Skip To Main Content

Upcoming Events and Recent Results

Western Illinois University Athletics

Claar
Sarah Twidwell

Men's Basketball Plays Host to Eastern Illinois in Rivalry Rematch

| By: WIU Athletic Communications

The Leathernecks aim to get back in the win column and regain possession of the Old Railsplitter Axe.

Eastern Illinois (4-5) at Western Illinois (4-5)                                    
Date/Tipoff: Dec. 8, 2018 | 7 p.m.
Location: DeLand, Fla.
Site: Western Hall
Radio: Danny Frey (WRMS 94.3 & WJEQ 102.7)

Series History: The all-time series is deadlocked at 81-81. The in-state foes have faced each other twice in each of the last three seasons.
 
Last Time Out: 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). 
 
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. 
 
OVC Tour: The Leathernecks play their fifth and final game against a member of the Ohio Valley Conference on Saturday. WIU is 2-2 so far this season versus the OVC including wins over SIUE and SEMO. On the other hand, the Leathernecks dropped a pair of two-point decisions at Eastern Illinois and UT Martin. 
 
Rejected:Brandon Gilbeck leads the nation in total blocked shots with 38 as of Thursday, Dec. 6. 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 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. 
 
Earlier in the Season Against EIU: The Western Illinois and Eastern Illinois men's basketball teams have a storied history. Last season, the Leathernecks defeated their in-state foe, 56-54, in a thrilling comeback victory, and on Saturday (Nov. 17), it was EIU who walked away the victor in a 68-66 overtime decision. 
 
Keshon Montague regained Western's lead with a 3-ball, and the visitors remained on top until the 8:20-mark of the second half. The halftime score read 36-32 in favor of the Purple and Gold and didn't swing to the other side until Rade Kokobat, the Panthers' leading scorer, made a pair of free throws.

The teams traded scores four more ties, and at the end of regulation things sat at 60-60. 

Coming into the extra period, C.J. Duff and Isaac Johnson embarked on a two-man scoring stretch, each hitting three pointers, but it was the lone bit of offense in the frame. 

Kobe Webster posted a team-high 18 points for his fourth straight game in double-figures while Johnson added a double-double on 13 points and 11 rebounds. Brandon Gilbeck nearly recorded a  triple-double with a career-high 19 rebounds and nine blocks with nine points. 
 
The Old Railsplitter Axe: The Leathernecks are aiming to take back the Ole Railsplitter Axe trophy after Eastern Illinois has won the last two meetings. 
 
Scouting the Panthers:Eastern Illinois (4-5) is coming off a 90-37 home victory over Division III, Fontbonne University on Tuesday (Dec. 4). The Panther bench did the heavy lifting with 21 points from sophomore guard Keshawn Charles and 14 more from junior forward JaQualis Matlock. 

Sophomore guard Josiah Wallace is the leading scorer averaging 14.8 points per game followed by Rade Kukobat with 11 points a contest and a team-high 5.7 rebounds per game. Freshman guard Ben Harvey (10.1) and Mack Smith (10.0) also has posted double figures scoring averages this season. Jay Spoonhour is in his seventh season and owns an 82-111 mark. Spoonhour's father, Charlie was longtime head basketball coach at Missouri State, Saint Louis and UNLV. 
 
Print Friendly Version

Related Videos

Now Playing:

Related Stories