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Western Illinois University Athletics

Tamell Pearson
Rachael Keating

Reach The Summit

Western Illinois begins its postseason in the 2021 Summit League Men’s Basketball Championship.

What | The Summit League Tournament 
Who | No. 7 Western Illinois (9-12, 5-9 Summit) vs. No. 2 South Dakota (13-10, 11-4 Summit) 
When | Saturday, March 6 (8:45 p.m. CT) 
Where | Sioux Falls, S.D. (Sanford Pentagon)  
TV | MidcoSN / ESPN+    
Twitter | @WIU_MensHoops #TRADITIONofTOUGH 
 
The Summit League Tournament | The 2021 Summit League Men's Basketball Championship takes place March 6-9 inside the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. 
 
No. 7 Western Illinois begins its tournament journey with a quarterfinal matchup against No. 2 South Dakota Saturday, March 6, at 8:45 p.m. The winner will take on the winner of No. 3 North Dakota State - No. 6 Kansas City on Monday, March 8, at 8:45 p.m.
 
The championship game is Tuesday, March 9, at 8 p.m. 
 
All men's quarterfinal and semifinal games will be televised by Midco Sports Network and streamed on the Midco Sports Plus and ESPN+ apps. The championship will be televised on ESPN2 and streamed on the ESPN app. 
 
Carius Doubles Down on Summit Accolades | Doubling down on postseason recognition, Will Carius was named All-Summit League Second Team and Summit League All-Newcomer for his performance during the 2020-2021 men's basketball season.
 
He currently leads Western in scoring with 14.9 points per game and a 16.4 average in league play. During the Leathernecks' five-game win streak, he steered the offense in four of the five contests, scoring 20-plus points in all four, including 27 versus Denver.  
 
In conference-only stats, Carius currently sits ninth in the Summit League in scoring (16.4 PPG), third in 3-point makes (35), sixth in made free throws (54), and eighth in minutes per game (33.1 MPG).
 
Tournament History | The Leathernecks missed the postseason a year ago but made waves in 2019 after upsetting the top-ranked South Dakota State, 79-76. The decision marked the first time in SL men's tournament history that a No. 8 seed defeated No. 1. Western went on to play North Dakota State in the semifinals where it fell, 76-73.  
 
Sandag3 for Thr33 | Though Western's five-game win streak came to an end, Colton Sandage put forth a historic night in the 85-81 loss to Oral Roberts. Not only did the junior guard set a new career-high in points (32), he also tied the Leathernecks' program record for the most three-pointers made (9).
 
Sandage led the Leathernecks offense in Tulsa, following the act with 18 points in game two. 
 
The Freshman | In a sea of upperclassmen, Ramean Hinton is the only freshman in the Leathernecks' starting lineup. He first received the nod in game two against South Dakota and is averaging 8.6 points and 5.3 rebounds since in nine consecutive starts. 
 
He recorded his first collegiate double-double on 18 points and a career-high 10 rebounds at Oral Roberts. 
 
On the Board | The Leathernecks lead the Summit League and rank 48th in the NCAA in offensive rebounds per game (11.90). Tamell Pearson is managing a team-best 2.7 boards per game, while Cameron Burrell and Will Carius add 2.1 and 1.8, respectively.
 

 
 
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