Defensive presence of WIU’s Cisse leads to Ohio Valley Conference postseason honors

MACOMB, Ill. — Drew Cisse’s impact on the defensive end of the floor for the Western Illinois University men’s basketball team could not be overstated.

He altered shots and cleaned the glass as well as anyone.

The 6-foot-11, 230-pound senior center was named the Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year and a first-team all-league selection. WIU junior guard Ryan Myers was a second-team All-OVC pick.

Cisse, a transfer from NCAA Division II Missouri-St. Louis, averaged 8.7 points, 11.1 rebounds and two blocks per game while shooting 61 percent from the field. He ranked third nationally with 343 rebounds and 22nd nationally with 62 blocked shots, while anchoring a WIU defense that ranked second in the OVC in scoring (65.4 points), field goal defense (40.4 percent), and 3-point defense (29.6 defense).

It helped the Leathernecks finish 13-5 in OVC play and earn the No. 4 seed for the OVC Tournament. WIU takes a 20-11 record into the postseason and will face either No. 5 Tennessee State or No. 8 Southern Indiana in the quarterfinals at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind.

Cisse had 17 double-digit rebounding games, including a season-high 20 boards against South Dakota. He added a season-high six blocks against Southeast Missouri and had 18 games with at least two blocks.

Myers averaged 13.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.2 assists, and made 77 3-pointers. He ranked second in the conference in 3-point percentage (41.9 percent) and third in the made treys.