BROOKINGS, S.D. - Seniors
David DuBois and
Josh Rivers combined for 36 points but it wasn't enough to overcome five South Dakota State players in double digits as Western Illinois suffered its first loss of Summit League play, 64-55, Thursday.
Down one, 38-37, Ceola Clark hit a three-point shot to give the Leathernecks (6-9, 3-1 The Summit League) a two-point edge at the 11:33 mark. The Jackrabbits' (7-10, 2-3 The Summit League) Dale Moss hit a layup off a rebound for a 40-40 tie. Kai Williams sunk a shot from downtown to spark a 5-0 run in the next 38 seconds. DuBois and
David Nurse each hit jumpers to bring Western within one, but a 6-0 run from Moss and Griffan Callahan gave South Dakota State momentum it would never let up.
With 3:48 remaining, the Leathernecks came within four points, 52-48, after Rivers hit a jumper and
Quenton Kirby converted a pair of free throws, but a pair of immediate field goals pushed SDSU back out to its largest lead of the game, 56-48. The Jackrabbits extended the lead to nine points on three occasions over the final 38 seconds.
Western came back from a five-point deficit, 14-9, with 11:17 in the first half when Clark stole the ball and handed it off to DuBois, who hit a jumper to spark a 15-0 run that ended with a Leatherneck 10-point lead. SDSU immediately responded with an 11-0 run to hold a one-point lead at the half, 25-24.
Rivers recorded 11-of-15 total points in the first half, including three shots from beyond the arc. DuBois led Western in both scoring (21) and rebounding (7). The Leathernecks out-rebounded the Jackrabbits 31-27, but made 39.7 percent (23-58) of shots from the field to SDSU's 52.3 percent (23-44).
South Dakota State's Moss went 5-for-5 from the field and led with 13 points. Anthony Cordova and Clint Sargent each recorded 12 points while Callahan had 10. Williams recorded a double-double with 10 points and a team-leading 10 rebounds. The Jackrabbits were sent to the line 18 times and were successful in 15 attempts, while Western went 3-for-4 from the line.
The loss dropped Western down in a tie for second with Oral Roberts, while North Dakota State moved into first place in the conference standings. The Leathernecks continue in Summit League road action at North Dakota State, Saturday, at 7 p.m. in the Bison Sports Arena.
Western Illinois head coach Jim Molinari postgame quotes:"South Dakota State did a very good job on both ends of the court. They overpowered us physically and I was impressed with their talent. Dale Moss took it right to us and that was the difference. We had a hard time scoring and had a lot of guys struggle tonight. In the second half they overpowered us physically and had more toughness than us."
"We played the first half the way we needed to play. We lacked movement and I am going to have to expand the bench more. We had a good run, but just couldn't stop them in the second half."
