Eastern Illinois slips past Western Illinois, 44-41, Saturday

MACOMB, Ill. - David Nurse cut a six-point deficit in half with only 13 seconds remaining, but a last second three fell short as Western Illinois fell, 44-41, to Eastern Illinois, Saturday at Waste Management Court in Western Hall.

"I'm deeply disappointed with this loss but you have to give Eastern Illinois a lot of credit. They played really well in zone defense tonight and they really frustrated us offensively," Western Illinois head coach Jim Molinari said. "We didn't do a good job of getting the ball in the high post and looking low. That's what you have to do in order to attack the zone and we weren't able to do that."

"We feel fortunate right now. The game plan that coach Molinari had for Western frustrated us a little bit. They did an outstanding job defensively," Eastern Illinois head coach Mike Miller said. "When we looked at Western Illinois we felt that their guards were doing a lot of good things this year. That was a big emphasis for our team this past week; we had to try and shut down their guards."

Trailing the entire second half, the Fighting Leathernecks (4-5) had the chance to take the lead at the second tie, 38-38, with 4:39 remaining, but the Panthers' (5-4) Jeremy Granger gave Eastern four-straight points to break away from the tie, followed by a pair of Tyler Laser free throws for a six-point lead and only 27 seconds left in the game. Nurse hit a three to cut the deficit down to only three points with 13 seconds, but a final Western Illinois three-point attempt fell short with a second to the buzzer.

The first half was neck-in-neck as the teams traded baskets until Western took a 9-6 advantage at the 12:54 mark. The Panthers went on a 10-2 run making the score 16-11 when Nurse hit a three from the left wing for a two-point game. A foul with just seconds remaining in the half drew a pair of free throws for Eastern resulting in an 18-14 lead over the Leathernecks at the half.

Both teams were off the mark from the field as Eastern made 6-of-26 (23.1%) and Western hit only 5-of-26 (19.2%) in the first half. The Panthers took an advantage from three-point range, shooting 40 percent (2-of-5) to Western's 18.2 percent (2-of-11).

Out of the half, Eastern Illinois extended its lead to as many as seven points on two occasions with the final time at 30-23. A David Gebru layup followed by a Nurse three brought the Leathernecks within two points (30-28) at the 12:15 mark. Western came within one twice before a Nurse three tied the game at 36 with six minutes to go. The late push fell short in the final five minutes.

The Panthers recorded a mere 29.2 percent (14-of-48) from the field, while Western hit only 15-of-55 shots (27.3%). Eastern's Laser led all players in scoring with 15 points while Granger knocked in another 10. Nurse was 4-for-8 from three-point range to lead Western's scoring efforts with 14 points, while Gebru recorded a career-best 11.

"I thought David Gebru had a really good game on both ends of the floor tonight. David Nurse had a very good game as well--especially shooting the ball." Molinari said. "David (Gebru) played really hard tonight, he was strong around the basket and it was a very good moment for him. He played with a lot of passion and enthusiasm."

Eastern had higher numbers off the boards, out-rebounding Western, 43-38. The Leathernecks' rebounding efforts were led by Jeremy Felton, who had seven, with James Granstra and Ceola Clark grabbing six each.

Granstra had a career-high five blocks to enter the Western Illinois record books for blocked shots in a single season (No. 9) with 28 to this point. Ceola Clark had a season-high five steals.

The Leathernecks are back in action as they play host to Central Arkansas, Tuesday, Dec. 22, at 7 p.m. at Waste Management Court in Western Hall.

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Players Mentioned

#45 Jeremy Felton: F/C; 6' 7"; Junior; Belleville West / Mineral Area

#52 James Granstra: F/C; 6' 10"; Junior; Southwest Star Concept

#5 David Nurse: G; 6' 3"; Senior; Kearney / Kansas City Kansas CC

#33 David Gebru: C; 6' 10"; Freshman; Rainer Beach / Maine Central Institute

Players Mentioned

#45 Jeremy Felton
: 6' 7"; Junior; Belleville West / Mineral Area
: F/C

#52 James Granstra
: 6' 10"; Junior; Southwest Star Concept
: F/C

#5 David Nurse
: 6' 3"; Senior; Kearney / Kansas City Kansas CC
: G

#33 David Gebru
: 6' 10"; Freshman; Rainer Beach / Maine Central Institute
: C