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Western Illinois University Athletics

WC
69
Winner Western Ill. WIU 4-1,0-0 Summit League
67
Northern Ky. NKU 2-2,0-0 Horizon
Winner
Western Ill. WIU
4-1,0-0 Summit League
69
Final
67
Northern Ky. NKU
2-2,0-0 Horizon
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Western Ill. WIU 23 46 69
Northern Ky. NKU 37 30 67

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

Flores and Massner Make Clutch Buckets in Leatherneck Win

The Leathernecks move to 4-1 on the season, will play one more game on the current road trip.

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Western Illinois University Fighting Leathernecks men's basketball team played on Monday (Nov. 22), defeating the Northern Kentucky Norse 69-67 at BB&T Arena in Highland Heights, Ky. Western men's basketball is now 4-1 on the young season and 1-1 on the current road trip.
 
"Obviously I'm very pleased. I think the one thing that this team has shown is that we have fight in us. I was a little concerned after the DePaul game about how we ran out of gas late and I was hoping we had enough in the tank to finish this one and we did - we just made some winning plays," head coach Rob Jeter said. "The biggest thing was defensively we held them to 30 points in the second half and offensively we woke up. Coach Boudreau and Heikkinen handled offense, we got together and huddled up at halftime, some adjustments were made and they did one heck of a job."
 
After a rough first half that saw Western behind 23-37 and trail by as much as 19, the Leathernecks kicked it into gear in the second period of play. They attacked the Norse zone to the tune of 46 points, out-rebounding them 20-16. Despite the strong period of play that saw them recover from a 14-point halftime deficit, it still took two huge buckets for Western to win the game.
 
After NKU scored to put them up 65-64, Trenton Massner opened up space for himself with a nice step-back jumper and drilled a three-pointer to give the Leathernecks a two-point lead. It's the second time a Massner deep ball has set up an eventual game-winner, as he hit a three-pointer from nearly the same exact spot in Western's victory against Nebraska on Nov. 9.
 
"I was just trying to get us a good look. I was trying to attack the basket but I realized the guy was on his heels so I just stopped and stepped back instead," Massner said.
 
The Norse came down and scored to tie the game at 67, leaving 6.5 seconds for Western Illinois to either win the game or take it to overtime. After a Massner layup attempt was blocked, Jadrian Flores darted in from the corner to grab the offensive rebound and lay it in, giving Western a 69-67 lead with 0.3 seconds remaining.
 
"Trenton had beat his man going up the court and I saw the help coming and my man turned his head, so I just cut to the basket in case he wanted to pass it off but he had the good look," Flores said. "The big man came over and contested it but I was just in the right place at the right time."
 
The Norse were unable to score in the time remaining, and the Leathernecks won 69-67.
 
Graduate students Will Carius (17) and Luka Barisic (16) led the team in scoring, with Trenton Massner pouring in 13 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Colton Sandage chipped in eight points, four rebounds and five assists, and Tamell Pearson made two key buckets early in the second half that ignited a Western run. George Dixon played 25 minutes and provided seven total rebounds; four offensive and three defensive.
 
As a team, Western Illinois made 12 three-pointers and dished out a season-high 16 assists. They won the battle on the boards 38-36 and scored 13 second-chance points. The defensive effort generated 22 Norse turnovers with six players recording at least one steal.
 
Monday's game was the second time this season that Western has won on a last-second shot, as the team defeated Nebraska with a Luka Barisic three-pointer with just over six seconds remaining in the game.
 
"It's what we play for really, we don't want to play games if we're blowing people out all the time. It's real fun having the stressful environment and sending people home mad," Flores said. "It's a great feeling being able to go out there with your teammates and battle and show that you can fight through adversity."
 
The Leathernecks will play one final game on this road trip, facing the Eastern Michigan Eagles on Wednesday (Nov. 24). Tip-off in Ypsilanti is scheduled for 3 p.m. EST and the game will be televised on ESPN+.
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