Turnovers prove costly in 75-63 loss at Oakland

ROCHESTER, Mich. - Although Western Illinois out-rebounded the best defensive rebounding team in The Summit League, Oakland forced 19 turnovers to slip past the Fighting Leathernecks, 75-63, Thursday in the O'Rena.

The Leathernecks (5-7, 0-3) and the Golden Grizzlies (8-7, 2-0) fought a close battle as Oakland took a one-point lead into the locker room at halftime (33-32). James Granstra hit a jumper to open the second half and return the lead to Western, but a Keith Benson layup put Oakland back in control.

A Will Hudson layup on the following possession extended the Grizzlies' lead to three just before Ceola Clark hit a shot from downtown for a tie game, 37-37, at the 17:40 mark. The Leathernecks came within one point twice before Oakland went on a 9-0 run, including five free throws, to break away for a lead it would never give up.

“They did a great job of pounding it in to Benson,” Western Illinois head coach Jim Molinari explained. “They scored out of our offense and we kept turning the ball over. We defended and got rebounds, but in the second half we didn't rebound and we didn't take care of the ball.”

The Leathernecks opened the first half strong as a Quenton Kirby jumper sparked a 9-1 run, which was capped off by a David Nurse three for Western's largest lead of the game, 13-5. A pair of Oakland threes cut the deficit down to only four and a 7-0 Oakland run put Western down one with 5:45 in the first half. Nurse hit a three for a 24-22 lead and Oakland was unable to take the lead back until the final 1:07 with a Johnathan Jones layup, 31-30. Emeka Okafor, Jr., was sent to the line with 40 seconds in the half to give Western a 32-31 lead, but a Benson layup with eight seconds allowed Oakland the upper hand into the locker room.

Oakland improved its field goal percentage from 31.4 percent (11-of-35) in the first half to 47.1 percent in the second (16-of-34), while Western's percentage dropped from 54.5 percent (12-of-22) in the first to 43.5 percent (10-of-23) in the second.

The Golden Grizzlies took a 32-22 advantage over Western in the paint as Benson led all scorers with 20 points. Clark led Western's scoring efforts with 16 points, Granstra added another 14, Nurse chipped in 10, and like Clark, recorded a pair of threes. Clark also tied a career-best seven assists.

Western Illinois had a 40-35 rebounding advantage with Granstra pulling down eight and Clark grabbing six. Oakland's Derick Nelson pulled down the most rebounds with nine.

“James is getting better and some of the other guys are getting better, but some guys are not playing as well and we need to figure out what we have to do with our rotations and when we get pressure, who we will go with,” Molinari said. “I love our team and overall, we are getting better and I think we just need to get over the hump and get one of these hump games.”

The Leathernecks continue Summit League road play at IPFW, Saturday, Jan. 2 at 6 p.m. in Fort Wayne, Ind.

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