MACOMB, Ill. – Western Illinois men's basketball rolled past Greenville College, 91-56, Saturday night (Nov. 29) on LeRoy A. Ufkes Court inside Western Hall.

The Fighting Leathernecks improved to 2-3 overall on the season after the victory, while the Panthers fell to 2-3.
 
"I have a lot of respect for coach (George) Barber and Greenville College," said head coach Billy Wright. "I think he's a great coach, his team was prepared, and they exposed us in the post in the first half. We were able make some adjustments in the second half and that helped."

After absorbing an early run from Greenville College, the Leathernecks built their lead up to 13 at the midway point of the game. Western then put together a 19-2 run early in the second half to create separation from the Panthers on the scoreboard before closing out the contest with a 35-point margin of victory.
 
WIU never trailed in the game, and its 35-point victory as time expired was Western's largest lead of the game.
 
Sophomore guard Jabari Sandifer finished the game with 13 assists, which is a career-high for the Naperville, Ill. native, and two assists away from WIU's single-game record. Sandifer also did not turn the ball over in 29 minutes, tallied nine points, and pulled down three rebounds.
 
"I think Jabari, who had 13 assists and zero turnovers, is exactly what we need from our point guard. I'm very pleased with that. Overall, I thought our team moved the ball offensively and shared the ball. Defensively we have to get better. We can't start slow or sluggish. We need to be more focused and locked in," concluded Wright.

Leading the team in scoring was sophomore guard Garret Covington who finished with 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting, and 4-of-7 from three-point range.
 
Covington has now made a three-pointer in 21 consecutive games dating back to last season. The streak of triples started when the Leathernecks played host to William and Mary on Jan. 4, 2014.
 
Three other Leathernecks scored in double figures in junior forward Tate Stensgaard and junior guard Jamie Batish who each recorded 12 points, and junior guard J.C. Fuller who finished with 10.

Jalen Chapman, a junior forward from Bronx, N.Y., grabbed a season-best 10 rebounds in the win.

The Leathernecks shot better than Greenville from the field (54.7-34.4), the three-point line (47.6-23.5), and the free throw line (73.3-71.4).
 
WIU also had 24 assists, a season-high, compared to Greenville's seven helpers. The Leathernecks finished with more rebounds (41-31), steals (10-6), and had less turnovers, 13-16, than the Panthers.
 
Greenville had two players finish in double figures in Tim Daniel and Nick Trisko who each finished with 12 points.

Western hits the road for a pair of nonconference in contests in Ohio. The Leathernecks play at Akron Thursday, Dec. 4, at 6 p.m. CT, and then at Cleveland State Sunday, Dec. 7, at 12 p.m. CT.