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Western Illinois University Athletics

Young
Sarah Twidwell
46
Western Ill. WIU 9-19
74
Winner Denver Denver 8-21
Western Ill. WIU
9-19
46
Final
74
Denver Denver
8-21
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Western Ill. WIU 20 26 46
Denver Denver 34 40 74

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

Leathernecks Fall at Denver

Zion Young scored a career-high 21 points in a 74-46 loss to the Pioneers.

DENVER, Colo.- The Western Illinois (9-19, 4-11) men's basketball team scored its fewest amount of points all season in a 74-46 loss at Denver (8-21, 3-12) on Thursday night (Feb. 28).  
 
"There were some breakdowns defensively that do not show up in stats," head coach Billy Wright said. "We had a great postgame discussion about solution driven behavior and the kids understand what needs to be done. You can never relax in the Summit League no matter what the circumstances are."
 
The Pioneers got off to an 8-0 start in the first two minutes after a 3-pointer by David Nzekwezi. Western ended the first half on a 7-0 run capped off by a wing triple from Jeremiah Usiosefe as Denver led 34-20 at halftime.  
 
Five minutes into the second half, Young connected on a trey to help the Leathernecks go on a 10-0 run and cut the deficit to just 34-30. From there, the Pioneers went on a convincing 22-2 run over a six-minute stretch to take a 56-32 advantage at the 9:34 mark. Denver cruised as Western Illinois finished 17-for-56 (30.4 percent) from the field.
 
Young poured in a career-high 21 points while pulling down four rebounds. Brandon Gilbeck swatted one shot to become the fourth player in Summit League history to block at least 100 shots in a single season. Kobe Webster did not score in double figures for just the second time this season with four points and a team-high seven rebounds.
 
Western Illinois qualifies for the 2019 Summit League Tournament with a road win against South Dakota State on Saturday, March 2 at 4:15 p.m. or if Denver loses to Omaha on Saturday.
 
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