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.
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