MACOMB, Ill. - The Western Illinois men's basketball squad fell to South Dakota State in a one-point thriller Saturday evening at home, 67-66.
The two teams battled back-and-forth the entire game, but in the end it was the Jackrabbits who pulled out the victory. The Summit League contest came down to the wire, and for all those who came to Western Hall to watch, excitement wasn't lacking. As head coach Jim Molinari it put it, "it was a heck of a college game."
"Give South Dakota State credit, they made the plays when they had to, and I thought they did a good job," said coach Molinari. "I think they got to the foul line, they do a good job using their body, and they hit some big shots. I thought our guys fought like crazy. We're picked tenth they're picked third or fourth. We gave ourselves a chance to win."
Freshmen Obi Emegano and Remy Roberts-Burnett sparked the Leathernecks' offensive attack, with Emegano tallying a game-high 17 points, 11 of which came in the second half, while Roberts-Burnett dropped a career-high 16 on the Jackrabbits, finishing 8-of-10 from the floor. Senior guard Ceola Clark III was the other Leatherneck to finish in double-figures with 10. Clark also led the team in three other categories, rebounds (9), assists (seven) and steals (3).
"I thought Obi (Emegano) and Remy (Roberts-Burnett) obviously did a great job," said coach Molinari. "I thought Ceola (Clark) played a tremendous floor game. Played 39 minutes and kept us in the game. There's not a guard in the league I'd trade him for."
Early on in the back-and-forth contest, junior forward Terell Parks recorded Western's first four points of the game, including a two-handed slam that sparked the crowd, and grabbed four of the team's first eight rebounds.
Western gained its first lead of the game six minutes in when Emegano finished a nice reverse layup, making it 6-4.
Roberts-Burnett continued his impressive performance off of the bench, knocking down his first four shots from the floor, and cutting the Leathernecks' deficit to just three points, 14-17, with 8:16 remaining in the first.
After SDSU captured a 17-16 lead, a shot from behind the arch courtesy of junior forward Jack Houpt gave Western the lead back, 19-17, with 5:21 left in the half, a lead they would keep for the reminder of the half.
A pair of field goals from the freshmen Emegano and Roberts-Burnett helped the Leathernecks cling to their lead heading into the break, 25-24.
Robert-Burnett finished the first hitting on all five of his shot attempts and leading all scorers with 10 points. Parks and Clark each grabbed six rebounds, while Clark also had three assists and two steals heading into the break.
The two teams continued to answer each other's baskets early in the second, with Emegano and Roberts-Burnett again hitting for Western, and SDSU freshman guard Zach Hostman dropping a pair of triples for the Jackrabbits.
A three-pointer courtesy of senior guard Tommie Tyler put Western up 39-37 with just over 13 minutes remaining in the game. That lead, however wouldn't last long thanks to a pair of free throws from SDSU sophomore forward Jordan Dykstra, followed up by a three from junior guard Nate Wolters, giving the Jackrabbits a 42-39 lead with 12:29 remaining in the game.
Midway through the second, Parks found Roberts-Burnett for a breakaway layup that would knot things up at 44 all, followed up by Clark giving Western a three-point lead, connecting on his eighth triple of the season.
Back-to-back field goals from Emegano would extend Western's lead to 55-51 with just over five minutes remaining in the game, but the Jackrabbits would score six unanswered and retake the lead, 57-55, with 4:17 left.
Houpt's second triple of the contest would give the Leathernecks the 58-57 lead, but the Jackrabbits would go on a 4-0 run to recapture the lead, and even though Western battled till the end, it was a lead SDSU wouldn't give up, turning in the 67-66 victory.
Western finished the game with a 48.1 shooting percentage, while SDSU 37.7 from the floor. The Leathernecks also bettered NDSU in the rebounding department, 37-32.
The Leathernecks will return to action a week from today (Dec. 3), Saturday December 10th at home when they play host to in-state rival Eastern Illinois. The two teams are scheduled to tipoff at 7 p.m.
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