BOX SCORE (HTML)

BOX SCORE (PDF)

MACOMB, Ill. – Matt Lander scored a game-high 21 points and Jelani Johnson made a game-saving play in the closing seconds of a 57-51 win over Centenary on Saturday, Dec. 4 at Western Hall.

The Fighting Leathernecks (4-4, 1-1 Summit) got on the board first when David Gebru hit a layup on the game's second possession but the Gents (0-9, 0-2) would not go quietly, matching Western bucket-for-bucket in the first half.

Western Illinois would see its largest lead of the first half at the 6:09 mark when Gebru converted two free throws to put the Leathernecks ahead 15-10. Gebru's dunk two possessions later put Western up 17-12 with 5:34 to go.

Centenary would snag a 20-19 lead in the closing minutes of the half before Jelani Johnson's three-pointer put the Leathernecks ahead 22-20 with 35 seconds to go. A bucket by Centenary's Logan Lowery would knot the score at 22-22 when the buzzer sounded.

The game would remain close in the second half as Western Illinois was able to jump out to a seven-point lead three different times, but Centenary answered each time to keep it close.

Lander's layup at the 3:54 mark gave the Leathernecks a 49-45 lead in the closing seconds, but Centenary would score five of the game's next six points to draw even (50-50) with just over a minute remaining.

The Gents fouled twice to send Lander to the line in the final 1:20 of the game and the senior hit all four of his free throws to give the Leathernecks a 54-51 edge with 27 seconds to go.

Centenary brought the ball up the court with a chance to tie the game on what looked like the final possession, but Johnson jumped in front of a pass, put in a layup and converted a free throw to make the final score 57-51.

Lander went over the 20-point mark for the fourth time this season and hit double-digits for the eighth time in as many games. He finished the game 4-for-10 and was 12-for-14 from the charity stripe.

Gebru netted 13 points on 4-for-7 shooting and Johnson added seven points to go along with eight boards. Jack Houpt scored seven points while ripping down five boards and dishing out three assists.

Western Illinois finished the game shooting 40.0 percent (16-for-40) including 21-for-36 from the line. The Leathernecks also pulled down 37 rebounds as a team.

The team will return to action in a non-league game against Culver Stockton at 7 p.m. on Wednesday before traveling to Eastern Illinois on Saturday.