W. Illinois wins defensive battle with E. Illinois, 64-57

MACOMB, Ill. (AP) J.C. Fuller scored 24 points on 8-of-19 shooting from the field to help lead Western Illinois to a 64-57 victory over Eastern Illinois on Saturday.

Garret Covington added 11 points for Western Illinois, pushing him past the 1,000 point mark for his career.

Tate Stensgaard finished with nine points and a career-high 15 rebounds for the Leathernecks, whose 7-2 start to the season is the schools best since moving to Division I in 1981.

A Cornell Johnston 3-pointer for Eastern Illinois cut the Western Illinois lead to 53-51 with 5:45 left. From there the Leathernecks pieced together an 8-2 scoring stretch, capped by two Fuller free throws which extended their lead back to eight (61-53) with 48 seconds remaining to ice the game.

Trae Anderson led Eastern Illinois (2-6) with 14 points and Johnston had 13.

Both teams finished under 40 percent shooting from the field.