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Western Illinois University Athletics

Garret Covington FP
WIU Visual Productions Center
67
Western Illinois WIU 7-4
72
Winner Loyola LUC 7-5
Western Illinois WIU
7-4
67
Final
72
Loyola LUC
7-5
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Western Illinois WIU 25 42 67
Loyola LUC 38 34 72

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

Comeback Effort for Men’s Basketball Falls Short at Loyola

Garret Covington led WIU with 19 point; moved to fifth all-time in career triples

COACH WRIGHT POSTGAME INTERVIEW

CHICAGO – Western Illinois rallied late in regulation Monday evening (Dec. 21) at Loyola but ultimately dropped its final nonconference game of the season, 72-67, to the Ramblers.
 
The Leathernecks, who fell to 7-4 on the season after the loss, found themselves down by 14 points with eight minutes to play in the game. WIU then used a 23-6 run to cut Loyola's lead to just three points with 1:36 to play.
 
The Ramblers would hold off WIU's comeback effort, however, and improve to 7-5 on the year.
 
Although Western wasn't able to overcome the double-digit deficit late in the game, head coach Billy Wright was pleased with his teams' effort.
 
"You can't say enough about our teams' fight… really pleased with our kids. We were down 15 at one point and could have folded, but that's a part of our program's culture… we try to bring in guys that will fight until the end. It's a 40-minute game and that was something we talked about in the huddle, we had to chip away at (the lead)," said Wright.
 
Junior guard Garret Covington, who had only three points in the first half, finished with a game-high 19 points after shooting 6-of-10 from the field and making 4-of-6 triples in the second half. He also grabbed six rebounds.
 
The Edwardsville, Ill. native, who recently joined WIU's 1,000-point club, moved into sole possession of fifth place in career 3-pointers at Western after finishing the game with five. He now has 164 during his career, 10 shy of moving into a tie for fourth all-time.
 
The only other Leatherneck to score in double figures was junior guard Jabari Sandifer who finished with 12 points. He made all eight of his free throw attempts and dished out a game-high eight assists without turning the ball over in 36 minutes.
 
Tate Stensgaard, a senior forward, added eight points and nine rebounds, while freshman center Brandon Gilbeck had four points and pulled down eight boards.
 
Senior guard Jamie Batish contributed nine points, all 3-pointers, off of the bench for WIU.
 
Western out-rebounded Loyola, 37-29, including 11-2 on the offensive end.
 
"We had a great crowd here tonight… a lot of alumni in the area, and a lot of parents and former players. We really appreciate the support we're getting on the road, just disappointed we came up short," concluded Wright.
 
Western Illinois is off for the remainder of 2015 before opening the New Year and Summit League play at Omaha and South Dakota State on Jan. 1 and Jan. 3.
 
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