MACOMB, IL - Western Illinois men's basketball dropped a hard-fought Ohio Valley Conference contest on the road Thursday night, falling 71–66 to Morehead State at Johnson Arena.

The Leathernecks went punch-for-punch all night with the Eagles in a game that featured 13 ties and 11 lead changes. Western Illinois trailed 39–32 at the break but responded with a strong second-half effort, outscoring Morehead State 34–32 over the final 20 minutes though the Eagles held on down the stretch.

Lucas Lorenzen led all scorers pouring in 26 points on 8-of-18 shooting while knocking down five three-pointers. Lorenzen added four rebounds and battled for 37 minutes as the Leathernecks leaned heavily on his offensive spark. Francis Okwuosah provided a big boost off the bench with 13 points, connecting on three triples, while Karyiek Dixon chipped in eight points and five rebounds.

Western Illinois shot 41.0 percent from the field and an efficient 41.7 percent from three-point range, finishing 10-of-24 from deep. The Leathernecks generated 14 second-chance points and matched Morehead State with 10 fast-break points, but struggled at the free-throw line, going 6-of-13 on the night.

Morehead State was paced by Davion Cunningham's 18 points off the bench, while Tamaury Releford added 12 points and nine rebounds. The Eagles held a decisive edge on the glass, outrebounding Western Illinois 50–31, and converted 22 second-chance points, which proved to be the difference in a tightly contested matchup.

Western Illinois (4-16, 0-9 OVC) will look to build on this performance as it continues conference play. The Leathernecks are back in action Friday night, traveling to Evansville,IN for an Ohio Valley Conference road matchup against Southern Indiana.

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