MACOMB, Ill. - The Western Illinois men's basketball earned a convincing 72-51 victory at home Wednesday (Feb. 29) over the Mavericks of Nebraska Omaha on Senior Night in front of a season-high 2,276 fans.

Western concludes the regular season with a 16-13 overall record and 9-9 Summit League mark after the win, while UNO finishes its first season of Division I basketball with an 11-18 record.

"That's what you want Western Illinois basketball to look like," said head coach Jim Molinari. "That's always been my dream in a sense of playing tough defensively, rebounding the basketball, get good shots and then sharing the basketball. The other thing is just having our students here to enjoy it. Peers love to perform in front of their peers. They were so thrilled by that."

Senior guard Tommie Tyler was honored prior to the game as the senior captain played in his last game at Western Hall. He was excited that his squad was able to win its second-straight heading into the post season.

"It means a lot," said Tyler. "We played good last game and we needed a lot of momentum heading into the conference tournament. We have to work hard tomorrow then work hard on Friday and get ready for the game Sunday."

Tyler will graduate this spring with a degree in Law Enforcement and finished tonight's game with six points and a game-high six helpers.

"Tommie (Tyler) was one I went and watched in Texas play in the gym," Molinari said of Tyler. "Nobody pulled the trigger on Tommie because they didn't know how consistent he could score the ball. He's hung in there and he's been a leader and a warrior. He's meant a lot to our program."

Freshman Obi Emegano finished with a game-high 18 points, on 9-of-14 shooting, while grabbing five rebounds, dishing out four assists, and recording two steals. Junior forward Jack Houpt (15), junior forward Terell Parks (12), and senior guard Ceola Clark III (9) each contributed to the scoring effort. Houpt finished the game going 5-of-8 from three, Parks grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds completing his eighth double-double of the season, and Clark finished with five assists and a steal.

Western finished the game with an impressive 53.4 shooting percentage to UNO's 33.3%. The Leathernecks also finished with a season-high 25 assists and only turned the ball over 11 times.

UNO was led by Mitch Albers who tallied 13 points, the only Maverick to finish in double figures.

The Mavericks kicked off the contest connecting on their first shot of the game, a triple, but a pair of buckets, one from Tyler and another from Parks, gave the Leathernecks their first lead of the game, 4-3 early on.

Houpt continued to build on the Leathernecks lead connecting three-of-four from downtown in the first five minutes of action, making it 15-8 with 11:27 left in the half.

A 7-2 run later in the first would get UNO back within three points, but triples from Houpt and Clark, along with a long jumper from Parks would extend the Leathernecks' lead to 11, 31-20, with three minutes remaining in the first.

UNO would score four of the half's final six points, and the Leathernecks would head to the locker room with a 33-24 advantage.

A nifty layup from Emegano, followed by an electrifying alley-oop dunk from Clark to Parks, who was fouled and finished the and-one, put the Leathernecks up 12, 38-26 to begin the second half.

After a UNO three at the 17:22 mark, the two teams remained scoreless for the next three minutes, before the Emegano rattled off four unanswered points just before the 10 minute mark of the second.

Western then climbed out to a 20-point lead with 7:38 left in regulation after another Emegano jumper.

From there the Leathernecks would finish the game strong, on their way to a 21-point victory, 72-51.

The fourth-seeded Leathernecks will venture to Sioux Falls, S.D. for the 2012 Summit League Tournament where they will face the fifth-seeded NDSU Bison in the opening round of action. The two teams are scheduled to tip-off on Sunday at 6 p.m. inside Sioux Falls Arena.

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