Skip To Main Content

Upcoming Events and Recent Results

Western Illinois University Athletics

Garret Covington
WIU Visual Productions Center
Sophomore guard Garret Covington led the team with 12 points.
49
Western Illinois WIU 2-4
73
Winner Akron AKRON 6-2
Western Illinois WIU
2-4
49
Final
73
Akron AKRON
6-2
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Western Illinois WIU 18 31 49
Akron AKRON 39 34 73

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

Akron Trumps Leatherneck Men’s Basketball in Ohio Thursday

Western Illinois falls to 2-4 after the loss, the Zips of Akron improve to 6-2 on the year.

- Head coach Billy Wright post game radio interview

AKRON, Ohio – Western Illinois fell behind early in its nonconference tilt at Akron Thursday night (Dec. 4) and the Fighting Leathernecks were never able to recover as the Zips trumped WIU 73-49.
 
Akron, who was picked to finish first in the Mid-American Conference East Division, improved to 6-2 overall on the season, while Western dropped to 2-4 on the year.
 
"Akron is a very good team, they're one of the top 25 mid-major teams in the country," said head coach Billy Wright. "As a team, we were not mentally locked in. We gave up two quick threes to them right away, and you can't do that on the road. You can't spot teams 10-15 points on the road. Hats off to Akron, they played a great game."
 
The Zips jumped out to an early 10-0 lead to open the game, and never allowed the Leathernecks to get within single digits after grabbing a 16-9 advantage midway through the first half.
 
Akron took a 39-18 lead into the locker room at the break and sailed to its third consecutive victory of the season.
 
Western struggled from the field, making only 35.4 percent of its shots in the game (23.8% in the first half) compared to the Zips who were able to make 43.6 percent of their shots (53.8% in the first half).
 
Akron also shot better from long range (39.4-26.7) and the free throw line (66.7-55.0). Overall on the night the Zips knocked down 13 triples, while WIU only made four.
 
The Leathernecks were also outrebounded (38-30), had less assists (20-8), less blocks (9-0), less steals (7-3), and committed more turnovers (11-9).
 
Sophomore guard Garret Covington, who extended his streak of games with a three-pointer to 22, led WIU with 12 points. Senior guard Remy Roberts-Burnett was the only other Leatherneck to finish in double figures with 10.
 
Senior forward Mohamed Conde grabbed a team-high six rebounds, and sophomore guard Jabari Sandifer dished out a team-best four assists to go along with his eight points.

Akron had four players score more than 10 points led by Kwan Cheatham, Jr. who had 15 points, all via the three-point shot. Isiah Johnson led the Zips in rebounds with eight.

Western Illinois continues its road swing in Ohio Sunday at Cleveland State. The contest between the Leathernecks and Vikings is scheduled to tipoff at 12 p.m. CT.
 
Print Friendly Version