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Western Illinois University Athletics

J.C. Fuller FP
83
Winner Western Illinois WIU 4-0
63
Eastern Illinois EIU 0-3
Winner
Western Illinois WIU
4-0
83
Final
63
Eastern Illinois EIU
0-3
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Western Illinois WIU 33 50 83
Eastern Illinois EIU 37 26 63

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

Leathernecks Dominate Second Half in Win at Eastern Illinois

WIU improves to 4-0 behind the impressive performances from J.C. Fuller and Garret Covington

CHARLESTON, Ill. – J.C. Fuller finished with a career-high 29 points and Garret Covington added 26 as Western Illinois men's basketball improved to 4-0 on the season following a 83-63 victory at Eastern Illinois Saturday night (Nov. 21).
 
"I think we did a better job in the second half when it comes to defensive awareness, and offensively just attacking the paint," said head coach Billy Wright. "In the first half they really hurt us in the paint as far as second chance points, and I thought in the second half we did a much better job. They shot 35 percent in the game, and had only 26 points in the second half, so that is a credit to our defense. And obviously we caught fire in the second half, shooting 68 percent in the second, and for the game shooting 55 percent on the road is great."
 
The only better start in the program's NCAA Division I era was when the Fighting Leathernecks kicked off the 1986-87 season 5-0.
 
WIU struggled in the first half and trailed EIU by four, 37-33, at halftime. The second half was a different story for Western as the Leathernecks opened the period on a 5-0 run and recaptured a lead they had not possessed since early in the first half.
 
Eastern quickly tied the game at 40-40 on its next possession after WIU's small run, but Western responded by grabbing the game's first double-digit lead, 55-45, after a 15-5 run. The remainder of the game was all Leathernecks as WIU cruised to a 20-point victory.
 
The Leathernecks were on fire in the second half, making 17-of-25 shots (68 percent) from the field during the period.
 
Fuller added five rebounds, two assists and two steals to his career-high 29 points. He shot 8-of-15 from the field, 4-of-6 from three, and 9-of-10 from the free throw line.
 
Besides contributing 26 points, Covington also pulled down seven rebounds, dished out three assists and recorded two steals. Like Fuller, he was also effective shooting, making 9-of-14 attempts from the floor, connecting on 4-of-6 from long range, and making all four of his shots from the charity stripe.
 
Freshman center Brandon Gilbeck grabbed a season-high and game-high nine rebounds, and junior guard Jabari Sandifer tallied a game-high six assists.
 
WIU edged EIU in rebounds (36-30), assists (16-14), steals (7-4) and blocks (2-1). Western committed 12 turnovers to Eastern's 10.
 
Western finished its fourth consecutive game shooting better than its opponent, making 54.9 percent of its shots from the field. Similar to every other game this season, WIU held EIU to under 40 percent shooting from the floor.
 
The Panthers were led by Casey Teson and Cornell Johnston who finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively, while Patrick Muldoon grabbed a team-best eight rebounds.
 
Western will look to remain hot at home next Wednesday (Nov. 25) when they play host to Trinity Christian inside Western Hall at 2 p.m.
 
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