Garret Covington sank two free throws with 10 seconds remaining and Western Illinois upset No. 17 Wisconsin 69-67 Friday night at the Kohl Center in Milwaukee.

The Leathernecks (1-0) had the Badgers on the ropes late in the second half and led by six, 64-58, at the four-minute mark.

But a frantic Badgers comeback gave the home team life as a layup by Vito Brown knotted the score at 67 all with 1:59 to go.

The two teams exchanged possessions with the Badgers turning the ball over and the Leathernecks missing a dunk.

With 10 seconds left, a foul by guard Khalil Iverson sent Covington to the free-throw line, where he made both shots.

Guard Bronson Koenig missed a jumper with four seconds left that would have tied the game.

The Leathernecks caught fire in the second half after trailing at the half, 44-37.

Guard J.C. Fuller led the way for Western Illinois with 20 points. Covington, his running mate at guard, added 16.

Forward Nigel Hayes and Koenig led Wisconsin (0-1) with 17 points each.

The Badgers dominated the boards in the first half and turned the Leathernecks over repeatedly. Yet Western stayed in the game on the strength of its high shooting percentage, which hovered around 60 percent.

Western connected on 27 of 54 shots (54 percent) while the Badgers made only 22 of 62 shots (a 35 percent clip).