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Western Illinois University Athletics

WC
Rachael Keating
73
Winner Western Ill. WIU 11-6,2-3 Summit League
68
North Dakota UND 4-14,0-5 Summit League
Winner
Western Ill. WIU
11-6,2-3 Summit League
73
Final
68
North Dakota UND
4-14,0-5 Summit League
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Western Ill. WIU 35 38 73
North Dakota UND 25 43 68

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

Carius Scores 26 in Victory

Leathernecks snap four-game skid, win second Summit League game of the season.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The Western Illinois University Fighting Leatherneck men's basketball team was in action on Thursday (Jan. 13), defeating the Fighting Hawks of North Dakota 73-68 at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center in Grand Forks, N.D. With the victory, Western moves to 11-6 on the season and ends a four-game losing streak.
 
"I thought the guys did a great job, we've got a veteran group who can step up," associate head coach Chad Boudreau said. "We looked at this early on and liked the matchup with this team. It's just good to get that monkey off our back and get a win tonight so we can play with some more confidence moving forward."
 
The game's opening minutes saw both teams trade buckets, but the Leathernecks found their shooting stroke in the middle of the first half, as the Leathernecks went on a 13-0 run to turn a 10-9 game into a 23-9 advantage. The defense held North Dakota to 0-7 shooting during that 4:28 stretch of play while the offense shot 5-7. North Dakota would cut into the lead a bit, but Western Illinois held a 35-25 advantage when the halftime buzzer sounded.
 
Western held a steady lead into the first part of the second half, with the lead holding steady at 12 with just over 12 minutes remaining. The Fighting Hawks found a rhythm, however, and would go on a 13-3 run of their own to cut Westerns lead to just two points with 8:15 remaining. The Leathernecks quickly built their advantage back to nine points, but North Dakota responded once more and the Leatherneck lead was down to three points with 57 seconds remaining in the game.
 
With North Dakota on the hunt for a game-tying bucket, it was the Leatherneck defense who came up clutch in the game's final minute. Trenton Massner stole an inbounds pass and drew a foul with 22 seconds remaining, making one shot from the line and giving the Leathernecks a two-possession lead. Ten seconds later, George Dixon poked the ball away from his man for a Jadrian Flores steal, with Colton Sandage finishing an and-one off a Flores assist to give Western a seven-point lead with less than ten seconds remaining. The Fighting Hawks scored one more bucket and Western Illinois won 73-68.   
 
Will Carius led the Leatherneck offense with 26 points, making six shots from deep and two from the free-throw line. Colton Sandage scored an efficient 17 points, making 6-11 from the field, 2-4 from deep and 3-4 at the line, to go with five rebounds, while Trenton Massner finished a well-rounded performance with 11 points, seven rebounds, eight assists, three steals and two blocks. Luka Barisic scored 12 and grabbed six boards, and George Dixon had a dominant performance off the bench, scoring four points and grabbing 12 rebounds (seven offensive) in 23 minutes of action.
 
"(Will) was great. He said beforehand he loves playing here, and he does. North Dakota might want to just keep him here because he shoots the lights out at this place. Colton got back on track too, it was good to see him shoot the ball well and play well tonight," Boudreau said. "In the first half they killed us on the boards, but in the second half George Dixon took off and did a great job, and that's the kind of energy we need out of him and Cam Burrell off the bench with their rebounding and toughness. He was really good on the glass, everybody was, we were more active…  and we needed that kind of effort."
 
As a team Western Illinois grabbed 40 rebounds (14 offensive), scoring nine second-chance points and 36 in the paint. The team shot 27-66 from the field (40.9%) while making nine shots from deep and scoring 18 fast break points. Trenton Massner, Jadrian Flores and George Dixon all recorded three steals as the Leatherneck defense finished with 11, forcing 16 total Fighting Hawk turnovers.
 
The Leathernecks return to action on Saturday (Jan. 15) for a game with North Dakota State. Tip-off in Fargo is scheduled for 1 p.m.
 
 
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