Skip To Main Content

Upcoming Events and Recent Results

Western Illinois University Athletics

Webster Young
Sarah Twidwell

Men's Basketball Closes Out Non-League Play at Home

| By: WIU Athletic Communications

The Leathernecks play host to Chicago State on Thursday, Dec. 20 at 2 p.m.

Chicago State (3-10) at Western Illinois (4-8)                                    
Date/Tipoff: Dec. 20, 2018 | 2 p.m.
Location: Macomb, Ill.
Site: Western Hall
Radio: Michael Jones (WRMS 94.3 & WJEQ 102.7)

Last Time Out: With four of its last five games taking place on the road, Western Illinois' men's basketball team capped its December traveling Monday (Dec. 17) in a 91-76 loss to Northern Illinois. 
 
Though the Huskies maintained an eight-point edge through the first seven minutes of play, Western clawed its way out of the deficit with a 14-4 run. The stretch saw Keshon Montague and Kobe Webster settle into a groove with six points each before a Webster 3-ball regained WIU's lead at 23-21 with 8:45 to go before the half. 
 
The scoreboard traded one-possession leads over the next few minutes until Lacey James recorded back-to-back three-pointers to start his team on a 14-3 stretch entering halftime. 
 
At the break, Northern Illinois was up, 42-30, with three players contributing 10 points apiece. Both teams recorded 29 attempts at the half, but the Huskies shot 62.1 percent from the floor in comparison to Western's 37.9 percent.
 
The Huskies' hot shooting continued in the second half with another pair of unanswered three-pointers as they maintained a double-digit advantage for the remainder of the game. 
 
NIU closed the evening with a 60.7 shooting clip with 40 of its points occurring inside the paint. For Western, Kobe Webster posted a season-high 26 points with five rebounds in 38 minutes of action. 
 
Zion Young also finished in double-figures with a season-high 14 points. 
 
Series History against Chicago State: The Leathernecks lead the all-time series 24-14 but the Cougars won the last meeting overtime, 83-76 on Dec. 3, 2016 in Macomb. Garret Covington led the way by pouring 30 points while C.J. Duff added 11 points with two assists. Brandon Gilbeck swatted four shots during that game.  
 
Scouting the Cougars: Chicago State (3-10) is coming off an 88-46 loss at Northwestern on Monday, Dec. 17. Four players scored in double figures during the defeat, Travon Bell (12), Rob Shaw (11), Anthony Harris (11) and Christian Jacob (10). Shaw paced the squad with seven rebounds.  

Harris averages 14.7 points per game with 5.8 rebounds while Shaw is the floor general with a team-high 77 assists to go along with 11.3 points a contest. Jacob averages 10.2 points per game in the balanced offensive attack and pulls down 5.8 rebounds a game. Lance Irvin enters his first season as the Cougars head coach after serving as an assistant coach from 2012-2018 under his brother Nick Irvin at Morgan Park High School in Chicago. Before going to the prep ranks, Irvin spent 18 years a college assistant at the Division I level including four years as the associate head coach at Southern Illinois from 2008-12.  
 
Rejected: Brandon Gilbeck leads the nation in total blocked shots (45) and is second in blocks per game (3.75) as of Friday, Dec. 19. 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 Stensgaard pulled down 15 against Eastern on Dec. 12, 2015. 
 
In-State Showdowns: The Leathernecks are 20-11 against teams from the state of Illinois since the beginning of the 2011-12 season including three wins this year over North Park University, Dominican University and SIUE. 
 
Print Friendly Version

Related Videos

Now Playing:

Related Stories