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MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois fell behind early, and despite a late half comeback could not entirely close the gap losing to IUPUI 56-45 Saturday night (Jan. 29) at Western Hall. The loss drops the Fighting Leatherneck men's basketball team to 7-14 overall and 2-8 in the Summit League.
The Jaguars (13-10, 7-3) used a 20-0 run to start the game as Western missed its first 12 field goal attempts over nine minutes. Matt Lander ended the run on a three-point play at the 10:34 mark. IUPUI scored four straight, but then Western kept chipping away.
Kaimarr Price hit two straight baskets and Lander followed with a layin. Mael Amenyedzi hit the first of two free throws, Price hit two more field goals and Jelani Johnson added a layin to make it a 27-16 game with 4:49 remaining.
Alex Young made two free throws but to close out the half Price hit a free throw, Lander made a jumper and Jack Houpt drained a 3-pointer. In fact, Houpt was just off the front of the rim on a 25-footer at the buzzer as the Leathernecks trailed 30-22 heading into the locker room.
Western shot 32 percent from the field but only 1-of-11 from long distance while IUPUI finished the opening half at 44.4 percent. The Leathernecks committed just one turnover in the half.
Johnson picked up a steal to start the second half and his fastbreak layup cut the deficit to six. However, Christian Siakam hit two straight field goals extending the lead back to 10. Houpt made a baseline jumper then on the next possession Johnson hit from 15-feet for a 36-28 score, but that would be the closest Western would get. Leroy Nobles hit a 3-pointer and a dunk, and the Jaguars led by double-digits the rest of the game.
After that opening drought, Western shot nearly 50 percent from the field (18-of-49 overall), even despite a season-low 2-of-20 effort from 3-point range.
"The reality is we didn't shoot well. Give them (IUPUI) a lot of credit. We got down 20-0 but we kept fighting and got back in it," said Western head coach Jim Molinari. "We kept fighting but then they went to their strengths Leroy Nobles and Alex Young... Our problem is our perimeter play. We have some guys playing out there (now due to injuries) that are not really those types of players."
Lander led the Leathernecks with 15 points and three steals. Price finished with 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds. One game after scoring a career-high, Johnson came one shy of matching that finishing with 13 points. The sophomore played turnover free ball for 36 minutes as Western committed just nine in the game.
Young recorded a double-double with 10 points and game-high 13 rebounds. Siakam led all scorers with 18 points and Nobles finished with 17. The Jaguars starters accounted for all but three points.
The Leathernecks continue a season-long four-game homestand on Thursday night (Feb. 3), tipoff against league-leading Oakland at 7 p.m.
