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Garret Covington FP
Sophomore guard Garret Covington finished with a career-high 29 points Saturday.
57
Southeastern Louisia SLU 0-3
60
Winner Western Illinois WIU 1-2
Southeastern Louisia SLU
0-3
57
Final
60
Western Illinois WIU
1-2
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Southeastern Louisia SLU 25 32 57
Western Illinois WIU 21 39 60

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | WIU Athletic Communications

Billy Wright Earns First Career Win as Head Coach in @WIUMensHoops Victory Saturday

Garret Covington tallied a career-high 29 points as Western Illinois defeated the Southeastern Louisiana Lions Saturday evening in Macomb, 60-57.


- Head Coach Billy Wright postgame radio show

MACOMB, Ill. – Western Illinois used a late three-pointer from junior Jamie Batish Saturday evening (Nov. 22) to complete the come-from-behind win over the Southeastern Louisiana Lions, 60-57, inside Western Hall.
 
Western trailed by eight with 6:15 to play in regulation, but WIU was able to put an 11-2 run together and retake the advantage with less than a minute to play, 56-55.
 
After the Lions knotted the game back up 57-57, Batish knocked down a three-pointer with five seconds to which proved to be the game winner.
 
The win was Billy Wright's first as a head coach of the Fighting Leathernecks.
 
WIU picked up its first win of the season, improving to 2-1 after the victory. The Lions fell to 0-3 on the year.
 
"I think it is very difficult to win in Division I basketball," said Wright. "For the most part in that game our kids didn't quit. I thought we got out-fought for the first 22 to 24 minutes, and I just reminded our guys of who we are and what our identity is. We didn't want to let our fans down, and we didn't want to let the community down because we are known for fighting without giving up."
 
Garret Covington led all scores with a career-best 29 points. The sophomore guard connected on 7-of-15 from the field, 4-of-9 from beyond the arc, and career-high 11-of-15 from the free throw line. He also added a team-best three assists with only one turnover.
 
Jabari Sandifer and Batish added eight and seven points, respectively. Sandifer also dished out two assists and pulled down four rebounds, while Batish who drained the game-winning shot, also had three boards and played a team-high 36 minutes.
 
J.C. Fuller started his first career game and grabbed a team-leading eight rebounds.
 
The opening half was a sloppy, back-and-forth affair as neither team shot better than 30 percent from the field, and there were seven lead changes. WIU found itself down 25-21 at the midway point.
 
There were nine ties and 10 lead changes throughout the game.
 
SLU shot better from the field (35.8-30.4), the three-point line (30.0-28.6), and the free throw line (76.5-69.0).
 
Western is back on the road for its next game on Tuesday (Nov. 25) as it travels to Virginia to face William & Mary. Tip is slated for 6 p.m. CT.
 
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