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Western Illinois University Athletics

Melly ORU
87
Winner Oral Roberts ORU 11-6,5-1 Summit League
86
Western Ill. WIU 10-6,1-3 Summit League
Winner
Oral Roberts ORU
11-6,5-1 Summit League
87
Final
86
Western Ill. WIU
10-6,1-3 Summit League
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Oral Roberts ORU 45 42 87
Western Ill. WIU 44 42 86

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

Leathernecks Drop Close Game to ORU

Colton Sandage crossed 1,000 points scored in his collegiate basketball career as the Leathernecks move to 10-6 on the season.

MACOMB, ILL. – The Western Illinois University Fighting Leatherneck men's basketball team played on Saturday (Jan. 8), coming up short in an 87-86 loss to the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles. WIU moves to 10-6 on the season and 1-3 in Summit League action.
 
"We wanted to win badly, knowing who those guys are. Oral Roberts has a reputation after winning two games in the NCAA Tournament last year - they're a great team," forward Tamell Pearson said. "We started off great but to lose like that or in any game, no matter what part of the season you're in, you start thinking about what could have been done to close it out."
 
Western came out firing off the opening tip-off, with Trenton Massner forcing a steal on the game's opening possession and the Leathernecks hitting early and often. The team would go on a 19-4 run midway through the first half, building a commanding 25-10 lead. At the 12:28 mark, Colton Sandage made two free throws and officially surpassed 1,000 career points as a collegiate basketball player, making him the second Leatherneck this season to surpass 1,000 career points.
 
Oral Roberts' offense would respond, however, and the Golden Eagles led by one point at the break. Three Leathernecks (Pearson, Carius, Barisic) scored in double figures in the game's opening, as Western Illinois led the game in rebounds 22-20 and free-throw shooting (11 makes to Oral Roberts' seven), holding a lead for 17:40 of the first 20 minutes of action.

The Golden Eagles came out firing in the second half, using an 8-0 run early in the period to take control of the game. Western Illinois, however, was not going to give up easily.
 
After being down by as much as nine, the Leathernecks utilized a 16-6 run down the stretch of this game to turn a 70-76 deficit into an 83-82 lead with 2:17 remaining in the second period. ORU would respond, building their lead to four points with just over one minute left in the game. A Tamell Pearson free-throw and Colton Sandage layup with 36 seconds remaining would bring the Golden Eagle lead to a single point, and Western's defense responded with a stop to give the team a chance. Pearson grabbed a defensive rebound and went coast-to-coast, finding an open Luka Barisic who's 12-footer was just off as time expired as Oral Roberts clung to an 87-86 advantage for the victory.
 
 "We needed a shot and got a 12-footer from Luka, who makes those… we could have done a bunch of different things but at the end of the day we just wanted to get a good look," head coach Rob Jeter said. "We can second guess calling a timeout or not calling a timeout, but the look we got was good. I was thinking about calling one but when Luka got the ball where he did, I thought 'hey, it could go in' so I went with it."

Pearson scored a season-high 21 points on 5-8 from the field and 11-12 from the free-throw line, grabbing 11 rebounds and drawing six fouls. Barisic scored 19 and grabbed eight rebounds, making 7-8 from the line. Days after being named Summit League Male Athlete of the Month, Trenton Massner scored 16 points and dished out six assists while finishing the game with two steals and a block, and Will Carius scored 15 points on 5-9 shooting from beyond the arc. Colton Sandage had a well-rounded performance with 11 points, eight rebounds and four assists, making each of his four attempts at the line.
 
"Tamell played hard, got to the free-throw line a lot, and those are the types of things that we need every night from all of our guys," Jeter said. "I've got nothing but good things to say about how he attacked the rim and made some good plays there to finish with a double-double."
 
As a team, Western Illinois shot 26-64 from the field (40.6%), making nine shots from deep and hitting 25-30 at the line (83.3%). WIU won the glass battle, outrebounding the opposition 43-25 (12-5 offensive) and translated that into 16 second-chance points. Defensively, the Leathernecks forced seven ORU turnovers and held Max Abmas to just 3-10 from deep, with three players recording at least one steal. There were seven total lead changes in the game.
 
Western Illinois will be in action once more on Thursday (Jan. 13), heading on the road to face the University of North Dakota. Tip-off at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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