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Western Illinois University Athletics

Duff
Sarah Twidwell
58
Purdue Fort Wayne PFW 12-9 (4-2)
87
Winner Western Illinois WIUMM 7-13 (2-5)
Purdue Fort Wayne PFW
12-9 (4-2)
58
Final
87
Western Illinois WIUMM
7-13 (2-5)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Purdue Fort Wayne PFW 27 31 58
Western Illinois WIUMM 44 43 87

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

Duff Lights Up Mastodons from Downtown in Blowout Win

The Leathernecks pummeled Purdue Fort Wayne, 87-58

MACOMB, Ill. – Led by a 3-point onslaught from C.J. Duff, the Western Illinois men's basketball team (7-13, 2-5) dominated Purdue Fort Wayne (12-9, 4-2) 87-58 on Saturday (Jan. 19).
 
"We definitely got out to a hot start," head coach Billy Wright said. "Give our kids all the credit in terms of bouncing back. You don't have to back yourself in a corner before you come out swinging. I challenged our players to be mature on both ends of the floor and play the right way."
 
Duff was perfect in the first half from behind the arc to pour in nearly half of his team's points at the 12-minute mark. The Leathernecks led Purdue Fort Wayne, 25-8, after a Duff corner triple, and limited the Mastodon's to single-digits until 11:18 to go before the half.  
 
The 'Dons embarked on a 9-0 run to pull the score to 25-17 less than two minutes later, but Duff put an end to the stretch with another 3-pointer. He tagged in Kobe Webster to assist from deep, and his teammate went back-to-back, right baseline to left baseline, to push Western's edge to 36-19 (5:23).
 
Up until the 3:52 mark, all of Duff's field goals came from 3-point territory and he didn't miss, shooting 5-for-5. The Leathernecks had 10 made treys before halftime and 15 total – Webster chipped in with four – as they led, 44-27.
 
After a contested layup by Ben Pyle, Western crept out to a 58-35 advantage (14:34), and hovered around a 20-point edge until Duff hit back-to-back treys with 6:26 left.
 
The basket lifted the Leathernecks 79-52 to put the game away for good.
 
Duff finished the game with eight 3-pointers, just one shy of tying Western's single-game record set by Quentin Mitchell against Eastern Illinois during the 1988-89 season. His 30 points set a new career-high while also leading the team.
 
Webster added 16 points with seven assists while Brandon GIlbeck contributed 10 with five rebounds. Pyle dished nine assists, the most assists by a Western Illinois player since Jabari Sandifer had 13 against Greenville (11/29/14).
 
The Leathernecks head back on the road Saturday, Jan. 26 at South Dakota with a 3:30 p.m. tip-off.  
 
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