By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

MACOMB, Ill. — Get used to the grind.

Western Illinois’ 85-83 overtime loss to UT-Martin on Thursday night at Western Hall was an example of what Leathernecks’ coach Chad Boudreau has been saying about the conference’s men’s basketball race.

“Anybody can beat anybody,” Boudreau said. “We can lose anybody. We can beat anybody. And it’s going to be like that for the next month and a half.”

This game was an example of that, as the Leathernecks (8-8 overall, 2-3 conference) trailed by 13 points in the second half, rallied to tie the game, had a shot to win the game do everything but go through the basket, then led by four points early in the overtime before giving up the lead in the closing two minutes.

If that sounds like a roller coaster, that’s exactly what Boudreau called it.

“We’ve just got to be better,” said guard Ryan Myers, who led the Leathernecks with 19 points. “We’ve got to be more efficient. We definitely have just got to execute on both ends of the floor. Just figure out how to get the win.”

The Leathernecks were down 64-51 before rallying with a rotation of players that included sophomore Caleb Thompson, who was playing in only his fifth game of the season. Thompson played almost 22 minutes and had two crucial second-half plays — a tip-in of a missed shot with 5:13 left that got the Leathernecks to within 69-66, and a steal that led to Myers’ game-tying 3-pointer with 23 seconds left.

“Man, I just thank God for the opportunity, because it’s like the most minutes I’ve ever got,” Thompson said. “I really loved contributing to the game, because I’m used to riding the (bench) all the time. I was just waiting for my moment. I wasn’t scared. I just trusted my teammates. They trusted me,”

“Caleb came in, and his energy definitely brought us back,” Myers said. “Without Caleb, we probably lose by 20 plus, probably. He definitely came in and gave us a boost, the energy boost that we needed, and he made all the right plays to give us a chance to win the game.”

The Leathernecks had a chance to win after Kayden Carter took the ball away from UT-Martin’s Tarence Guinyard with four seconds left. Myers’ 3-pointer that could have won the game, launched just past the mid-court line, nearly banked in, rolling off the rim as the buzzer was sounding.

“Every shot I take, I’m confident in it going in,” Myers said. “I thought I got that one.”

Western Illinois took a 78-74 lead in the first 1:26 of overtime, with three points coming off free throws from Thompson, who would finish with nine points. But the Skyhawks (7-9, 3-2) climbed back into the game, taking a 79-78 lead on Matija Zuzic’s 3-pointer with 1:50 to play.

The Leathernecks got the lead back on Sean Smith’s jumper, but Guinyard, who finished with 31 points, scored inside, then added a 3-point play after Myers missed a 3-pointer to seal the win.

Smith had 17 points. Marko Maletic, who had foul trouble in the first half, added 16 points for the Leathernecks and Julius Rollins had 14.

Western Illinois plays host to Tennessee State on Saturday before beginning a four-game road trip over the next two weeks.

“Hopefully we can start getting some wins, because I hate seeing the crowd leave here without us getting a win,” Myers said. “We can’t hang our heads. We’ve got to come back here on Saturday and get a win.”

“The effort was there,” Boudreau said. “Our guys didn’t quit. We just have to keep grinding our way to the conference tournament, see what we can do over the next few weeks.”

Photo: WIU’s Ryan Myers guards UT-Martin’s Tarence Guinyard in the first half. (Photo courtesy of WIU Athletic Communications)