West Central Reporter

Western Illinois Men's Basketball team faced a challenging match against Southern Indiana, resulting in a 78-66 loss at Liberty Arena in Evansville. The Leathernecks' record now stands at 8-11 overall and 2-6 in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC), while Southern Indiana improves to 8-10 overall and 3-5 in the OVC.

Sean Smith led Western Illinois with an impressive performance, scoring a game-high of 26 points. He achieved this by making 10 out of 20 shots from the field, including five successful three-pointers. Smith also contributed three rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Ryan Myers supported with 20 points on an efficient shooting performance, including four three-pointers, and added two rebounds defensively. Marko Maletic also contributed with 14 points and two steals.

In the first half, Western Illinois shot 43.3% from the field and successfully made six out of seven three-point attempts but trailed by seven points at halftime with a score of 39-32. Despite scoring another 34 points in the second half, they could not secure crucial defensive stops.

The Leathernecks struggled on the boards, being out-rebounded by Southern Indiana with a total rebound count of 37-27 and an offensive rebound deficit of 11-5. Tay Knox and Trey Deveaux combined for a total of 11 rebounds but found it difficult to counter Southern Indiana's physical play and second-chance opportunities.

Ball security was a strong point for Western Illinois as they committed only six turnovers while forcing ten from their opponents. However, they could not fully capitalize on these opportunities due to limited contributions from their bench players who scored only six points compared to Southern Indiana's reserves who scored twelve.

Defensively, Western Illinois showed moments of intensity with seven steals and two blocks but ultimately could not contain Southern Indiana's balanced offense. Damoni Harrison stood out for the Screaming Eagles with his own game-high performance of 26 points alongside Jack Mielke who recorded a double-double with seventeen points and eleven rebounds.

Looking ahead, Western Illinois will host four consecutive home games at Western Hall starting Thursday night against Little Rock Trojans at 7:30 p.m.

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