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Western Illinois University Athletics

Ryan Myers
66
Eastern Ill. EIU 14-17,8-10 OVC
70
Winner Western Ill. WIU 19-11,12-5 OVC
Eastern Ill. EIU
14-17,8-10 OVC
66
Final
70
Western Ill. WIU
19-11,12-5 OVC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Eastern Ill. EIU 28 38 66
Western Ill. WIU 35 35 70

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | WIU ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

WEST IS BEST: Leathernecks top Eastern Illinois

WIU holds off Panthers in 70-66 win

MACOMB – Late in the game, the Leathernecks were able to lock it in, and for their efforts, they locked down a win.

On Thursday night, the Western Illinois men's basketball team held onto the Old Railsplitter Ax, defeating rival Eastern Illinois 70-66 to maintain the traveling trophy between the two programs as well as maintain fourth place in the Ohio Valley Conference.

For the second-straight game, it was not easy for the Leathernecks (19-11, 12-5) but much like last Saturday's win over Southern Indiana inside Western Hall, Western Illinois did enough to gut out the win.

The Leathernecks led by as many as 14 in the second half before Eastern Illinois came charging back, tying the game with 4:39 remaining, 55-55.

But a dunk by Drew Cisse (10 points, seven rebounds, two blocks) ignited an 8-0 run and gave WIU the lead for good.

It was a balanced attack that led Western as Quinlan Bennett led the way with 14 points. JJ Kalakon scored 13. Cisse and Ryan Myers scored ten apiece. Jesiah West and Tay Knox added eight. James Dent Jr. scored seven.

The game started as a back-and-forth affair as neither team gained more than a four-point advantage until a Bennett bucket put WIU up 29-23 with 3:12 to go in the first half. Back-to-back buckets by West and Knox made it an eight-point game before halftime.

In the second half, the Leathernecks darted out to a 14-point lead behind a quick 11-4 run, but the Panthers chipped away and managed to stay in the game until Western Illinois put EIU away for good in the final seconds.

The win gives Western Illinois fourth place in the OVC, clinching a first-round bye in next week's conference tournament. The victory also gave the Leathernecks 12 wins in conference play, the most for the program since winning 13 in 2012-13. The 19 overall wins are also the most since 2012-13.

For the game, the Leathernecks went 25-60 (41.7 percent) from the field, 12-19 from the line (63.2 percent), and 4-14 (28.6 percent) from three. WIU outrebounded EIU 45-33 and outscored the Panthers 32-20 in the paint and 17-7 on second-chance points. 

The Leathernecks close out the regular season Saturday afternoon, hosting SIUE for Senior Day. The game begins at 3:30 p.m.
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