Eastern Illinois Panthers @ Western Illinois Leathernecks
Eastern Illinois roars back to beat Western Illinois, 76-65
MACOMB, Ill. -- Josiah Wallace scored 18 points and Eastern Illinois came from nine points down at halftime to beat Western Illinois for the second time this season, 76-65 on Saturday night.
Eastern Illinois now has won back-to-back games after a three-game losing streak.
Keshon Montague hit a 3-pointer in the final minute of the first half to send the Leathernecks into intermission with a 38-29 advantage and Ben Pyle pushed it to 41-29 in the opening seconds of the second half with another 3. Kobe Webster hit back-to-back 3s and Isaac Johnson hit a jumper to make it 49-33 with 16:43 left.
Wallace hit a jumper with just under 15 minutes left to start a 21-0 run that put the Panthers in the lead 52-49 on a Ben Harvey 3. Pyle answered with a 3 to end an 11 minute Western Illinois scoring drought, but the Panthers ran off another 10 straight points for a 62-52 lead.
Mack Smith added 14 points for Eastern Illinois (5-5). Ben Harvey added 12 points and six rebounds off the bench.
Webster led Western Illinois (4-6) with 17 points. Pyle contributed 16.
Game Information
Macomb, IL
Referee:Dan Dorian
Referee:Tyler Kumpf
Referee:Leon Wilson
2025-26 Standings
| Ohio Valley ConferenceOhio Valley Conference | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee State | 15-5 | - | 23-10 |
| Morehead State | 15-5 | - | 20-13 |
| Southeast Missouri State | 14-6 | 1 | 20-13 |
| UT Martin | 13-7 | 2 | 22-11 |
| SIU Edwardsville | 12-8 | 3 | 19-13 |
| Lindenwood | 11-9 | 4 | 18-15 |
| Little Rock | 9-11 | 6 | 12-20 |
| Tennessee Tech | 8-12 | 7 | 13-18 |
| Eastern Illinois | 8-12 | 7 | 13-20 |
| Southern Indiana | 4-16 | 11 | 7-23 |
| Western Illinois | 1-19 | 14 | 5-26 |




