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Western Illinois University Athletics

Brandon Gilbeck
WIU Visual Productions Center
56
American AMERICAN 2-6
69
Winner Western Illinois WIUM 6-2
American AMERICAN
2-6
56
Final
69
Western Illinois WIUM
6-2
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
American AMERICAN 26 30 56
Western Illinois WIUM 32 37 69

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | WIU Athletic Communications

Brandon Gilbeck's Big Night Leads WIU Past American

The junior center netted 17 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and swatted eight Eagle shots.

MACOMB, Ill.- Behind Brandon Gilbeck's impressive night of 17 points, 13 rebounds and eight blocks, the Western Illinois Leathernecks (6-2) beat American University (2-6) 69-59 on Wednesday night (Dec. 6). Gilbeck swatted six Eagle shots in the first half and the Leathernecks' defense held the Eagles to 32.1 percent at the break.
 
"They do a really good job of running their actions. It's tough to guard. Most teams just try to sit back and play a zone, but we really take pride in our defense. We worked at it. Hats off to our scout team, who did a really good job simulating those actions. Our guys were aware and locked in on the defensive end."
                                                                                              
Western started out on a 12-4 run but Dalan Ancrum picked up two early fouls that kept to only three minutes of action in the first half.
 
"Our bench in the first half, the guys that came in really gave us a spark. You look at Chuck Gavin, Lynrick Moxey and those guys who came in when Dalan was in foul trouble, and they kept us in rhythm," head coach Billy Wright. "Hats off to our bench and we develop one through 15. The last few minutes, our guys did a tremendous job of locking in defensively and making plays."
 
Down 19-15 with 6:39 on the clock, American went on an 8-0 run to take its first lead of the game at 20-19. Charles Gavin finished through contact as he got fouled with five minutes to go in the first half to stop the Eagles run and put the Purple and Gold back on top at 21-20. Lynrick Moxey both knocked a bucket with 4:14 to play that was his first field goal since Calvary on Nov. 17.
 
With time running down in the first half, Kobe Webster netted a 3-pointer to push the WIU lead to six points going into the break.
 
After not playing for most of the first half, Ancrum caught fire with 12:43 to go in the second half knocking down back-to-back-to-back shots for the Leathernecks that including a floater in the lane and a contested 3-pointer.
 
With Western up by 10 points, American went on a 14-2 run to go up by two points, its largest lead of the entire game. The Leathernecks finished the game on a 15-0 run, winning the contest 69-56. Western made all 10 free throws to end the game and it finished 11-14 on the evening.
 
The Leathernecks are back in action on Dec. 9 against Milwaukee. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. inside Western Hall.
 
GAMES NOTES:
-Brandon Gilbeck finished with eight blocks, one short of the program record
-C.J. Duff netted a season-high 10 points
-Brandon Gilbeck went 7-8 from the field
-Charles Gavin and Lynrick Moxey saw their first action since the contest against Calvary University (Nov. 18)
-WIU led for 91.3 percent of the game (36:31 minutes)
-C.J. Duff logged all 40 minutes on the floor
   
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