MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois wraps up a two-game stand at Waste Management Court inside Western Hall on Saturday night (Jan. 15) when the Leatherneck men's basketball team plays host to North Dakota State. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
The game can be heard on the Leatherneck Sports Network and on the internet at www.GoLeathernecks.com. The pregame show will air 30 minutes prior to tip. Rocky Vision subscribers can also watch the video stream of the game. Admission is free to both the men and women's games to registered Boy Scout Troops.
The Leathernecks (6-10 overall) are looking to end a four-game losing streak in Summit League play, having dropped to 1-5 following Thursday night's loss to South Dakota State.
SUMMIT LEAGUE LEADERS: Western continues to lead the Summit League in scoring defense (62.8 ppg), despite allowing 68+ points in four of the last five games... The Leathernecks also lead in field goal defense (.425) but slipped to third in 3-point FG defense (.322)... Western is fifth in 3-point shooting (.382) and turnover margin (-1.0)... Individually Matt Lander ranks sixth in scoring (16.4 ppg)... Kaimarr Price is seventh among the rebounding leaders averaging 6.6 per game, and tied for sixth in blocked shots (0.9). The junior forward stands in a tie for seventh with 2.4 offensive rebounds per game... Jelani Johnson moved up into a tie for fifth in steals (1.4).
TEAM NOTES: Western has committed 13 or fewer turnovers in eight of the last 10 games... The Leathernecks have held the opposition to under 30 percent 3-point shooting in five of the last nine games... The Leathernecks are averaging more than 6.0 steals over the past eight games... The Leathernecks have been out-rebounded in five straight games. However the last time out (vs. South Dakota State) Western was edged by only two... In four of Western's six wins, the opponent has committed more fouls. The two other Western wins (St. Francis and Savannah State), the Leathernecks committed just one more foul than the opponent... The 42 points scored by Oakland and South Dakota State in the first half set an opponent season-high. The previous was 41 by IUPUI... Western has allowed three of the five highest second half point totals this season the last three games. South Dakota State scored 39 second half points, IPFW scored 38 and Oakland scored 37 over the final 20 minutes last Saturday... Kaimarr Price is averaging 10.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in Summit League play... Jelani Johnson's 11 steals in six conference games lead the Leathernecks.
LANDER RESUMES STREAK: Matt Lander's streak of scoring in double-figures every game came to an end at Oakland but the next game out against South Dakota State he picked up where he left off... The senior guard, who was riding a streak of 14 games, scored five points in 16 minutes of action against the Golden Grizzlies. He scored a team-leading 12 points off 4-of-11 field goal shooting versus South Dakota State... Lander scored a career-high 24 points at Missouri and opened the season with 22 points against St. Francis... He had consecutive 21-point games at home versus Centenary and Culver-Stockton... Prior to the Oakland game, he had not scored less than 13 points in a game... Lander's 16.4 points per game puts him sixth in the Summit League... With 262 points Matt Lander already surpassed his scoring total from last year (231 points in 30 games).
JOHNSON GETTING THE STEALS: Sophomore Jelani Johnson matched a career-high recording all three of Western's steals against South Dakota State... He not only leads the squad with 22 steals, Johnson also took over the top spot shooting 44.8 percent from 3-point range... He moved into a tie for fifth in the conference averaging 1.4 steals... Johnson played nearly all 40 minutes at IPFW (checking out of the game but for less than a minute), a career-high... Earlier this year he recorded a career-high eight rebounds against Centenary.
SMITH MAKING MOST OF SENIOR YEAR: Brandon Smith set another career-high this season, this time in scoring. Smith made 5-of-10 field goals, including two from long range, for a career-high 12 points at Oakland... Having played in only six games last season after joining Western as a walk-on (scoring three points), Smith made his first collegiate start versus Culver-Stockton... Smith scored a then career-high nine points in the opener against St. Francis and matched that against Morgan State in Cancun... He came off the bench netting seven points during a nine-minute stretch versus South Dakota State... Overall Smith stands second on the squad hitting 44.4 percent from 3-point range.
SCOUTING THE BISON: North Dakota State is coming off a 67-64 loss at IUPUI on Thursday... Drew Lundberg scored a team-high 13 points while Taylor Braun added 12 and Marshall Bjorklund added 10... Both teams were identical in the final stats, shooting 47 percent from the field, 10 free throws and 30 rebounds... The Bison out-scored IUPUI off the bench, 17-3... Michael Tveidt, who was just 2-of-11 shooting versus the Jaguars, still leads the team averaging 14.3 points per game... Eric Carlson is next at 10.4 ppg followed by Coleman's 10.0 ppg... NDSU, which has won five straight in the series with Western, is shooting 42 percent from the field compared to opponents hitting 31.6... NDSU owns a 6-0 record at home thus far but 1-7 at road sites.
