MACOMB, Ill.  -  The Western Illinois men's basketball team ran out of time in a 71-66 season-ending loss to IUPUI, Saturday. The second half saw six ties with neither team pulling away by more than four points until the final 14 seconds.

David Nurse hit a three for a final tie, 64-64, at the 1:39 mark, but a Jon Avery dunk sparked a 5-0 run for the Jaguars (16-13, 9-9) that took the game down to 14 seconds. During the run the Leathernecks (9-20, 6-12) missed a three-point shot with 37 seconds left and suffered a turnover at the :17 mark. A pair of free throws by IUPUI capped the run. A Rodney Williams, Jr. layup with four seconds on the clock brought Western within three, but the Leathernecks ran out of time in the five-point loss.

Gary Patterson hit a jumper to open the game, but Rivers responded with a three to put the Leathernecks in control. A Jaguar layup gave IUPUI a 4-3 advantage before Rivers hit his second three to give Western the lead, which it stretched to as many as nine, 21-12, and held for the next 13 minutes.

With 2:25 left in the half, an Alex Young three tied the game, 30-30, for the first time since tipoff. A Patterson jumper followed the three for a two-point IUPUI lead, which it held for nine seconds. Rivers hit his sixth three of the half with two seconds to the buzzer for a 33-32 Leatherneck lead heading into the locker room.

Making five consecutive threes, Rivers led all players with 19 first-half points. Young led IUPUI in scoring with 12 points. Led by Glenn Robert (6), the Jaguars took a rebounding advantage over the Leathernecks, 16-8, which they used to score 11 second chance points.

David DuBois opened the second half with a layup to pull the Leathernecks' lead out to three, 35-32, but back-to-back Jaguar layups gave IUPUI a one-point lead at the 18:08 mark. A DuBois jumper put the Leathernecks back in the lead, 37-36, but Young would answer with a jumper of his own for the lead.

David Nurse sunk a three at 15:55 for a 40-38 Leatherneck advantage, but a Robert jumper just over a minute later created a 40-40 tie. Neither team would pull away by more than three until the 11:45 mark when the Leathernecks took a four-point advantage, 47-43, and again 49-45. A John Ashworth three sparked a 6-0 run, allowing the Jaguars a 52-49 lead with 9:40 remaining. The teams traded the lead, never extending more than two points, with the seventh and final tie, 64-64, at the 1:39 mark.

Four players from each team had scoring numbers in double figures. Rivers' 21 points led Western, while IUPUI was led by Young with 17 points. The Jaguars' Glenn had 13 of his 15 points in the second half and led the team in rebounding with nine. Western out-rebounded the Jaguars in the second half, 14-9. James Granstra led Western off the boards with seven rebounds.

Seniors DuBois and Rivers played in the final game of their career as the loss concluded the 2008-09 season for the Western Illinois men's basketball team.

Western Illinois postgame quotes:
Western Illinois head coach Jim Molinari:
“It was a tremendous effort by our kids and it just wasn't meant to be. I want to challenge Western fans because we will never have a great program until fans get up and cheer when it is on the line. We really need it for the kids. Our opponents need to feel that intimidation.”

“What happened to us in the second half was we would make a play and then they would come down and make a bigger play. When our confidence is down we are not comfortable. They were bigger and more athletic.”

“The seniors deserved to go to the conference tournament. I was blessed to have Josh Rivers and David DuBois. They were tremendous all season and again tonight. They play their hearts out. The whole plan all week was to make sure to work hard for the seniors. If you love something you will do anything and that's what really hurts me. It hurts me to see those two guys not go to the tournament because we couldn't get one out of the last three (games).”

David DuBois:
“I thought we were going to pull it out the whole game until the buzzer sounded. This team fought all game and we left it all out there. IUPUI is a great team and we couldn't get a stop down the stretch. I'm proud of this team and this program going in the right direction. It's heartbreaking to end our season like that. We worked hard all year and I know our team could've made some noise at the tournament. I knew we had to get this game and it just didn't go our way tonight.”

Josh Rivers:
“We came out playing hard. Everybody came out with their “A” game. I woke up early today and I was focused since I woke up, but unfortunately we came up short. My mindset was to be aggressive because we needed a victory. I knew I had to do whatever I could do and put my all out there. Coach Mo is a great coach, our assistants are great and the program is going in the right direction.”

Western Illinois postgame notes:
- Josh Rivers hit five consecutive threes in the first half, just one away from the Western Illinois record for consecutive threes in a game. Rivers' six threes in the first half tied a game career-best for the senior.
- Rodney Williams, Jr.'s 12 points was a career-best and his second game scoring in double figures.
- David DuBois had eight of his 14 points in the second half to finish his career with a 32-game streak scoring in double figures.
- David Nurse made four threes in the second half (4-of-6).