MACOMB, Ill. - David Jackson led Western Illinois with 15 points but UMKC outlasted the Leathernecks, 77-73, in the regular-season finale for both teams. The Kangaroos (14-13, 11-5), who already had clinched the No. 3 seed in next weekend?s conference tournament, used back-to-back layups to take a 67-64 lead with 4:19 remaining. They led the rest of the way behind 9-of-12 shooting from the free throw line, despite hitting just 10-of-18 from the line prior to the 3:00 mark. The Leathernecks (7-20, 3-13), never trailed by more than 10, 38-28 with 58 seconds left in the first half, in a game that saw 13 lead changes and nine ties. Western came within one on two different occasions in the first eight minutes of the second half, and took its first lead of the second period with 11:02 to play, 54-53, after a pair of free throws by Sammy Hunter. Two layups by Eliz Cepeda followed, pushing the Leathernecks? lead to five, 58-53, their largest of the evening.Four of the Leathernecks? starters scored in double-figures, as Jackson was joined by Cepeda and Fred Oguns who tallied 12 points each, and Hunter, who added 11. Cepeda grabbed a game-high nine rebounds while Hunter dished out a game-best five assists. Three players scored 16 points apiece for the Kangaroos - Kalu Guasco, Tim Blackwell and Quinton Day, while Dane Brumagin added 14 points off the bench and Dee Ayuba contributed 12.The Leathernecks will be the No. 8 seed at the Mid-Con Tournament and will face the top seed in the first round. The No. 1 seed will be either IUPUI (with an IUPUI win at Southern Utah tonight) or Oral Roberts (with an IUPUI loss tonight).Postgame quotes:UMKC head coach Rich Zvosek:?This game shows just how far the Western Illinois program has come. My hat goes off to Western. Without Troy Okeson in the lineup we wanted to make them shoot from the perimeter and we thought that would put us in good shape. They did a good job of forcing the ball inside on us early, and it took us a while to adjust and make them shoot from outside.??When you look at their record you have to be surprised. They have played a lot of people really close. When they?re healthy they are as good as anyone in this league.??They had a great strategy tonight to keep the ball out of Day?s hands. Luckily Brumagin did a great job for us off the bench, and Blackwell really helped us settle down when we needed it in the second half.?Western Illinois head coach Derek Thomas:?We have to knock more shots down in order for our confidence to stay up. I think the confidence factor is maybe why we?re losing these close games. Every mistake is magnified when your shots don?t fall. We?re scoring, it?s just not coming in big flows.??We want three to four guys in double figures every night. Our two seniors played like warriors tonight. I was very proud of them.??You have to give UMKC credit. Day is a player with exceptional talent. I thought Sean, Sammy and Nate did a great job taking him out of the game. But you can?t take Day, Brumagin and Blackwell out; you have to pick and choose. We thought keeping the ball away from Day would give us a shot to win, and it did.?