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Western Illinois University Athletics

Jabari Sandifer FP
WIU Visual Productions Center
44
Trinity Christian TCC 4-4
79
Winner Western Illinois WIU 5-0
Trinity Christian TCC
4-4
44
Final
79
Western Illinois WIU
5-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Trinity Christian TCC 22 22 44
Western Illinois WIU 45 34 79

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

Western Illinois Improves to 5-0, Matches Program’s Best Start in DI Era

The only other WIU men’s basketball team to start a season 5-0 in the DI era was the 1986-87 team

COACH WRIGHT POST GAME INTERVIEW | PHOTOS

MACOMB, Ill. - Junior guard Garret Covington recorded a game-high 24 points as Western Illinois cruised past Trinity Christian College Wednesday afternoon (Nov. 25), beating the Trolls 79-44 inside Western Hall.
 
Western Illinois improves to 5-0 on the year matching the program's best start during the Division I era. The only other WIU team to begin a season undefeated after five games was the 1986-87 team.
 
"I'm thrilled with the win. We just want to continue the journey, and like we've talked about the last few weeks, it's not who you play it's how you play," said head coach Billy Wright. "I thought that Trinity Christian ran some things on offense with some really good ball movement. Early on it was difficult for our guys to recognize that, but we made the adjustments and kept working on it. I thought Dalan (Ancrum) came off the bench and gave us a great energy lift, an emotional lift, and that includes Mike (Miklusak) and Jamie (Batish) as well."
 
Trinity Christian hung around for the first 10 minutes of the game as WIU led by only a point, 20-19, at the midway point of the opening half. WIU then rattled off 10 consecutive points and eventually took a 23-point advantage, 45-22, into the break.
 
The second half was all Western as the Leathernecks never let the Trolls get within 20 points on their way to the program's fifth consecutive victory.
 
Covington was effective scoring his 24 points, shooting 8-of-12 from the field and making all six of his free throw attempts. He also grabbed five rebounds and dished out three assists, which tied for the team lead.
 
J.C. Fuller, who leads the team in scoring on the season, added 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor, 2-of-3 from long range and making his lone shot from the charity stripe. Fuller also pulled down five boards, while dishing out two helpers and leading the team with three steals.
 
Senior guard Jamie Batish and junior forward Mike Miklusak scored nine and six points, respectively. Batish played a season-high 24 minutes and Miklusak played 18 minutes, also a season high.
 
The Trolls were led by Jordan Perry who finished with 15 points, while Caleb Jonkman added 12 to the scoring column.
 
For the fourth time this season WIU shot better than its opponent in all three phases. The Leathernecks shot better from the field (53.7 percent – 32.0), the 3-point line (33.3 percent – 19.0) and the free throw line (82.4 percent – 66.7).
 
The Leathernecks also bettered the Trolls in every other category: rebounds (32-31), assists (17-10), steals (15-5), blocks (3-2), and turnovers (10-17).
 
Western Illinois travels to Omaha, Nebraska for a nonconference matchup with Big East member Creighton Saturday (Nov. 28). Tipoff between the Leathernecks and Bluejays is slated for 7 p.m.
 
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