Western Illinois holds on to beat UMKC 53-50

Posted February 28, 2013 10:07 pm

Associated Press

Michael Ochereobia scored 14 points and Western Illinois stayed in contention for a share of the Summit League title by rallying past UMKC 53-50 on Thursday night.

Ceola Clark added 13 points and six assists for the Leathernecks (20-7, 12-3), who can tie South Dakota State atop the conference by beating South Dakota on Saturday. SDSU finished its regular season Thursday with a win over Nebraska-Omaha.

UMKC opened the game on a 22-5 run and led by as many as 18 in the first half, but Western Illinois came all the way back, taking their first lead, 50-48, on Ochereobia’s three-point play with 3:47 left. UMKC’s Kirk Korver made a jumper before Clark hit two free throws for the final margin.

The Kangaroos (7-23, 4-11) lost their fourth straight. Estan Tyler scored 17 points, but he also had nine turnovers and missed a game-tying 3-pointer in the closing seconds.

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