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Western Illinois University Athletics

Webster
Sarah Twidwell
74
Winner North Dakota UND 9-13 (3-6)
73
Western Illinois WIUMM 8-14 (3-6)
Winner
North Dakota UND
9-13 (3-6)
74
Final
73
Western Illinois WIUMM
8-14 (3-6)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
North Dakota UND 32 42 74
Western Illinois WIUMM 30 43 73

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

Late Free Throws Sink Leathernecks in Heartbreaker

Kobe Webster hit a late 3-pointer to put Western Illinois ahead before a late foul led to a 74-73 loss to North Dakota.

MACOMB, Ill. – After Western Illinois (8-14, 3-6) battled back to take a late lead, a pair of free throws in the final seconds by Marlon Stewart clinched a 74-73 North Dakota (9-13, 3-6) win on Friday (Feb. 1).
 
"We didn't play well," head coach Billy Wright said. "When you don't play well, you don't deserve to win. Obviously, we fought hard and our guys are a good group of kids who want to win. It's a 40-minute game and we have to be better from beginning to end."
 
While the Leathernecks were the first to strike the scoreboard, a 10-0 Hawk run pushed the visitors to a lead that they sustained for the rest of the game. Western trailed 13-4 at the first media timeout (14:54), but came out of the break with two points from Brandon Gilbeck. The Leatherneck big man later assisted Jeremiah Usiosefe on a baseline 3-pointer as the team pulled within one, 13-12, with 13:03 on the clock.
 
C.J. Duff tied things at 21-all at the 8:03 mark, but Western was unable to regain the lead, entering halftime down 32-30 in a tightly-contested half.
 
North Dakota extended the margin to 54-44 halfway through the second half. Back-to-back layups by Ben Pyle cut the deficit to 59-58 with 6:27 remaining. The Fighting Hawks added to their lead again as they controlled the game, 71-64 entering the under 4-minute media timeout. A 6-0 Leatherneck run capped off by a Gilbeck bucket inside trimmed the UND lead to a single point again, 71-70 in the final minute.
 
Kobe Webster drained a right-wing triple to finally put Western back in front, 73-72 with only 16 seconds left in regulation. With 1.6 seconds left, Stewart was fouled behind the arc by Isaac Johnson, putting Stewart at the charity stripe with three attempts. The North Dakota senior made two of three to lift the Fighting Hawks to victory.
 
Gilbeck registered his 10th career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Duff led all scorers with 20 points while Webster and Zion Young each added 12 points. Johnson contributed nine rebounds and a steal. WIU was an efficient 14-for-16 from the free throw line.
 
The Leathernecks have a quick turnaround to host North Dakota State Saturday, Feb. 2 at 7 p.m.  
 
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