1-1). C.J. Wilbourn added 11 points. Amir Allen had nine rebounds.

Greg Lee had 18 points and eight rebounds for the Broncos (1-4). B. Artis White added 17 points.

Titus Wright, who led the Broncos in scoring entering the contest with 14 points per game, shot only 20% in the game (1 of 5).

Forcing Milwaukee to commit three turnovers in a two-minute span the Broncos trailed by just two with five minutes left after a fast break lay-up from Whitens.

However, the Milwaukee defense held the Bronco offense scoreless for the next three minutes as the Panthers gained a 63-57 lead with 90 seconds remaining.

The two teams traded corner three-pointers as WMU’s deficit trimmed to six with 45 seconds to play. It was as close as the Broncos got as Milwaukee made five of its final six free-throws to secure the victory.