By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

MACOMB, Ill. — Western Illinois’ men’s basketball team has won back-to-back games for the first time since early December.

It’s a good feeling after a 10-game losing streak.

The Leathernecks put together a second-half comeback to defeat Morehead State 72-67 on Saturday at Western Hall, sweeping the weekend.

Western Illinois (10-17 overall, 4-12 Ohio Valley Conference) pounded Southern Indiana 87-62 on Thursday to snap that lengthy losing streak, and followed that with this win.

It may not be enough to save the Leathernecks’ season and get them into the OVC tournament — they’re four games behind the fifth-place tie of Tennessee Tech, Lindenwood and UT-Martin with four games left — but it does keep some hope alive.

“Everything is on the line,” said guard Ryan Myers, who led the Leathernecks with 28 points. “We’re just trying to fight for wins every game, and just keep getting better.”

“They’ve been playing hard,” coach Chad Boudreau said. “They’ve been playing hard, but it’s come down to execution in so many of these games. The last two games, we’ve been playing hard and executing.”

The Leathernecks were down 54-42 with 9 ½ minutes to play before mounting their comeback. They held Morehead State (14-13, 9-7) to just three field goals the rest of the game, and outrebounded them 19-18 in the second half.

“I think we guarded like crazy,” said guard Marko Maletic, who had 14 points, 13 in the second half. “That was the biggest thing coming out. We needed to guard, but we also needed to rebound. We’d guard the whole possession, and then they would miss a shot and get the rebound. Second half, we didn’t let them do that.”

Maletic had a nine-point run of his own that put the Leathernecks into the lead. He had a four-point play with 5:01 left, throwing his hands up in relief as his first 3-point shot of the game went in as he was fouled.

“It was definitely a momentum turn for me to get me going,” Maletic said. “Finally, I see one going into the basket. Yeah, it was a big play for sure.”

Maletic then hit a 3-pointer with 4:38 left off an assist from Julius Rollins that tied the game, then hit two free throws with 3:23 left.

“Julius passed up on a layup to give Marco a wide open three,” Boudreau said. “It was extremely unselfish. And it just brought energy. It tied the game. It brought a ton of energy back to everybody. For the first time in a while, you feel like, ‘Oh yeah, we’re winning this.”

Myers, who was 9 of 17 from the field, scored on a layup with 1:53 left to put Western Illinois up 64-62, and the Leathernecks would not trail again.

Myers had half of Western Illinois’ points in the first half as the Leathernecks trailed 33-30 at halftime.

“I was just staying aggressive and trying to keep our team in it,” Myers said. “I’m always confident that Marco will get himself going — he’s the best shooter in the country. I wasn’t worried. I was just trying to play my game, and I knew Marco was gonna show up.”

Trey Deveaux also had a big game for the Leathernecks, finishing with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Western Illinois led for only 3:39, but it was another win, and after the long stretch the Leathernecks have had, it was a good feeling.

“We need to keep it going,” Myers said.