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Men's Basketball Announces 2025-26 Roster

MACOMB, Ill- Western Illinois Men's Basketball announced their 2025-26 roster today which features 14 newcomers across the Division I, Division II, Junior College, NAIA, and high school levels. The only returner from a season ago is Ifiok Peter, who redshirted last season after coming from Cal State Monterey Bay where he scored 26 points in 18 games played in 2023-2024. 

Three players on the roster come from the state of Wisconsin. Tyran Cook, a transfer from Indiana State Univeristy, Steven Tipton, a transfer from Northern Illinois University, and Jack Riley who comes from Northern Oklahoma-Tonkawa. Cook, a 6'2 guard from Milwaukee, appeared in nine games with the Sycamores a season ago, dishing out 14 assists, grabbing 14 rebounds, and scoring 15 points in 80 minutes played. As a Freshman, Cook started 23 of 32 games at VMI and scored a season-high 28 points vs. Chattanooga on February 8, 2024 where he also had a career-high six assists. He averaged 12.3 points per game and had 20+ points in four games, scoring in double figures in 23 of 32 games played. Steven Tipton comes from Brookfield, Wisconsin where he has spent the last three seasons at NIU. The 6'2 guard appeared in 36 games with the Huskies, averaging 8.6 minutes per game throughout his career. Last season, Tipton had a career-high in minutes played (221), field goals made (17), and points scored (45). He also played a career-high 48 minutes on March 7, 2025 at Central Michigan where he scored a season-high nine points on 4-7 shooting from the floor. Jack Riley averaged a double-double in 28 games played with 11.7 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. Prior to NOC, Riley was a walk on at Marquette University where he appeared in 11 games and grabbed six rebounds in 15 minutes of action

The true freshman on the roster are Makai Kvamme from Chicago, Illinois and Jake Edwards from Winfield, Iowa. Kvamme is a 6'2 point guard from DePaul Prep High School where he helped his team win three straight IHSA state championships from 2023-2025. As a Junior, he averaged 8.3 points per game and had a 2-to-1 assist to turnover ratio. In March of 2025, Kvamme would score 16 points in the fourth quarter and overtime periods to lead his team to their third straight State title by defeating the seventh ranked team in the state of Illinois, Brother Rice. Meanwhile, Edwards, a 6'5 guard, attended Winfield Mount Union high school where he scored 19 points per game during his Senior season, adding 5.4 assists, 5.2 steals, and five rebounds per game. 

Another former high school standout, Danny Stephens, joins the Leatherneck squad after spending his first two seasons in college at the University of Missouri, where he did not see any action due to redshirting in 2023-24 and was injured during the 2024-25 season. Prior to Mizzou, Stephens attended Southeastern High School in Augusta, Illinois. The local 6'5 forward finished his high school career as Southeastern's all-time leading scorer with 2,428 points and averaged 29.5 points per game as a Senior, which earned him first-team all-state honors. 

Isaiah Griffin (Idaho State), Francis Okwuosah (William Woods), Nick Hittle (Southern Indiana), and Goanar Biliew (Bradley) are the four Graduate Seniors who come in to the program with experience. Griffin started all 55 games for the Bengals in his two seasons at Idaho State where he averaged 8.8 points per game and shot 43.2% from the floor. Prior to Idaho State, Griffin spent two seasons at the JUCO level at Southeastern Community College and Western Oklahoma State where he averaged double digits in points per game at both schools. 

Okwuosah comes from William Woods where he was the AMC Newcomer of the Year, All-AMC First team, All-Tournament Team, and Team MVP in 2024. The 6'6 Forward started all 32 games a season ago, averaging 14.7 points and seven rebounds per game, shooting 40.2% from three point range. In two seasons at William Woods, Francis has shot 53.6% from the floor and 75.6% from the free throw line.

Nick Hittle, a transfer from Southern Indiana, spent three seasons with the Screaming Eagles after transferring from Indiana State. During his time at USI, Hittle appeared in 34 games and scored a career-high 109 points in a single season in 2023-24. He also saw a career-high in minutes played with 308, and averaged 12.8 minutes per game during the 2023-2024 season. 

Goanar Biliew, a 6'8 Forward, spent his last three seasons at Bradley after transferring from Des Moines Area Community College. Biliew has appeared in 24 games in three seasons with the Braves, where he scored 26 points in 103 minutes of action. 

The final four players that will round out the roster include Lucas Lorenzen (Dordt University), Marcus Pigram (Gulf Coast CC), Antwaun Massey (Southern Illinois-Carbondale), and Karyiek Dixon (Emporia State University). Lorenzen comes off a memorable 2024-2025 season in which he was named to the NAIA All-American First Team. He averaged 22.7 points per game and shot 40.7% from beyond the arc. Lucas had 25 games where he scored 20 or more points, including three 30 point games, which tied for his season-high in points. 

Marcus Pigram, a native of Chicago, Illinois appeared in 22 games last season at Gulf Coast State Community College where he averaged 5 points per game. Prior to Gulf Coast CC, Pigram spent his Freshman season at the Citadel where he appeared in 30 games scoring a total of 57 points in 319 minutes. 

Antwaun Massey comes form Southern Illinois-Carbondale in which he appeared in 19 games, starting in 12 of them. Massey averaged 4.2 points and 14.8 minutes per game and shot 57.1% from the field in 2024-2025 with the Salukis.

Karyeik Dixon comes from London, England and began his career at Vincennes before transferring to Emporia State Univeristy. While at ESU, Dixon started in 21 of 29 games and averaged 10.8 points per game. The 6'5 Forward grabbed 192 rebounds and had 51 steals in 776 minutes played in 2024-2025. 

After a 10th place finish in the Ohio Valley Conference in 2024-2025, the Leatherneck Men's Basketball team will look to bounce back in a big way with the new additions for the 2025-2026 season. 

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