West wraps up big night with strong closing burst to help WIU men stay in second-place tie in OVC

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Jesiah West carried the Western Illinois men’s basketball team in the final minutes Thursday night in a 62-55 victory at Tennessee Tech.

The victory sees WIU improve to 16-10 overall and 9-4 in the Ohio Valley Conference, remaining in a tie for second place.

The Leathernecks led most of the way, but the Golden Eagles hung around and eventually took their first lead at 50-49 with 5:12 to play. On WIU’s next possession, James Dent Jr. hit a three-pointer to put the Leathernecks ahead for good.

West, who finished with 19 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks and three steals, then helped WIU close out the victory. He scored six of Western Illinois’ final 10 points, adding an assist, a steal and a couple of rebounds in the final minutes.

The victory also improves WIU to 7-1 on the road in league play. The team now has nine road victories, the most since the 1996-97 season, and nine conference wins, the most since 2012-13.

Ryan Myers added 11 points. Dent scored eight and Quinlan Bennett chipped in with seven. Drew Cisse added six points, eight rebounds and four assists. JJ Kalakon scored five points, grabbed six rebounds, handed out four assists, and blocked two shots.

Western Illinois heads to Nashville to take on Tennessee State at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

The Leathernecks jumped to a 7-0 lead but only led 27-21 at halftime. Western Illinois led by as many as seven in the second half before TTU went to work, tying the game at 38-38 with 12:28 left. The Leathernecks responded with a quick 5-0 run. The Golden Eagles responded with a 12-6 run to take their only lead.

The win snapped a two-game losing skid for the Leathernecks, their longest in league play.