Skip To Main Content

Upcoming Events and Recent Results

Western Illinois University Athletics

Tamell Pearson
68
Winner North Dakota St. NDSU 3-6,1-0 Summit League
50
Western Ill. WIU 2-6,0-1 Summit League
Winner
North Dakota St. NDSU
3-6,1-0 Summit League
68
Final
50
Western Ill. WIU
2-6,0-1 Summit League
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
North Dakota St. NDSU 39 29 68
Western Ill. WIU 23 27 50

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Leathernecks Fall in Summit Opener

The reigning Summit League tournament champions took game one of the two-game set.

MACOMB, Ill. - The Western Illinois men's basketball team opened Summit League play with the reigning tournament champions North Dakota State Saturday night and dropped the decision, 68-50. 

"We got out of rhythm early, and they grind you," said associate head coach Chad Boudreau. "North Dakota State just does a really nice job of wearing you down. We made a push in the second half and got back in it, but we just didn't execute there … It's a tough matchup when you get behind a well-coached, grinding North Dakota State team." 

 Shots just didn't fall for Western in the first half, and the Bison made twice as many field goals to enter into halftime with a 39-23 advantage. 

While the Leathernecks saw several in-and-outs and around-the-rims, NDSU shot 48.1 percent from the floor. 

Shooting at start of the second half could best be described as frigid for both teams, as they each made one field goal, in a combined 2-for-10 effort, through the first five minutes of play (15:30). Western began to find its spark not long after the media timeout, catalyzed by an Anthony Jones jumper, and suddenly with 13:35 to go, there was a 10-point game at 43-33. 

Ramean Hinton cut the deficit to nine near the midpoint of the period, but inconsistencies led to the Bison pulling away. 

"For three or four possessions in a row, we took a couple of 15-footers, and we try to stay away from tough twos. Then there were turnovers or we didn't get matched up defensively on the other end. We took a chance where it was a nine-point game, but that turned into 16, and 16 points against NDSU is tough. They take care of the ball and [head coach] David Richman does a good job. They'll grind you when you get down.
 
"We're just trying to find our identity. It would have been nice to get a win and find a rhythm to get some positivity going in the win-loss column, but that didn't happen tonight, so we come back tomorrow and do it again."  

Rod Johnson Jr. guided Western's scoring and rebounding efforts with 16 and nine, respectively, and both Tammeal Pearson and Anthony Jones finished with nine points apiece. One positive sighting for the Leathernecks was the return of transfer Adam Anhold, who checked in for the first time this season. In five minutes, the junior forward recorded a rebound and a steal. 

WIU and North Dakota State return to Western Hall Sunday at 3:30 p.m. 
Print Friendly Version