TOLEDO, Ohio - The Western Michigan men's basketball team got a career-best performance from Darius Paul, and the Broncos eked out a road victory with a 65-62 effort against Toledo on Wednesday.? With the win, the Broncos improve to 18-9 overall, 9-4 in the Mid-American Conference.? The Broncos need just a single win to clinch a top-four seed in the MAC Tournament.

Paul posted his fifth double-double of the season by registering a career-high 28 points and 12 rebounds, shooting 9-of-16 from the field and 8-of-9 from the free throw line.? Paul was joined in double figures by David Brown, who came off the bench to notch 15 points.

Toledo led 56-51 with 5:44 remaining in the game, but the Broncos stormed back with timely defense and rebounding late to stop the Rockets in their tracks.? David Brown drained a transition three-pointer at the 4:35 mark after Austin Richie swiped the ball from Reese Holliday and advanced it up the court.? Rian Pearson made a jumper from the free throw line to extend Toledo's lead to four points, but Brown made a pair of free throws with 4:08 remaining to make it 58-56.

Nate Hutcheson scored on a reverse lay-up with 3:23 remaining to tie the score, and Paul gave the Broncos a 60-58 lead with a jumper with 2:40 left on the clock.? Brown capped the 11-2 run with a scoop shot in the lane to give the Broncos a two-possession lead, and Hutcheson made a pair of ffree throws with 26 seconds remaining to make it 65-62.? Dominique Buckley's three-point attempt at the buzzer was off the mark, and the Broncos left town with the win.

The Broncos were put in a bind early in the first half, when Shayne Whittington was charged with two fouls within the first five minutes of play.? The Broncos made due without their starting center, though, hanging tough with the Rockets and minimizing the damage by leaning on their other starting post player.? Paul scored in a variety of ways in the first half, shooting 2-of-2 from three-point range and going 5-of-7 overall from the field.

Western Michigan opened the game on an 8-5 run, with Brandon Pokley opening the proceedings with a three-pointer from center court and adding a lay-up at the 17:18 mark to give the Broncos a three-point lead.? Connar Tava helped maintain that lead with a pair of free throw makes at the 13:41 mark, and Paul added a hook shot in the paint with 11:05 to play to make it 12-9.

Toledo took the lead at the 8:21 mark with a three-pointer from Reese Holliday, who came off the bench to notch 11 points in the first half.? Holliday staked the Rockets out to their largest lead of the half when he drained a transition three from the right wing with 5:23 left in the half, but the Broncos countered and pulled to within a single point by the break.? Paul hit a three-pointer from the left corner with five minutes remaining to make it a four-point game, and Nate Hutcheson scored on a lay-up with 4:27 remaining cut the Rockets' lead to 24-22.?

AJ Avery tied the game for the Broncos at 26 with a lay-up in the lane after a bounce pass assist from Paul, but Julius Brown made a three-pointer on the next trip down the court to put the Rockets back on top.? Austin Richie made a pair of free throws down the stretch to cut the lead to 29-28, which is where it sat entering the halftime break.