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MACOMB, Ill. - Purdue Calumet missed on a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer and Western Illinois came away with a 59-56 win Saturday night (Jan. 1) at Waste Management Court at Western Hall. The Fighting Leathernecks (6-7 overall) ended a three-game losing streak.

The Peregrines (6-8) tied it at 50-all on Kameron Bright's lay-in. Tommie Tyler (Houston, Texas) responded by hitting just his third 3-pointer this season with four minutes left. Jordan Champion was fouled in the act of shooting a three, but made just the final shot.

Jack Houpt nailed a 3-pointer for a five point lead with 2:50 remaining, but Neal Hudson scored on a put-back and Kedric Williams hit a 3-pointer to tie the score.

Matt Lander was fouled with 39 seconds left, and hit both shots which proved to be the game-winner. PUC turned the ball over, and immediately fouled Lander. He made the first of two at the line for a three-point lead.

Champion missed a '3', and Kaimarr Price was fouled after grabbing the rebound with 8.1 seconds left. The junior forward missed both attempts, but he came up with his career-high 13th rebound and again was immediately fouled. Again he missed both attempts.

The Peregrines called time out with nine-tenths of a second remaining, but Andrew Anderson's desperation shot from the right wing fell short and Western improved to 4-1 at home this year.

"I'm really proud of Kaimarr (Price) and Matt (Lander), those two are the guys who are going to have to carry the load for us. I'm proud of Tommie Tyler for stepping up and hitting a big three when it was 50-50, that's not his strength but it's what winners do," said head coach Jim Molinari. "I'm also proud of Emeka (Okafor, Jr.). He has had a bad ankle but he gave us good minutes tonight."

Western shot 40 percent in the first half, but could not shake a PUC team that was only 26 percent from the field but made 6-of-8 free throws.

Down four midway through the half, Western went on a 10-3 run to go ahead 14-11 with 6:09 remaining. The Peregrines took a 17-16 lead but Lander hit a shot in the lane and Western stayed in the lead until Anderson's field goal with nine minutes left in the game.

Price scored four quick points to start the second half, Lander hit a jumper and Tyler scored a three-point play for a 9-0 run to start the stanza. Lander put Western ahead by 12 with 15:41 remaining before a 17-4 run put PUC ahead briefly. Price responded with another bucket in the paint, made his free throw and Western never trailed again.

"It was extremely important for us to get this win. It's been awhile, and hopefully this will give us some confidence that we can build off of," said Lander. "They (Purdue Calumet) came ready, they really brought it to us. Give them credit, they were extremely well prepared and made it tough on us."

Lander scored a game-high 19 points and dished out four assists in 39 minutes of action. Price recorded his second double-double of the year, 14 points and career-best 13 boards. He also blocked two shots and recorded a season-high four steals.

Houpt finished with 13 points and four assists with no turnovers. Western shot 41.2 percent for the game, compared to the Peregrines' 36.2 percent, but was out-rebounded by nine and made just 14-of-25 free throws.

"It was a tough defensive battle all night for both teams. I was just happy to have my teammates come up big when I didn't have the type of night I wanted to have offensively," said Price.

Michael Patton and Anderson scored 10 points apiece.

According to Molinari, "I think it was really important to win, but even more important for us to learn some things that we need to improve on."

Western hits the road on Thursday (Jan. 6), traveling to IPFW. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.