Leathernecks cannot overcome early deficit at South Dakota State

BROOKINGS, S.D. - Falling behind 20 points in the first 15 minutes, the Western Illinois men's basketball team cut the deficit to only two out of the half, but could not overcome South Dakota State as it suffered a 66-53 defeat in Frost Arena, Thursday.

“We got hit in the mouth right away,” Western Illinois head coach Jim Molinari said. “Give them credit. They were ready, they took it to us as they hit us on the boards and we shot terribly. (David) Nurse has given us great leadership and in the locker room we talked about winning the second half. We got it down to two, we just didn't handle the game well enough. When we put ourselves in that hole it took so much energy to come back.”

Down 31-11 with 4:24 in the first half, a David Nurse three sparked a 10-2 run capped off with six-straight points from James Granstra for a 33-21 game at the half. The Fighting Leathernecks (13-15, 6-11) cut the 12-point halftime deficit down to only three as Nurse fired a three to start a 9-0 run out of the half, 33-30. The Jackrabbits (14-14, 10-7) pulled back out to five with a pair of free throws when a Quenton Kirby three-point play brought Western within two, 35-33, with 16:03 remaining.

The Leathernecks held South Dakota State without a field goal until the 15:48 mark when Kai Williams hit a three and sparked an 8-1 run. Nurse fired up a three, missed, but grabbed his own rebound for a layup and hit another bucket fed by David Gebru, who got the defensive rebound in SDSU's following possession. The back-to-back buckets from Nurse made it a five-point game, 47-42, the closest the Leathernecks would come in the final 9:29.

Cold shooting held the Leathernecks down in the first half as South Dakota State jumped out to an early 8-0 lead. A Kirby jumper put Western Illinois on the board just under four minutes into the game. Western was 2-for-20 from the field for the first 9:26 and was out-rebounded 10-2. Down nine points (19-10) at the 9:01 mark, SDSU's Sargent sank a three that started a 12-3 run over the next four minutes for the Jackrabbits' largest lead of the game, 31-11.

Ten of Nurse's team-leading 15 points came in the second half as the Leathernecks improved from shooting 28 percent (7-for 25) in the first half to 40 percent (12-for-30) in the second half. The Jackrabbits' field goal percentage fell from 35.7 percent (10-for-28) to 33.3 percent (8-for-24). Both teams finished the game shooting 34 percent. Nurse's scoring total co-led for all players as SDSU's Williams and Clint Sargent each had 15. Kirby was the only other Leatherneck in double figures as he had 12 points.

Western was a mere 3-for-16 (18.8%) from beyond the arc, while the Jackrabbits went 5-for-19 (26.3%). South Dakota State had the advantage from the line as it recorded 25-of-35 (71.4%) to Western's 12-of-23 (52.2%) shooting.

SDSU's Williams led all players in rebounding with 13 total, which helped the Jackrabbits to a 43-37 rebounding advantage over the Leathernecks. Offensively, Ceola Clark was only held to five points, but led Western's rebounding with eight boards.

“It doesn't bother me when guys shoot bad, it bothers me if they don't do other things well. Tonight was the worst offensive night for Ceola, but he had eight rebounds and that was really good,” Molinari said. “I am kind of excited because we saw some guys who will help us in the future. (David) Gebru had a little jump in his step with six rebounds and Abdou (Niang) did some good things. It was good to see those two contribute, we will work on them physically, and they're a big part of our future.”

The loss ended a four-game winning streak for Western Illinois. The Leathernecks close out the regular-season portion of the 2009-10 schedule, Saturday, February 27 at 7:30 p.m. as they face North Dakota State in Fargo, N.D.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

#32 Quenton Kirby: G; 6' 2"; Senior; Weimar / McLennan CC

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

Players Mentioned

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

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

#32 Quenton Kirby
: 6' 2"; Senior; Weimar / McLennan CC
: G

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