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Western Illinois University Athletics

Hughes
Sarah Twidwell
66
Oral Roberts ORU 10-20 (6-9)
75
Winner Western Illinois WIUMM 9-18 (4-10)
Oral Roberts ORU
10-20 (6-9)
66
Final
75
Western Illinois WIUMM
9-18 (4-10)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Oral Roberts ORU 25 41 66
Western Illinois WIUMM 37 38 75

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

Western Outlasts Oral Roberts on Senior Night

A balanced attack leads the Leathernecks to a 75-66 win to snap a five-game losing streak.

MACOMB Ill.- The Western Illinois (9-18, 4-10) men's basketball team controlled the game from the opening tip for a 75-66 senior night victory over Oral Roberts (10-20, 6-9) on Saturday night (Feb. 23). Otis Dortch, Brandon Gilbeck, Jordan Hughes and Ryan Maas were honored before the game.
 
"You always want to send your seniors out with a win," head coach Billy Wright said. "Even though we didn't come out on top Wednesday night in Omaha, we still did a lot of good things. Things like contributions off of the bench are starting to come together. We played tremendous on both ends of the floor."
 
The Leathernecks got off to a 12-0 start after a Kobe Webster drilled a 3-pointer from straight on with 12:18 to go in the first half. Oral Roberts did not score until the 10:47 mark and later cut the deficit to 27-23 with 3:20 left after an Aidan Saunders triple. Western closed the first half on a 10-2 run for a 37-25 halftime lead.
 
After the Golden Eagles trimmed the deficit to one possession, 42-39 with 12:56 to go, Isaac Johnson provided a spark off of the bench by hitting back-to-back mid-range jumpers. Hughes connected on back-to-back shots in the paint to help extend the advantage back to double-digits, 57-47 (8:31). The Purple and Gold contained Oral Roberts the rest of the way to snap a five-game losing streak.
 
Webster led a balanced attack with 13 points, six rebounds and five assists. Hughes and Johnson both delivered 10 points off the bench. C.J. Duff also scored 10 points while Zion Young added 12. Gilbeck nearly missed a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds. 20 team assists are one shy of the season-high and the Leathernecks has five scorers in double figures for the first time since Dec. 30, 2018, against Denver.
 
The Leathernecks play next at Denver Thursday, Feb. 28 to begin their final road swing of the season with an 8 p.m. (CT) tip-off.
 
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