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Kellyn Whitlow

Men's Basketball Begins Road Stretch on Tulsa Time

| By: WIU Athletic Communications

Western Illinois starts three-game road trip at Oral Roberts on Saturday, Jan. 5 at 7 p.m.

Western Illinois (6-9,1-1) at Oral Roberts (5-11, 1-0)                                    
Date/Tipoff: Jan. 5, 2018 | 7 p.m.
Location: Tulsa, Okla.
Site: Mabee Center
Radio: Danny Frey (WRMS 94.3 & WJEQ 102.7)

Last Time Out: The Western Illinois (6-9, 1-1) men's basketball team surged past Denver (5-11, 0-2), 78-60 for its first Summit League win of the season on Sunday (Dec. 30).
 
It was a contentious first half inside Western Hall with neither team able to able to securely gain the upper hand. There were six ties and five lead changes in the period, with the Leathernecks up by as many as eight points, 16-8, with 11:58 on the clock.
 
With the assistance of a 12-2 run, the Pioneers tied the game at 18-all (8:37) before a layup by David Nzekwesi provided the visitors with the lead. The advantage was short-lived as Kobe Webster drilled back-to-back jump shots on the opposite end of the floor and Western entered the break ahead, 36-31.
 
At halftime, Western had a pair of double-digit scorers in Webster (11) and Ben Pyle (10) guiding the side to a 48.3 percent shooting effort.
 
Denver tied things at 42-all in the second half but the basket was quickly countered by a connection between Ben Pyle and Jordan Hughes. Coming off the bench, Hughes made a wide-open layup with 13:52 left that propelled the Leathernecks on a 9-0 run and 51-42 lead.
 
The Western Illinois advantage grew to as large as 21 points (74-53) on a jumper in the paint by Isaac Johnson with 2:53 left in regulation.
 
Webster led the way with a game-high 22 points with four assists while Pyle finished with 15 points. C.J. Duff added 11 with three assists and Johnson totaled 10 points. Hughes recorded his first career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. As a team, Western Illinois shot 50 percent for the field while going 13-for-17 at the charity stripe.
 
Series History against Oral Roberts: The Golden Eagles lead the all-time series 31-9, but the Leathernecks have won three of the last four meetings including the last matchup in Macomb on Feb. 3, 82-56. Oral Roberts won last season's game at the Mabee Center on Jan. 6 by a score of 81-66.  
 
Scouting the Golden Eagles: Oral Roberts (6-11) is off to a hot start in Summit League play with an 87-84 win over Omaha (Dec.30) and an 83-72 victory at home against North Dakota (Jan. 3). In the double-digit victory over the Fighting Hawks, Emmanuel Nzekewsi poured in a career-high 34 points followed by fellow forward Kevin Obanor dropping a personal best 23 points.

Nzekwesi is the older brother of Denver Pioneers forward, David Nzekwezi and is currently averaging team leading marks with at 16.3 points per night along with 7.8 rebounds per game. Through 12 games, Obanor is now averaging 11.6 points a contest while Kaelen Malone paces the squad with 70 assists. Paul Mills is 17-32 in his second season as the head coach in Tulsa. Mills was on the Baylor men's basketball staff from 2003 to 2017 including in an assistant role starting in 2009. He currently owns a 7-9 Summit League mark.   
 
Rejected: Brandon Gilbeck leads the nation in total blocked shots (56) and is second in blocks per game (3.73) as of Thursday, Jan.3. 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. 
 
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 seven 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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