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Western Illinois University Athletics

Will
Rachael Keating
83
Winner Kansas City KC 13-9,6-4 Summit League
75
Western Ill. WIU 13-9,4-6 Summit League
Winner
Kansas City KC
13-9,6-4 Summit League
83
Final
75
Western Ill. WIU
13-9,4-6 Summit League
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Kansas City KC 48 35 83
Western Ill. WIU 31 44 75

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

Leathernecks Fall in Chippy Game

Both teams combined for 36 fouls, will face off again on Saturday (Feb. 5) in Kansas City.

MACOMB, ILL. – The Western Illinois University Fighting Leatherneck men's basketball team played on Monday (Jan. 31), suffering a 75-83 loss to the Roos of Kansas City. With the loss, Western moves to 13-9 on the season with eight games remaining until the Summit League tournament.
 
"Offensively we didn't click early and credit UMKC – they did a really good job of being physical with us to start the game and so everything was tough," associate head coach Chad Boudreau said. "Against a team like UMKC you have to slow down, make the right read and get the ball inside. In the second half we did that and were better offensively, but they were so physical with us and we just couldn't get it going early."
 
Kansas City controlled the first period of play, opening the game on a 6-0 run and playing physical defense. The Leathernecks shot below 40% from the field and from deep but made 10-11 at the line as Western trailed by double digits at half. Western cut into the lead and brought it down to single digits on multiple occasions during the second period of play. Luka Barisic scored six of eight points during an 8-2 run in the middle part of the half, utilizing his 6-10 frame to back his man down and score in the paint with an array of layups and hook shots. An and-one by Colton Sandage would cut the Roo lead down to just five points with 2:50 remaining, but UMKC responded and held on to win 83-75.
 
"We just have to take that second half, bottle it up, and use it when we play them again Saturday," Will Carius said. "They're just too good of a team defensively to get down like that."
 
Carius led the team in scoring with 18 points, shooting 5-11 from the field, 3-6 from deep and making all five of his shots at the line while grabbing four rebounds and dishing out four assists. Luka Barisic finished with 17-plus points for the third-straight game, pairing 17 points with five rebounds and making all four of his shots from the line. Colton Sandage scored 15 to go with four steals and two blocks, while Tamell Pearson had a solid 12-point, six rebound performance that included four offensive boards and two steals. Trenton Massner scored nine and finished with four rebounds and six assists, and Cameron Burrell was the leading scorer off WIU's bench with four points.
 
As a team, Western Illinois grabbed 29 rebounds (eight offensive), while scoring eight second-chance points and 32 in the paint. The defense created 14 turnovers, which translated into 16 points and included ten on fast breaks. The team drew 17 Kansas City fouls and made 18-19 from the line, and outscored the Roos by 11 points during the second period of play.
 
"Every game is big. You want momentum in February and you want to build momentum going into the conference tournament in a league like this," Boudreau said. "We can win both games this weekend…  The confidence isn't lost on that, but there's a lot of things we have to do."
 
Western is back in action on Thursday (Feb. 3), taking on the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles in Tulsa, Okla., with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m.
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