Western Illinois grabs lead late, tops Denver 63-60

DENVER (AP) Jalen Chapman scored 26 points and Western Illinois grabbed the lead in the final four minutes and held on to beat Denver, 63-60 in a Summit League battle Thursday night.

Fouled in the backcourt by Jake Pemberton, Garrett Covington sank three straight free throw attempts to give the Leathernecks a 60-58 lead and Chapman padded it with a layup with 3:13 left.

Denver could add only a Nate Engesser layup in the final three minutes and Western Illinois added a Mike Miklusak free throw with five seconds remaining.

The Leathernecks took a 31-26 lead into intermission, but Denver stayed close. Pemberton gave the Pioneers the lead, 51-50 with 7:09 left in the game.

Covington added 11 points and Tate Stensgaard 10 for Western Illinois (9-13, 2-9).

Marcus Byrd scored 18 points to lead Denver (13-12, 5-7). Engesser added 15 points.