MACOMB, Ill. - David Jackson dropped in 27 points but it was not enough as Western Illinois came up short against league-leading Oral Roberts, 76-71.

With :28 left in the game Jackson converted a three-point play to bring the Leathernecks (11-14, 6-8 The Summit League) within one point at 72-71. After the Golden Eagles (18-5, 13-0 The Summit League) sank a pair of free throws on the other end, they were able to force a Western turnover to preserve the lead and collect the win.

"I though we could win this game," said Western Illinois head coach Derek Thomas. "Our guys had the right mind set coming into the game, but they just had too much for us. We couldn't get a rebound and blew a couple of coverages tonight on the rotation."

The game was controlled early on by ORU as they jumped out to lead by as many as 10 points, with 8:58 left in the first half. The Leathernecks battled back with consecutive layups form David DuBois to make it a 21-18 ball game with 6:04 to play in the half. A pair of Jackson free throws, followed by a Chris Gonzalez three-pointer at the 5:15 mark, gave Western its first lead of the game at 24-23. After Jackson responded to a Moses Ehambe three with a pair of layups, the Leathernecks were able to maintain their first half lead. James Washington connected on a pair of free throws to give Western its largest lead of the game at eight, :52 before half. Ehambe connected on another three and a free throw to pull the Golden Eagles within four, 35-31, at the break.

The second half saw Western miss seven of its first eight shots, while ORU stormed back to tie the game up with 17:19 left to play. A 9-0 run had made it a three-point lead for ORU, until Jerryck Owens-Murrey silenced the run with a layup to bring the Leathernecks within one at 40-39. The Golden Eagles had an immediate answer with a layup inside and were able to stretch the lead to five points. Washington converted a three-point play to bring the Leathernecks back within two, 46-44. ORU then built their lead out to 12 points over the next 6:22 of the game. Western chipped away at the lead until Jackson brought them within four on a layup and then turned it into a single-possession game with under two minutes to play when the senior guard connected on a three-pointer, making the score 66-64. Ehambe once again answered with a three for ORU to stretch their lead to five, before Jackson's heroics nearly allowed Western to upset the only undefeated team in The Summit League.

"We knew that they would make a run and they did," Thomas said of ORU's second half. "A few of our shots at the start of the half rimmed out and I think that took a little air out of us. If we make those, we keep our confidence a little better on the other end."

Jackson was joined in double figures by Washington, who scored 14. Ehambe led all scorers with 40 points, hitting 9-of-13 from beyond the arc. Marcus Lewis and Kelvin Sango pulled down 12 and 10 rebounds respectively for ORU.

"(Yemi) Ogunye does a good job of holding top players under their average," Thomas said of Jackson's matchup. "For Jackson to do what he did was a remarkable feat for him. It's unfortunate though for him to have a game like that and not come out on top."

"Ehambe was key for them, but Lewis played a big part for them," Thomas continued. "It seemed like he got every rebound for them or was able to draw a foul when they needed it. It seemed like he was the guy they were looking for and then he was able to find Ehambe when we broke down, and even when we were on him he killed us."

Western takes on Centenary Saturday, February 16 at 7 p.m., for senior night at Western Hall.