Jackrabbits slip past Leathernecks in final minutes, 80-74

MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois held the lead for just over 32 minutes, stretching it out to as many as 14 in the second half, but a late South Dakota State comeback pushed the Jackrabbits past the Fighting Leathernecks, 80-74, Saturday.

"We've got to give South Dakota State a lot of credit," Western Illinois head coach Jim Molinari said. "They were very aggressive in getting to the boards tonight and that certainly hurt us. We defended well in the first half, but then we got into foul trouble and that allowed them to get aggressive in the second half."

The Jackrabbits (3-5, 1-1 Summit League) rattled off four straight points to tie the game at 67 with 3:02 remaining. A good free throw shot put South Dakota State in the lead for the first time at the 2:36 mark and Michael Palarca hit a three to extend the lead to four, a lead it would hold out to the end. The Leathernecks (3-5, 0-2 Summit League) fought back as Jelani Johnson hit a three to bring Western within one point with just under a minute remaining, but another Palarca three followed by a pair of free throws, in the final 15 seconds, put the game out of reach.

South Dakota State led for the first five minutes of the game, but a Ceola Clark layup created a 6-6 tie and sparked a 7-0 Western run. The Leathernecks' largest lead came with 4:01 in the first half as David Gebru hit a jumper for a 16-point lead, 35-19. The Jackrabbits came within three twice in the first half, but Western Illinois stayed on top with a 37-29 halftime lead.

Western Illinois held the best three-point shooting team in the league to no threes in the first half, with all six shots from beyond the arc (6-for-13) in the second half. The Leathernecks held a double-digit lead until Kai Williams hit a three with 12:29 remaining, cutting the deficit to eight. It was the first of five threes for SDSU in the remainder of the game.

Western's field goal percentage went down from 68.2 percent (15-for-22) to 50 percent (13-for-26) from the first half to the second, but the Leathernecks still held a higher overall percentage (58.3%) than the Jackrabbits' 44.8 percent (26-for-58).

Five Leathernecks recorded double-digit scoring figures with Matt Lander's 17 points leading all players. James Granstra, Ceola Clark and Jeremy Felton each recorded 12 points and Johnson chipped in 11.

"When you get a team down by 16 you've got to put them away. We can't have lapses like we did tonight," Lander said. "We have to have the same intensity throughout the game and we just didn't do that. We just need to keep working on our physicality and playing a more physical style and we'll be OK. We've got a lot of little things we need to work on in order to get better."

"James Granstra has really improved, his defense was really good tonight," Molinari said. "He's a very hard worker and I can't say enough about just how hard he works."

The Jackrabbits out-rebounded the Leathernecks 40-22. Dale Moss led SDSU's rebounding with nine and Granstra led Western's rebounding with five.

"Western Illinois played great offensively today," South Dakota State head coach Scott Nagy said. "They had a lot of guys really step up and we struggled with their size. Fortunately for us we got more offensive rebounds and that was the difference."

The Leathernecks host a pair of non-conference opponents next week in Culver-Stockton College, Dec. 9, and Eastern Illinois, Dec. 12, each with a 7 p.m. tip.

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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

#24 Matt Lander: G; 6' 4"; Junior; Evansville Bosse / John A. Logan

#30 Jelani Johnson: G/F; 6' 4"; Freshman; Waubonsie Valley

#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

#24 Matt Lander
: 6' 4"; Junior; Evansville Bosse / John A. Logan
: G

#30 Jelani Johnson
: 6' 4"; Freshman; Waubonsie Valley
: G/F

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