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Sophomore guard Jabari Sandifer scored a career-high 22 points in the win
67
Fort Wayne IPFW 7-7, 0-1
73
Winner Western Illinois WIU 6-6, 1-0
Fort Wayne IPFW
7-7, 0-1
67
Final
73
Western Illinois WIU
6-6, 1-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Fort Wayne IPFW 29 38 67
Western Illinois WIU 28 45 73

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

Leathernecks Open Summit League Play with a 73-67 Victory Over Preseason Favorite IPFW

Jabari Sandifer tallied a career-high 22 points in the win, while Mohamed Conde recorded his second consecutive double double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Coach Wright Postgame Radio Interview | Photos | Coach Wright Press Conference

MACOMB, Ill. – Western Illinois opened the New Year with a 73-67 victory in the Fighting Leathernecks' Summit League opener over preseason favorite Fort Wayne Friday evening (Jan. 2) on LeRoy A. Ufkes Court.
 
WIU opens its league slate 1-0 after the win and sits 6-6 overall on the year, while IPFW is 0-1 in Summit League action and 7-7 overall.
 
When asked about kicking off the league with a win at home, head coach Billy Wright discussed the importance of protecting Western's home court.
 
"We talked about that (the importance of winning at home) throughout nonconference play," said Wright. "You definitely want to protect your home court, and then find a way to win on the road. I thought we had a great opportunity tonight and to our kids' credit, they took advantage of it. We have a long way to go. It's a big win and IPFW is a great team, we just caught them on a good night. To our kids' credit, we played well."
 
WIU used an 8-0 run to climb out of an early deficit and eventually grab their largest lead of the first half, 28-22, with 3:49 to play before half. IPFW would respond, however, scoring the final seven points of the first and regaining the advantage, 29-28, at halftime.
 
The Leathernecks came out of the locker room hot early in the second and used a 14-4 run to jump out to a nine-point lead, 42-33, five minutes into the half. WIU was able to absorb a couple small IPFW runs before putting together a 17-5 run later in the period which gave the Leathernecks their largest lead of the game, 16 points (61-45), with five minutes left in regulation.
 
The Mastodons made a late push during the final five minutes of play cutting WIU's lead to single digits, but the Leathernecks absorbed the rally and held on to the league victory.
 
Leading all scorers with a career-best 22 points in the win was sophomore guard Jabari Sandifer. Twelve of his 22 points came from the free throw line (12-of-16). The Naperville, Ill. also dished out four assists, had only one turnover, and tallied one steal in a team-high 39 minutes of play.
 
Mohamed Conde finished with his second consecutive double double. The senior forward scored 12 points and collected 10 rebounds.
 
Sophomore guard Garret Covington and sophomore forward Mike Miklusak both scored double figures. Covington recorded 17 points, all in the second half, and had a team-high five helpers. Miklusak finished with 11 points and pulled down four rebounds.
 
Jalen Chapman, a junior forward from Bronx, N.Y., scored seven points and grabbed seven rebounds.
 
Both teams shot 39.6 percent from the field, and 75.0 percent from the free throw line. Western edged IPFW from beyond the arc, 33.3 percent – 29.2 percent.
 
Fort Wayne outrebounded WIU by one, 36-35, and each team had 10 assists, four steals and three blocks.
 
Fort Wayne had three players score 10-plus points. Joe Reed finished with a team-best 20, Isaiah McCray notched 12 and grabbed 12 boards, and Mo Evans tallied 11 points.
 
Western Illinois continues league play at home Sunday afternoon when the Omaha Mavericks come to town. The two teams are slated to tipoff at 1 p.m. on LeRoy A. Ufkes Court inside Western Hall. The women's basketball team also plays Omaha at home after the men's game at 3:30 p.m.
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