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Men's Basketball Returns Home

| By: WIU Athletic Communications

The Leathernecks play host to SIUE on Wednesday, Nov. 28 at 7 p.m.

SIUE (1-3) at Western Illinois (2-4)                                    
Date/Tipoff: Nov. 28, 2018 | 7 p.m.
Location: Macomb, Ill.
Site: Western Hall
Radio: Danny Frey (WRMS 94.3 & WJEQ 102.7)

Series History: The Leathernecks lead the all-time series 7-2. The last road win for Western Illinois came in Edwardsville last season on Nov. 22, 2017 on a last-second three by Dalan Ancrum in a 69-67 decision. 

Last Time Out: The Western Illinois (2-4) men's basketball team improved its play in the second half, but lost 73-49 to Nebraska (5-1) on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 24). The Huskers are ranked 24th in the USA Today Coaches Poll and feature former Leatherneck head basketball coach Jim Molinari as an assistant on their coaching staff. 
 
Four minutes into the game, Isaac Johnson drove inside for a layup and with 15:32 left in the first half, Brandon Gilbeck made a hook shot for an early 9-4 lead. From then on, the Huskers unleashed a 13-0 run that was answered on a layup by Ben Pyle as Western trailed 17-11 with 7:49 remaining in the first half. 
 
From 6:54 to only 32 seconds left, Nebraska opened the game with 19-0 run until Kobe Webster answered with a three-pointer that was his only made field goal of the contest. The Huskers controlled the game at halftime by a score of 40-17. 
 
Nebraska started the second half on a 10-0 run rounded out by Glynn Watson Jr. corner triple as the Huskers led by the largest margin of the day, 50-17 with 17:41 to go. Western Illinois began to chip away with 12:11 remaining on a trifecta by C.J. Duff followed on the next possession by a layup in the lane from Zion Young as the Leathernecks were behind, 54-33. 
 
The deficit was cut to as little as 60-42 on a jumper in the paint by Duff with 5:41 left. Brandon Gilbeck already recorded three blocks and rocked the rim on a slam dunk with 3:33 to go in regulation while trailing 64-44. Nebraska proved to be too much to handle in a 73-49 setback at Pinnacle Bank Arena. 
 
Duff paced the purple and gold in scoring with 13 points. Isaac Johnson totaled nine points and collected a team-high six rebounds.

Rejected: We're six games into the 2018-19 season and Brandon Gilbeck is tied for first in the nation in total blocked shots with 24. The senior recorded a career-high nine blocks at Eastern Illinois on Nov. 17 to highlight a stellar outing where he also posted a career-high 19 rebounds. 
 
The EIU game marked Gilbeck's first time leading the team in rebounds this season. He became the first Leathernecks to post 15 or more since Tate Stensgaardpulled down 15 against Eastern on Dec. 12, 2015. 

Scouting the Cougars:SIUE (1-3) is coming off its first win of the season after scoring 54 second half points to defeat Incarnate Word, 80-68 on Sunday, Nov. 25. Junior guard Tyresse Williford paced four double-digit Cougar scorers with 20 points while adding six rebounds and six assists. 

Williford averages a team-high 15.8 points per game and 3.0 assists per game through four contests. Senior guard David McFarland (12.8), junior forward Brandon Jackson (11.0) and freshman guard Cameron Williams (10.5) all average double-digit scoring. Jackson is the top rebounder for SIUE, averaging 5.5 boards per game. Former Edwardsville High School star Jon Harris enters his fourth season at the helm with a 22-70 overall mark. 
 
Coaching Connection: Mike Waldo is in his first season as an assistant coach for Cougars after a 35-year coaching career that including 30 years at Edwardsville where he amassed a 727-266 record. In addition to coaching Jon Harris at Edwardsville, Waldo coached former Western Illinois guard Garret Covington in high school. 
 
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