By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

MACOMB, Ill, — Goanar Biliew is heading into the final week of his college basketball career knowing he made the right choice to come to Western Illinois for his last season.

Biliew matched his season high with 14 points in the Leathernecks’ 81-59 loss to Morehead State in Saturday’s Ohio Valley Conference game at Western Hall.

There will be no trip to the OVC tournament for the Leathernecks (5-24 overall, 1-17 conference) this season. Their season will end this week with Thursday’s game at SIUE and next Saturday’s home game against Lindenwood.

Those are moments Biliew will still appreciate.

Biliew, who won an NJCAA Division II championship at Des Moines Area Community College in 2021, played in just 24 games at Bradley in the last three seasons. With one season of eligibility remaining, Biliew chose to play for the Leathernecks, where he has seen significant court time.

“These past three years, I never really saw the court, but I’ve always been very thankful for every opportunity I’ve had, especially this year,” Biliew said. “(WIU coach Chad Boudreau) has been very confident in my game, and I’ve tried to take advantage of every opportunity. So I’m very thankful for my time here.”

Biliew has played in every game, starting 16. He is averaging 17.6 minutes, but played 34 in this game, one off his season high.

What has earned Biliew so much playing time in these closing weeks is the effort he’s put in, Boudreau said.

“This time of year, with the season we’ve been having, you’re just looking for guys who are going to give good effort, because you’re not playing for a championship or anything,” Boudreau said. “That’s why he’s playing. That’s why he’s playing well right now, because he just competes, and I appreciate him. And he’s a guy I’ll keep in touch with for the rest of my life, because there’s something to be said for that, because it would be very easy right now to just shut down and not play hard. Goanar doesn’t do that, which says a lot about his personality, who he is as a human being, and that’s why he’ll be successful at life.”

Biliew, who grew up in Denison, Iowa, said he appreciates what Boudreau and his staff have done for him.

“They see more things in me than I see, and I should take that and run with it,” he said.

Biliew, a 6-foot-8 forward, has shown the ability to score inside and outside. He’s a 42.7% shooter, but he has made 6 of 15 3-pointers.

“I’d say during the summer, I did take quite a few threes,” Biliew said. “And the coaches told me early on that if it looks (good), take it. So I’ve tried to continue to do it all throughout the season. One thing I definitely do need improvement on is attacking and finishing through contact. But I’ve learned so much this season.”

“We have a ton of confidence in him,” Boudreau said. “And that’s earned. He’s earned that confidence and, and he’s a good communicator as far as what he sees on the court. He brings good ideas. He’d be a good coach someday if he ever wanted to do it because he’s very analytical, understands the game, but sees things that maybe we don’t see out there.”

The Leathernecks struggled after the early minutes against the Eagles (17-12, 13-5), who are in a three-way tie for first place. Western Illinois trailed 43-27 at halftime

Danny Stephens, in his first season of Division I play after not playing for two seasons as a walk-on at Missouri, led Western Illinois with 15 points.

“That’s the Danny that we saw in the summer — he’s a mismatch problem, because he can score at all three levels,” Boudreau said. “He’s a bear on the post. He plays with a really good tempo. He doesn’t get sped up. He’s a really good example of a guy who stays at his pace, and that’s taken a while to get because he hasn’t played for two years. It’s the timing, it’s the tempo that’s finally catching up to him. I wish we had more games for him to keep this up and just get him some confidence going. But his confidence is there, and he’s playing well.”

Biliew wishes he had more games.

“It’s been fun being here,” he said. “The guys are great, we really mesh well, there aren’t any cliques or anything.

“I know I’m definitely cherishing every moment, especially during the game, but even after the game, before the game, I try to cherish every single moment I have with them, with this team.”