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Men's Basketball Opens Summit League Play at Home

| By: WIU Athletic Communications

The Leathernecks continue the three-game homestand against South Dakota State and Denver.

South Dakota State (10-5) at Western Illinois (5-8)                                    
Date/Tipoff: Dec. 28, 2018 | 4:30 p.m.
Location: Macomb, Ill.
Site: Western Hall
Radio: Danny Frey (WRMS 94.3 & WJEQ 102.7)

Last Time Out: The Western Illinois men's basketball concluded the non-league portion of its schedule Thursday (Dec. 20) with every available player suiting up in the team's 81-52 victory over Chicago State. 

In the decision, the Leathernecks (5-8) also wrapped the inaugural Summit League-Western Athletic Conference Challenge with a win. The WAC narrowly claimed this season's series, 5-4. 
    
"We definitely wanted to bounce back from a tough stretch," said head coach Billy Wright. "We've been on the road a lot, and our guys understood the importance of this game. We understood that Christmas vacation comes after, and I was proud of our guys for not getting caught up in travel plans and things like that. We had a job to do today, and I was proud of their effort.

"We want to play the right way on both ends of the floor for 40 minutes, whether we're up 10 or down 10, and it starts with the defensive end for us." 

C.J. Duff entered halftime was almost as many points as the entire Cougar team combined. The Waukegan, Ill., native was nearly perfect in his shot selection, swishing five of his first seven attempts, with four made 3-pointers. 
 
He managed 14 points at the break, helping to power the Leathernecks to a 41-17 edge, before tagging Brandon Gilbeck and Kobe Webster to finish the game.  

The Leathernecks led the entire way and held their largest lead of the game at 39 points as the scoreboard read 72-33 with 7:10 remaining.

Duff finished the game with a team-high 17 points, while Webster added 16 and Zion Young 10. For Gilbeck, the outing marked his first double-double of the season on 14 rebounds and 12 points with six blocks. 
 
Series History against South Dakota State: The Jackrabbits lead the all-time series 23-4 and have won the last four meetings. Western's last win over South Dakota State came inside Western Hall on Jan. 4, 2017 when the Leathernecks came out on top, 82-74 to snap a 16-game losing streak against the Jackrabbits.
 
Scouting the Jackrabbits: South Dakota State (10-5) closed out non-league play on Dec. 22 with an 85-74 loss to Montana that ended a 26-game home winning streak inside Frost Arena. Senior forward Mike Daum continued to climb the NCAA all-time scoring list after a 33 point and 15 rebound performance.

Daum, the perennial Summit League Player of the Year averages 25.3 points per game and 10.9 rebounds per game. Sophomore guard David Jenkins has 19.8 points per game while senior guard Skyler Flatten contributes 15.6 points a night. Another senior guard, Tevin King paces the squad with 68 assists. T.J. Otzelberger is 56-29 in his third season as the head coach in Brookings. Otzelberger has led South Dakota State to back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances and a 21-9 Summit League record in his first two seasons at the helm.  
 
Denver (5-9) at Western Illinois (5-8)                                    
Date/Tipoff: Dec. 30, 2018 | 4:30 p.m.
Location: Macomb, Ill.
Site: Western Hall
Radio: Danny Frey (WRMS 94.3 & WJEQ 102.7)
 
Series History against Denver: The Pioneers lead the all-time series 10-2 and have won the last four meetings with the last Leatherneck victory coming at Magness Arena on Feb. 11, 2016, when Western Illinois edged Denver, 63-60.
 
Scouting the Pioneers: Denver (5-9) ended its non-league season with a 101-40 loss at nationally ranked Gonzaga. Wins over Wyoming on the road in overtime and at home against Montana State highlight the Pioneers resume this season.

Denver native Ronnie Harrell Jr. leads the Pioneers with 13.6 points per game while senior guard Joe Rosga averages 12 points. Junior guard Ade Murkey puts up 11.1 points per night while leading the team with 31 assists. Rodney Billups enters his third season as the head coach of his alma mater and currently sports a 36-38 mark. Billups is the younger brother of former NBA player, Chauncey Billups.  
 
Rejected: Brandon Gilbeck leads the nation in total blocked shots (51) and is second in blocks per game (3.92) as of Wednesday, Dec. 26. 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. 
 
Protect The Hall: Western is 65-36 (.644) inside Western Hall since the beginning of the 2011-12 season and 4-1 at home to start this season. The Leathernecks went 10-4 (.714) during their 2011-12 campaign, 12-2 (.857) during the 2012-13 league slate, 7-5 in 2013-14 (.583), 8-6 (.571) in 2014-15, 7-7 (.500) in 2015-16, in 2016-17, 5-8 and finished 11-5 on LeRoy A. Ufkes court in 2017-18.
 
Getting It Done in the Classroom: The Leathernecks put together a fall team grade point average of 3.206 which is the third highest in program history. Ten players earned a GPA of 3.0 or higher including three over a 3.6 and one 4.0.
 
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