The Eagles trailed by as many as six in the second half of a contest that featured 10 ties and 13 lead changes. Redshirt senior Paul Jackson knocked down a contested jumper to give EMU a 61-60 lead with exactly 90 seconds remaining in the second half. However, WMU responded with a layup to go back in front by one, before Bronco senior Josh Davis split a pair at the charity stripe to extend the margin to 63-61 with 12.9 seconds left in regulation.
With the Green and White out of timeouts, Jackson drove the length of the court and made a layup while drawing contact to knot the score at 63 apiece with 10.6 ticks to go in the second stanza. The redshirt senior was unable to complete the old-fashioned three-point play, but a Western heave at the buzzer fell short and the game went to overtime.
Redshirt junior Boubacar Toure won the tip to begin the extra frame, and scored on the opening possession to push the Eagles to a 65-63 advantage with 4:41 left in overtime. Ahead 67-66 later in the frame, EMU rattled off seven unanswered points to build its largest lead of the contest, 74-66, with 1:18 on the clock.
Jackson added a pair of free throws during the final minute of play, while Elijah Minnie tallied what proved to be the game-winning foul shot with 23.2 seconds left as the Eagles withstood a late 5-0 run and held on for a 77-76 victory.
Winners in four of their last five overall, the Eagles (13-14, 7-7 MAC) swept the regular season series against the Broncos (8-19, 2-12 MAC) for the first time since the 2011-12 campaign.
Fourteen of Jackson's team-high 18 points arrived in the final 4:15 of regulation and overtime, as he paced the Eagles with seven assists while pulling down five rebounds.
Senior James Thompson IV posted 17 points and a team-best 11 boards for his 70th career double-double and 11th of the season, while sophomore Kevin McAdoo logged 16 points. Toure contributed 11 points off the bench on 5-of-7 shooting, while grabbing eight boards and adding a team-high three blocks.
EMU was the superior team on the offensive end, shooting 50.9 percent (28-of-55) from the floor, while holding WMU to a 40 percent (26-of-65) efficiency. The Eagles recorded 29 points off turnovers, totaled a half-dozen blocks, and outscored the Broncos in the paint, 40-28.
The Green and White faced a six-point deficit early in the second half, but clawed their way back into the contest and eventually evened the score at 46 with 10:37 to go in the frame. Momentum continued to sway back and forth as the intrastate rivals remained within one possession of each other for the rest of regulation.
Seth Dugan led WMU scoring with 15 points and also pulled down 10 boards. Josh Davis also registered a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Michael Flowers also contributed 14 points William Boyer Richard chipped in 11.