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Larry Dean

Final Two Non-League Road Games Loom for Leathernecks

| By: WIU Athletic Communications

Western Illinois travels to IUPUI (Dec. 15) and Northern Illinois (Dec. 17).

Western Illinois (4-6) at IUPUI (7-3)                                    
Date/Tipoff: Dec. 15, 2018 | 12 p.m. (CT)
Location: Indianapolis, Ind.
Site: Indiana Farmers Coliseum
Radio: Danny Frey (WRMS 94.3 & WJEQ 102.7)

Last Time Out: e Western Illinois (4-6) men's basketball team surrendered a 16-point lead in a 74-67 loss to Eastern Illinois (5-5) on Saturday night (Dec. 8). The Panthers swept the season series against the Leathernecks this season and retained possession of the Old Railsplitter Axe traveling trophy. 
 
A contentious first half captured three ties and three lead changes before 3:32 left in the first half when Kobe Webster nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to lift the Leathernecks up, 28-25. Nine of Western's 13 field goals at the break came from behind the arc, as it shot an astounding 64.3 percent in 3-point land to take a 38-29 lead at the break
The Leathernecks created a 49-33 lead after a mid-range jumper by Isaac Johnson with 16:43 remaining. From that point until the 6:56 mark the Panthers went on a 19-0 run to take a 52-49 edge. Ben Pyle capped the stretch with a 3-pointer from the top of the key, but the scoreboard read 52-52 and Western was never able to recover after Eastern immediately went on another 10-0 run. 
Webster led the way in scoring again with 17 points and three assists. C.J. Duff notched his first career double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds. Ben Pyle added 16 points while Brandon Gilbeck reeled in a game-high 13 rebounds. 
 
Series History against IUPUI: The Jaguars lead the all-time series 32-16 but the Leathernecks won the meeting last year in non-league play, 90-77 on Nov. 28 in Macomb. IUPUI was a member of the Summit League until 2017 when the institution moved to the Horizon League. 
 
Scouting the Jaguars:IUPUI (7-3) is coming off back wins over non-Division I opponents including a 116-79 victory over IU Northwest on Wednesday, Dec. 12. Saturday wraps up a five-game homestand for the Jaguars. 

Junior guard and Vanderbilt transfer Camron Justice is off to an impressive start averaging 20.8 points per game. Sophomore guard Jaylen Minnett is averaging 11.5 points per game and sophomore forward Elyjah Goss is the squad's leading rebounder at 6.9 boards a contest. Former Indiana Mr. Basketball Jason Gardner enters his fifth season as the head coach currently with a 55-80 overall record.  
 
Western Illinois (4-6) at Northern Illinois (5-4)                                    
Date/Tipoff: Dec. 17, 2018 | 8 p.m.
Location: DeKalb, Ill.
Site: The Convocation Center
Radio: Danny Frey (WRMS 94.3 & WJEQ 102.7)
 
 
Series History against Northern Illinois: WIU leads the all-time series 50-38, but the Huskies won the last meeting on Nov. 15, 2008 in the 100 Club Classic in Kennesaw, Ga., by a score of 65-54. 
 
Scouting the Huskies: Northern Illinois (5-4) lost its last matchup at Butler, 95-68 on Saturday (Dec. 8). Junior guard Eugene German led the way with 20 points and eight rebounds in the loss to the Bulldogs. 

German also leads Northern in scoring with 21.6 points a night as well as pacing the team with 23 assists. Senior forward Levi Bradley averaged 17.3 points per game along with a team-high 6.9 rebounds per game. Senior guard Dante Thorpe rounds out the double-digit scoring at 11 points. Mark Montgomery is in his eighth season at the helm with a 93-137 mark. Before heading to the Huskies, Montgomery spent ten years as an assistant for Tom Izzo at his alma mater of Michigan State including the last four as the associate head coach.  
 
Rejected: Brandon Gilbeck leads the nation in total blocked shots (40) and in blocks per game (4.0) as of Thursday, Dec. 13. The senior recorded a career-high nine at Eastern Illinois on Nov. 17 to highlight a stellar outing where he also posted a career-high 19 rebounds. 
 
The road game at EIU 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. 
 
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