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Western Illinois University Athletics

Tamell Pearson
67
Miami (OH) Miami 5-1,0-0 MAC
79
Winner Western Ill. WIU 5-2,0-0 Summit League
Miami (OH) Miami
5-1,0-0 MAC
67
Final
79
Western Ill. WIU
5-2,0-0 Summit League
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Miami (OH) Miami 28 39 67
Western Ill. WIU 36 43 79

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

Carius Scores 22 in Victory

Leathernecks move to 5-2 on the young season.

MACOMB, ILL. – The Western Illinois University Fighting Leatherneck men's basketball team was in action on Saturday (Nov. 27), defeating the Miami RedHawks 79-67 at Western Hall. The Leathernecks now have five wins on the season with two games remaining in the current homestand.
 
"This game was so important to bounce back in a positive way, start a homestand and see what we can do, so I'm happy with where we are right now," head coach Rob Jeter said. "It was big playing a team that's 5-0, and they've beaten a high major school. They were confident, they were tough, and I just wanted to make sure we could respond which we did… the response was exactly what we needed and it's going to give us confidence."
 
The first half was characterized by runs from both squads, with the Leatherneck offense going on three large runs throughout the first half. They used an 11-0 run from 8:49-4:19 to turn a 15-19 deficit into a 26-19 lead, and followed that up by outscoring the opposition 8-0 from 2:20 – 0:03 to build a 36-25 lead. Miami would hit a buzzer-beater, and the Leatherneck lead was 36-28 at the half.
 
Some hot shooting from Will Carius sparked the Leatherneck offense in the second period, going on yet another run, this time 17-5, to take their advantage from a five-point lead to as large as 18 points. Carius scored 11 of those 17 points, including three made shots from deep. Western managed the lead for the remainder of the game and won 79-67.
 
"It was very important to finish this game. It's nice to have one where we win by double digits, I think it shows a lot of discipline and a lot of toughness, just gritting down and trying to end this one," Carius said. "That was something we struggled with the last couple of games, we tend to let people hang around and can't break that five-point, ten-point lead. Today we did a great job of staying down, staying disciplined and making it happen."
 
Carius finished the game with 22 points on 5-10 shooting from deep and 5-6 from the line, adding six rebounds. Trenton Massner was the team's leading rebounder with seven along with 17 points, two assists and a block, and Colton Sandage pitched in 13 points, six rebounds and five assists. Luka Barisic scored 13 in 30 minutes of action to go with two blocks and Tamell Pearson grabbed six rebounds to go with six points. The bench trio of George Dixon, Jadrian Flores and Braden Lamar combined for eight points, nine rebounds and an assist on 6-6 shooting from the free-throw line.

As a team Western shot 18-21 from the free-throw line (86%), and won the battle for the boards 44-31 while scoring 19 second-chance points. The offense was on fire from deep, with the Leathernecks making 15 of their 28 attempts from behind the arc and shooting 23-54 from the field. The defense forced 13 RedHawk turnovers, while the offense only committed six. Western held the lead for 29:54 of the game's 40 minutes.

"I think this game was proof of where we're at – we're finally coming into our own, playing like we need to," Carius said. "We're just putting the pieces together and it's still early, we're getting wins and we're still figuring it out so I'm really excited for the future."
 
Leatherneck men's basketball will be back in action on Wednesday (Dec. 1) for a matchup with Ball State. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Western Hall and tickets can be purchased at Leathernecktickets.com.
 
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