MACOMB, Ill. – Western Illinois picked up its third consecutive victory by defeating the Grace Bible Tigers Saturday evening (Dec. 7) inside Western Hall, 77-43.

“I think these games are hard to play,” said head coach Jim Molinari. “Credit Grace Bible because what they do is put five guys out there that are skilled. Most Division I teams don't have five guys that are skilled. (Division I teams) have much more athletic guys but they don't have players that can all pass and shoot, and that really exposed us.”

The Leathernecks remain undefeated (4-0) at home this season and improve to 4-4 overall on the season. Grace Bible counted the game as an exhibition contest, therefore their record remains unchanged.

“(The Tigers) average 85 or 86 points per game and they have confident guys that can score,” continued Molinari. “It was different for our big guys trying to get out there. They made it difficult. I thought the second half was better. Hopefully we'll watch the tape and learn some things. I was telling them, defense is really hard. I don't care who you play, you better have five guys who can defend and I thought the first four or five minutes we didn't have five guys who could defend.”

Freshman Garret Covington recorded the first double-double of his career by finishing with 15 points and 11 rebounds.  The Edwardsville, Ill. native also tallied six assists and two steals.

Finishing one rebound away from his first-career double-double was senior Michael Ochereobia. The Leathernecks' center tallied 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting, and pulled down nine rebounds to go along with his three blocks.

Fellow senior Adam Link finished with a game-high 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting, while grabbing seven rebounds, dishing out an assist and tallying a steal.

Freshman Jabari Sandifer finished with three assists in the game, this seventh game this season dishing out at least that many. The Naperville, Ill. native also had nine points and a steal.

Finishing with a career-best five assists and tallying nine points on 4-of-6 shooting was Tate Stensgaard. The sophomore forward also recorded a block in the nonconference contest.

Grace Bible's Cameron Cramer led the Tigers with 17 points and eight rebounds.

Western shot better than Grace Bible from the field (51.7%-29.1%) and the free throw line (68.8%-33.3%), while both teams shot 26.7% from beyond the arc.

“(The season so far) has been a huge grind, so hopefully we can take a deep breath and take a few days off and focus on what's really important,” concluded Molinari. "(The players have to) battle their finals because after that, it even picks up more."

The Leathernecks take a week off before continuing nonconference action on the road at Alabama State on December 16.