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Western Illinois University Athletics

C.J. Duff FP
WIU Visual Productions Center
65
Western Illinois WIU 7-14 (4-6)
98
Winner South Dakota State SDSU 11-14 (4-6)
Western Illinois WIU
7-14 (4-6)
65
Final
98
South Dakota State SDSU
11-14 (4-6)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Western Illinois WIU 34 31 65
South Dakota State SDSU 45 53 98

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

South Dakota State Beats WIU Men’s Basketball in Brookings Wednesday Night

C.J. Duff led Western with 16 points and three assists

BROOKINGS, S.D. – Western Illinois was able to cut its deficit to five points early in the second half before South Dakota State pulled away to a 98-65 victory over the Leathernecks in Brookings Wednesday night (Feb. 1).
 
"We knew their personnel. We knew who were the drivers and who were the shooters, but, for most of the first half, we played them all like they were shooters. And give them credit, they kept attacking and kept attacking," said head coach Billy Wright.
 
The Jackrabbits were able to attack the rim and score, finishing with 62 of their 98 points in the paint and shooting 57.8 percent from the field. SDSU scored 20 second chance points compared to WIU's two, and the Jacks were able to take advantage of the Leathernecks' turnovers, scoring 16 points to Western's three.
 
C.J. Duff led WIU with 16 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field and going 3-of-3 from long range He also tallied a team-best three assists.
 
The only other Leatherneck to score in double figures was Dalan Ancrum who finished with 14 points.
 
Seniors Garret Covington and Mike Miklusak, who lead WIU in scoring this season, were unable to get into their usual groove as far as shooting goes, each finishing with nine points.
 
Also held in check was Leathernecks big man Brandon Gilbeck who finished with six points and five rebounds.
 
Freshman Jeremiah Usiosefe led Western with seven rebounds and scored nine points on 4-of-6 shooting.
 
"We have to identify what went wrong and make sure it doesn't happen again. It's getting to the point where every game is equally important and everyone is fighting for an opportunity. We've got a tough team coming in with Omaha on Saturday, but we've got a tough team and we've got to regroup, learn from this and put it behind us. The things that went wrong tonight, they went well Saturday against IUPUI. So it's just which WIU team is going to show up? We have to be better consistently with our defensive effort," concluded Wright.
 
Western, specifically Dalan Ancrum, came out firing early in the game as the Leathernecks jumped out to an 8-2 advantage with all eight points being scored by Ancrum.
 
SDSU then proceeded to go on a 26-7 run and grab a 13-point lead midway through the first.
 
The Jacks eventually built their lead up to as much as 17 points with just over two minutes until halftime, but WIU was able to cut SDSU's advantage to 11 at the break, 45-34.
 
After Western was able to cut its deficit to five points early in the second half, the Jacks were able to pull away for the remainder of the game, improving to 4-6 in league play and 11-14 overall. WIU drops to 4-6 in league action and 7-14 overall after the loss.
 
Michael Orris led five Jacks who scored in double figures with 18 points. He also led SDSU with eight assists and did not turn the ball over.
 
The Leathernecks return to Macomb and play host to the Omaha Mavericks on Saturday evening (Feb. 4). The men are slated to tipoff at 7 p.m. following the WIU women's game against Omaha at 4:30 p.m. To learn more about the promotions and activities surrounding Saturday's doubleheader, click HERE.

 
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