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Men's Basketball Begins 2017-18 Campaign At Home

The Leathernecks and Cardinals are slated to tipoff at 7 p.m. on ESPN3

GAME ONE
MEN'S BASKETBALL: WESTERN ILLINOIS LEATHERNECKS VS ST. MARY'S UNIVERSITY (MINN.) 
Nov. 11, 2017  •  7:00 p.m. (CT)  •  Macomb, Ill.  •  Western Hall 
LIVE STATS: HERE
ESPN3: HERE
LISTEN: HERE

ROSTER | SCHEDULE | TICKETS | RECORD BOOK | @WIUMENSHOOPS | GAME NOTES

MACOMB, Ill.- Western Hall will play host to the Leathernecks' season-opener for the first time since 2014. The Purple and Gold will square off against Saint Mary's University of Minnesota on Nov. 11 at 7 p.m.
 
FOUR NEW FACES:
Western Illinois welcomes four newcomers to this years squad. The roster will feature two freshmen in Isaac Johnson and Kobe Webster, a transfer in Charles Gavin, and a walk-on in Otis Dortch. Johnson comes from North High School in Minneapolis, Minn., where he led his team to a state championship his junior season. Webster comes to the Leatherneck program from Indianapolis, Ind. where he competed for Park Tudor High School. Webster helped lead his team to back-to-back state titles. He was named to the All-State third team in his senior season. Gavin hails from Denver, Colo., where he played for Otero Junior College. At Otero, he averaged 8.7 points and 5.5 rebounds while shooting 57.4 percent from the field. Dortch is walk-on from Chicago, Ill., where he lettered in track and field and basketball at Riverside-Brookfield High School.
 
JUNIORS GALORE:
The Western Illinois men's roster is made up of eight juniors, the most of any men's basketball roster at Western since at least the 2005 season. The junior class is features Delo Bruster, Otis Dortch, Jalen Morgan, James Claar, Ryan Maas, Jordan Hughes, Charles Gavin and Brandon Gilbeck. Last year, these players combined for 14 points per contest. As upperclassmen, they look to take more of a leadership role. "Obviously looking at Jabari (Sandifer), Garret (Covington) and Mike (Miklusak), who have been leaders on this team for awhile are gone now obviously leaves a void. Some of the older guys, including myself, have tried to step up and fill those spots," said Gilbeck.
 
SENIOR LEADERSHIP:
The Leathernecks roster features three seniors: Dalan Ancrum, Chris Synder and Lynrick Moxey. Ancrum has played all four seasons at WIU while Moxey and Snyder were transfers last year.
 
NEXT MAN UP:
Seniors Garret Covington, Mike Miklusak and Jabari Sandifer all played significant roles on the 2016-17 squad. According to KenPom, Miklusak and Sandifer were 'Significant Contributers' and Covington was tabbed as Western's only 'Go-to Guy.' Covington played in 87.7 percent of the team's minutes (65th-highest player in the nation) and Miklusak played in 75.9 percent of the squad's minutes. Sandifer's season was cut short due to an injury, but when he played, he was used in 21.2 percent of Western's possessions. Covington finished his career at Western third all-time in career points (1,896), and first in 3-pointers made (296). He was also named to the Summit League's Second-Team All-League lineup last season. Covington averaged 19.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and shot 41.6 percent from the field. Miklusak averaged 15.5 points per contest along with 8.9 rebounds per game. This year's team will look to their large junior class, as well as sophomores Jeremiah Usiosefe and C.J. Duff to play more significant roles this season.
 
GILBECK'S BLOCK PARTY: 
Junior center Brandon Gilbeck led the Summit League with 85 blocks (3.0 per game), the most ever in a season at WIU. His 85 total blocks also ranked 16th nationally and his 3.0 blocks per game ranked fourth in the country. He will need 42 blocks this season to record the most blocks in Western Illinois' history.
 
FIRST DATE:
This will be the first time that Western and St. Mary's University of Minnesota will have met. Neither of the schools have competed against each other in the history of the programs.
 
LEATHERNECKS IN THE PROS:
Former players Garret Covington and Mike Miklusak both signed professional contracts after the 2016-17 season. Covington is in Spain and is playing for Albacete. Miklusak is in the Dutch Basketball League with the New Heroes Den Bosch.
 
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS:
The Cardinals are led by Jamison Rusthoven, who is in his fifth year at the helm of the program. In 2016-17, the Cardinals finished 6-18, with a 4-16 conference record. St. Mary's returns Bradley Hill, who averaged 5.2 points last year and David Lindstrand, who averaged 1.8 assists. This game will be an exhibition for the Cardinals, with regular season play starting Nov. 15 against Martin Luther College.
 
LOOKING AHEAD:
The Leathernecks open the season with three straight home games against St. Mary's University of Minnesota (Nov. 11), Eastern Illinois (Nov. 15) and Calvary University (Nov. 18). The first road contest will be a trip to Edwardsville, Ill. to matchup against SIU-Edwardsville.
 
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Players Mentioned

Dalan Ancrum

#15 Dalan Ancrum

G/F
6' 6"
Senior
Westwood
Delo Bruster

#11 Delo Bruster

G
5' 11"
Junior
Shawnee Mission South/Quality Education Academy
James Claar

#24 James Claar

F
6' 8"
Junior
Plainfield East
C.J. Duff

#40 C.J. Duff

G
6' 1"
Sophomore
Carmel
Brandon Gilbeck

#52 Brandon Gilbeck

C
7' 0"
Junior
River Valley
Jordan Hughes

#44 Jordan Hughes

C
6' 10"
Junior
James B. Conant
Ryan Maas

#25 Ryan Maas

G
6' 1"
Junior
Pekin
Jalen Morgan

#22 Jalen Morgan

F
6' 8"
Junior
Pike
Lynrick Moxey

#14 Lynrick Moxey

G
6' 2"
Senior
Tampa Bay/Lamar CC (Colo.)
Jeremiah Usiosefe

#32 Jeremiah Usiosefe

G
6' 5"
Sophomore
The Hill Academy
Kobe Webster

#10 Kobe Webster

G
6' 0"
Freshman
Park Tudor
Isaac Johnson

#35 Isaac Johnson

G
6' 5"
Freshman
North

Players Mentioned

Dalan Ancrum

#15 Dalan Ancrum

6' 6"
Senior
Westwood
G/F
Delo Bruster

#11 Delo Bruster

5' 11"
Junior
Shawnee Mission South/Quality Education Academy
G
James Claar

#24 James Claar

6' 8"
Junior
Plainfield East
F
C.J. Duff

#40 C.J. Duff

6' 1"
Sophomore
Carmel
G
Brandon Gilbeck

#52 Brandon Gilbeck

7' 0"
Junior
River Valley
C
Jordan Hughes

#44 Jordan Hughes

6' 10"
Junior
James B. Conant
C
Ryan Maas

#25 Ryan Maas

6' 1"
Junior
Pekin
G
Jalen Morgan

#22 Jalen Morgan

6' 8"
Junior
Pike
F
Lynrick Moxey

#14 Lynrick Moxey

6' 2"
Senior
Tampa Bay/Lamar CC (Colo.)
G
Jeremiah Usiosefe

#32 Jeremiah Usiosefe

6' 5"
Sophomore
The Hill Academy
G
Kobe Webster

#10 Kobe Webster

6' 0"
Freshman
Park Tudor
G
Isaac Johnson

#35 Isaac Johnson

6' 5"
Freshman
North
G