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Western Illinois University Athletics

Men's Basketball FP Senior Day 16-17
WIU Visual Productions Center
96
Winner Fort Wayne FW 19-12 (8-8)
92
Western Illinois WIU 8-19 (5-11)
Winner
Fort Wayne FW
19-12 (8-8)
96
Final
92
Western Illinois WIU
8-19 (5-11)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
Fort Wayne FW 46 40 10 96
Western Illinois WIU 50 36 6 92

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

Mastodons Slide Past WIU Men’s Hoops in Overtime Saturday

Prior to the Summit League contest WIU’s three seniors were honored

MACOMB, Ill. – Western Illinois erased an 11-point deficit with less than four minutes to play in regulation to send Saturday's game into overtime, but Fort Wayne was able to best the Leathernecks inside Western Hall, 96-92.
 
WIU finishes the regular season 8-19 overall and 5-11 in Summit League play, while Fort Wayne enters the league tournament 19-12 overall and 8-8 in league action.
 
Prior to the game seniors Jabari Sandifer, Mike Miklusak and Garret Covington were recognized for their contributions to the men's basketball program and Western Illinois University during their four years at WIU.
 
"I couldn't say more about our seniors and their loyalty to this program and our university," said head coach Billy Wright. "I just wish we could've sent them off with a win. Fort Wayne is a heck of a team. I thought our kids fought hard, but we came up a little bit short."
 
Both Miklusak and Covington each finished with a career high in points.
 
Covington led Western with 35 points on 11-of-23 shooting from the field including six 3-pointers. The Edwardsville, Ill. native also dished out a team-best six assists.
 
Miklusak, a Dyer, Ind. native, scored 31 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season. He also dished out four helpers.
 
"Well, they're (Covington & Miklusak) obviously a big focal point of our offensive attack, but some of the other guys stepped up and made some good plays as well," continued Wright. "Obviously, those two had the offensive rhythm tonight, and we kept feeding them. To our kids' credit, we had 20 assists, which is a good sign that we were moving the ball and sharing the ball."
 
Also contributing offensively was junior Dalan Ancrum who finished with eight points, sophomore Jordan Hughes who tallied six points, and freshman C.J. Duff who recorded six points.
 
WIU jumped out to an early 12-4 lead through the first three minutes of play. Fort Wayne answered with a 13-0 run and eventually built its lead up to six points midway through the first, 22-16.
 
The two teams then played back-and-forth basketball through the end of the first half before WIU concluded the first and opened the second with a 13-2 run and pulled out to a 55-48 lead two minutes into the second.
 
Fort Wayne then used a huge 17-3 run to climb back out to a double-digit lead, 80-69 with just over four minutes to play. WIU again responded with a 17-6 run to finish regulation capped off by a slam-dunk from Gilbeck with less than 10 seconds on the clock sent the game into overtime.
 
WIU was unable to continue its scoring surge from the end of regulation and the Mastodons snuck past the Leathernecks on their way to their eighth league victory.
 
FW was led by a double-double from Brent Calhoun who tallied 21 points and 10 rebounds.
 
"You look at the beginning of the season, all the adversity. In the beginning of conference play, adversity. We made adjustments along the way and I just can't be prouder of our kids for sticking with it. And here we are, one of our goals was to get back to Sioux Falls. Everyone is 0-0, it's a neutral site, and anything can happen, that's the beauty of March Madness," concluded Wright.
 
The Leathernecks will be the eighth seed and face top-seeded South Dakota next Saturday (March 4) in Sioux Falls for the opening round of The Summit League Championships. The round one contest is slated to tipoff at 6 p.m. and will air live on ESPN3.
 
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