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Western Illinois University Athletics

Johnson
Sarah Twidwell
64
Western Illinois WIU 4-5
68
Winner Stetson STET 2-8
Western Illinois WIU
4-5
64
Final
68
Stetson STET
2-8
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Western Illinois WIU 38 26 64
Stetson STET 30 38 68

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

Turnovers Cost Leathernecks at Stetson

Western Illinois surrendered a 16-point lead and committed 14 turnovers in a 68-64 loss.

DELAND, Fla.— The Western Illinois (4-5) men's basketball team led by as many as 16 points but slipped late in a 68-64 setback to Stetson (2-8) on Wednesday night (Dec. 5). 
 
"We made mistakes in the first half and unfortunately we weren't able to correct those mistakes," head coach Billy Wright said. "You are not going to win too many games when you turn over the ball 14 times and give up 23 points off of those turnovers. It was a back and forth game down the stretch. I was proud of our guys to continue to compete, but at the end of the day, those turnovers and missed block outs really hurt us."
 
The Leathernecks got off to a quick 9-2 start only two minutes into the game after a corner trey by Ben Pyle. Christiaan Jones completed a dunk to even the game 9-9 with 15:46 to go in the first half. From the 6:18 mark to 2:36 left, Western went on a 10-2 run capped by a Kobe Webster fade away jumper for a 38-22 lead. Stetson trimmed the deficit to 38-30 heading into halftime. 
 
The run continued into the second half as Abayomi Iyiola knocked down a turnaround jumper to round off a 17-0 run by the Hatters and put the home team in front, 39-38 at the 17-minute mark of the second half. A little over a minute later, Webster sank a three-ball to regain the Leatherneck lead at 43-42. It was a back-and-forth slugfest from that point on. 
 
Western Illinois built a five-point 59-54 advantage off a tip-in by Brandon Gilbeck with 4:38 remaining in regulation. An old-fashioned three-point play by Iyiola put Stetson back in front and another layup from Iyiola gave the Hatters a 64-61 lead with under two minutes to go. Isaac Johnson knotted the game at 64-64 with 1:11 left on a clutch left corner triple. Leo Goodman answered immediately with a wing three-pointer from the right side and after a couple good looks barely missed, Western fell just short on the road. 
 
Webster scored a team-high 22 points with six rebounds and four assists while Johnson contributed 13 points with five rebounds. Before fouling out late in the second half, Gilbeck scored eight points with nine rebounds and five blocks. 

The Leathernecks head back to Macomb to finish the rivalry series against Eastern Illinois inside Western Hall on Saturday, Dec. 8 at 7 p.m.  
 
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