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Sarah Twidwell

Men's Basketball Begins Back Half of Summit League Play at Home

| By: WIU Athletic Communications

North Dakota (Feb. 1) and North Dakota State (Feb. 2) come to town for a pair of primetime matchups.

North Dakota (8-13, 2-6) at Western Illinois (8-13, 3-5)                                    
Date/Tipoff: Feb. 1, 2019 | 4:30 p.m.
Location: Macomb, Ill.
Site: Western Hall
Radio: Danny Frey (WRMS 94.3 & WJEQ 102.7)
TV: ESPN3
 

Last Time Out: A 16-0 run in the second half propelled the Western Illinois (8-13, 3-5) men's basketball team to a 65-59 comeback victory at South Dakota (9-12, 3-5) on Thursday afternoon (Jan. 26). The Leathernecks have won back-to-back games and picked up their first Summit League road win since Feb. 8, 2017, at Oral Roberts.
 
Both teams traded blows in the first half until Ben Pyle drained a corner triple for a 17-11 Leatherneck advantage with 9:53 on the clock. South Dakota went on a 10-2 run to snag a 21-19 lead after a Brandon Armstrong mid-range jumper with 6:18 to go. The Coyotes led 31-26 at the halftime break.
 
South Dakota extended the margin quickly to 38-26 within the first two minutes of the second half. Western Illinois got to work trailing 50-39 halfway into the second period and embarked on a 16-0 run from the 9:35 mark to the 4:47 mark. Isaac Johnson capped the run by burying a wing trifecta to put the Leathernecks in front, 55-50.
 
The contest was tied at 56 apiece until Kobe Webster drove inside for a layup to break the deadlock with 1:44 left in regulation. Webster created separation on a step-back 3-pointer with only 50 seconds left ticking for a 61-56 lead and Western held on for the come-from-behind victory.
 
Pyle collected his second career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Webster added 13 points with 13 points with three assists while C.J. Duff contributed 11 points. Brandon Gilbeck scored 10 points with six rebounds and swatted three shots for a nation's best 80 blocks on the season.
 
Series History against North Dakota: The all-time series is tied 3-3 and the two teams after North Dakota won the last meeting since 2011 back on Jan. 12 in Grand Forks. WIU forced late turnovers to hang around followed by a Kobe Webster triple and a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to one possession, trailing 68-65 with 41 seconds still ticking. The Fighting Hawks sealed the game on a corner trey with 13.5 seconds left by Cortez Seales for a 71-65 victory.
 
Scouting the Fighting Hawks: North Dakota also played South Dakota last but fell at home to the Coyotes, 70-56 on Wednesday (Jan. 23). Conner Avants was a late scratch from the lineup, so Marlon Stewart picked up the slack with 22 points and seven rebounds while going a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line. Filip Rebraca cracked the starting five and ripped down a team-high 11 boards.

After missing the start of the season, Stewart has played 10 games and is seeing consistent playing time with 12.9 points per game. Seales has a team-best 61 assists and averages 12.4 points a night. Aanen Moody has a 38.6 percent 3-point shooting clip and a 9.6 points per game average all off of the bench. Brian Jones is in his 13th season as the head coach at North Dakota with a current record of 186-212. Jones is a native of Rock Island, Illinois and began his coaching career as an assistant at Alleman High School. The Fighting Hawks finished 12-20 during the 2017-18 campaign in their last season as a member of the Big Sky Conference.
 
 
North Dakota State (10-12, 4-4) at Western Illinois (8-13, 3-5)                                    
Date/Tipoff: Feb. 2, 2019 | 7 p.m.
Location: Macomb, Ill.
Site: Western Hall
Radio: Danny Frey (WRMS 94.3 & WJEQ 102.7)
TV: ESPN3
 
Series History against North Dakota State: The Bison lead the all-time series 17-8 and NDSU won ten straight against the Leathernecks until their last meeting on Feb. 22, 2018, when Western prevailed 82-74 behind a career-high 29 points from Isaac Johnson inside Western Hall. The last matchup went to the Bison at the Scheels Center by a final score of 85-69 on Thursday, Jan. 10.
Nearly five minutes into the second half, North Dakota State extended its lead to 20 points on a fast break layup by Tyson Ward. The Bison shot 51.5 percent from the field with a balanced attack to keep the margin in double figures.
 
Webster led the way for the Leathernecks with 17 points and two steals while Isaac Johnson delivered 15 points in a starting role. Brandon Gilbeck scored eight points in addition to 12 rebounds and five blocks.
 
Scouting the Bison: North Dakota State is coming off a 67-57 win at Oral Roberts on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 26). Vinnie Shahid connected on six 3-pointers on his way to a game-high 23 points and also swiped three steals. Ward and Rocky Kreuser both scored 11 points while grabbing six rebounds apiece.

Ward leads the Bison in points per game (11.8), rebounds per game (6.3) and assists per game (2.6). Deng Ghu is making his case for Summit League Sixth Man of the Year averaging 11.5 points per game and hauling in 5.3 rebounds a contest. Shahid (11.1) and Kreuser (10.2) round out the balanced attack of double figures scorers. David Richman is 84-61 in his fifth season as the head coach at his alma mater.  
 
Pack It Purple: Fans are encouraged to wear their purple Leatherneck gear to pack Western Hall purple on Thursday, Jan. 31 against North Dakota.
 
Summit League Food Fight: The Summit League Food Fight returns to Western Hall on Friday, Feb. 1 and Saturday, Feb. 2, so remember to bring your canned goods.
 
Sending It Back: Brandon Gilbeck leads the nation in total blocked shots (80) and is second in blocks per game (3.94) as of Tuesday, Jan. 29. 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. 
 
Lights Out: C.J. Duff scored 30 points on Jan. 19 against Purdue Fort Wayne marking the first time a Leatherneck scored 30 or more since Dalan Ancrum dropped 34 at SIUE on Nov. 22, 2017. Duff drilled eight three-pointers and he was the last Western Illinois player to make seven or more from behind the arc when he connected on seven trifectas at Purdue Fort Wayne as a freshman (Dec. 29, 2017). 
 
The eight 3-pointers fell just one shy of tying Western's single-game record set by Quentin Mitchell against Eastern Illinois during the 1988-89 season
 
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.
 
20-Something: Kobe Webster has eclipsed the 20-point scoring plateau eight times this season. The sophomore guard has also scored in double figures during every game this year except on Nov. 24 at Nebraska when he was limited to three points.
 
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