American U beats Western Illinois for 1st win of season

WASHINGTON (AP) — Delante Jones scored 19 points to help American beat Western Illinois 57-50 on Tuesday night for its first win of the season.

American trailed 26-17 in the first half but started the second half on a 15-4 run to take a 32-30 lead.

Leon Tolksdorf made two free throws with 25 seconds left to push American's lead to 53-50. Mike Miklusak missed a layup on the other end and Jones was fouled. He hit both free-throw attempts with 17 seconds remaining for a five-point lead.

Sa'eed Nelson added 12 points and Mark Gasperini had 10 points and eight rebounds for American (1-5), which shot just 39 percent from the field.

Garret Covington led Western Illinois (2-5) with 20 points. Miklusak finished with 10 points and Jabari Sandifer had three assists to move five away from the Top 3 in program history.