MACOMB, Ill. –  Missing two starters and four players overall, SIUE men's basketball fell to 0-4 away from home with a 55-38 loss at Western Illinois Saturday night.

"It wasn't an easy night, with the guys missing but that's no excuse for the way we played," SIUE Head Coach Lennox Forrester said. "Our concentration level was poor. When you're playing on the road your level of concentration needs to be high. I didn't think they were focused coming in and it really showed. That's on us."

Mark Yelovich (ankle), Zeke Schneider (ankle), and Charles Joy (back) each missed their third consecutive game. Maurice Wiltz missed the game, after suffering an injury in practice Friday afternoon.

SIUE fell to 2-5 overall. Western Illinois improved to 7-3. The Leathernecks have won four consecutive games. The two schools split the season series, after SIUE defeated Western Illinois 62-50 Nov. 14 in Edwardsville.

The 38 points were a season low for the Cougars, and the fewest since a 68-38 loss at Illinois State last season. It was a familiar story for the Cougars, who turned the ball over 19 times. The Cougars have committed 17 or more turnovers in four of their five losses this season.

"Some of the turnovers had nothing to do with what Western was doing," Forrester added. "It was traveling or a double dribble call. Again, it's a lack of concentration."

SIUE did not have a player finish in double figures scoring. Michael Messer led the Cougars with nine points. Jerome Jones finished with seven points and a game-high nine rebounds.

The Leathernecks connected on 5 of 10 three-point attempts in the first half and held a 34-18 lead at half.

The Cougars opened the half with a 7-2 run to cut the lead to 11 at 36-25. Reggie Reed, who made his first career start, connected on his first career three-pointer during the stretch. SIUE got as close as 10 in the second half when Jones hit a layup at 8:55 to make it 42-32. The Leathernecks went on an 11-0 run to lead 53-32 with 3:36 remaining.

For the game the Cougars converted a season-low 14 of 43 attempts (32.6percent) from the floor, but outrebounded Western Illinois 30-29.

The Leathernecks were led by Adam Link who scored 14 points. Terrell Parks and Don McAvoy each added 11 points. Parks led the team with nine rebounds.

The Cougars now take a week off for exams before returning to the court Mon., Dec. 17 at home against Eureka College.

"Next week is going to be very important," Forrester said. "Hopefully we get some guys healthy and get some guys back. And we need to re-focus so that we can have a season that we can be proud of."