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Western Illinois vs. Rockford
WIU Athletics
56
Rockford Rock 0-0,0-0 NACC
113
Winner Western Ill. WIU 2-0,0-0 Summit League
Rockford Rock
0-0,0-0 NACC
56
Final
113
Western Ill. WIU
2-0,0-0 Summit League
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Rockford Rock 28 28 56
Western Ill. WIU 55 58 113

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

Leathernecks race past Rockford

WIU men open home slate with win

MACOMB -- The 2022-23 regular season home debut for the Western Illinois men's basketball team was a successful one in more ways than one.

Every Leatherneck played, every Leatherneck scored – and most importantly – Western Illinois improved to 2-0 this season, topping Rockford University 113-56. The 113 points were the most for the program since November of 2019 when WIU topped Central Christian College of the Bible, 113-62.
 
"We're trying to work through combinations, we're trying to get healthy, we're trying to get guys feeling good and it was good to see that, especially that first group," Western Illinois coach Rob Jeter said. "When Trenton (Massner) started going, it was like 'Ok, he had the assists, but too many turnovers,' but then he settled in and it was mission accomplished.
 
"It was good to see Alec (Rosner) keep going, everything seemed to carry over from what we did Monday and then it was about getting those guys who didn't play very many minutes Monday going, that was critical, that's why tonight was a good night."

Western Illinois was hot early, scoring the game's first 13 points. Jesiah West had the hot hand early, scoring eight of those points.
 
"That's really his first game, he really only played about 10 minutes in that first one but it was good to see some of the things we're working on and for him to get comfortable, work in the post area, work outside the arc, it was good to see some of these guys get rewarded for some of the work they put in," Jeter said.
 
Trenton Massner led the way again, scoring a team-high 19 points in 20 minutes. Massner caught fire in the second half, hitting three straight threes to deliver the knockout blow. The senior followed his triple double from Monday night at Illinois State with 19 points, eight assists and four rebounds on Wednesday.
 
"It's good to see smiles one everyone's faces, that's what this is about, it was good to see him smiling, early he was a little disappointed because he's a competitor, but a triple-double the first game, follow that up by being close to that again," Jeter said. "He's sharing the basketball and having fun."
 
All 11 Leathernecks who played had plenty of fun on Wednesday, as everyone scored at least six points. Massner led the way with 19, Quinlan Bennett, Jesiah West and Alec Rosner all scored 12, KJ Lee added 11, JJ Kalakon chipped in with 10, Steph Gabriel added nine, Elijah Farr had eight, Cody Collinsworth and Matthew Wade each had seven and Vuk Stevanik finished with six.
 
For the game, Western Illinois went 42-67 from the field (62.7 percent), 15-29 from three (51.7 percent) and 14-21 (66.7 percent) from the line. The Leathernecks outrebounded Rockford 53-33 and forced 19 Regent turnovers.
 
Things toughen up for the Leathernecks though as they hit the road for a pair of games. Western Illinois is at DePaul on Friday night, then visit the Sunshine State to take on Central Florida on Monday.
 
"We have back-to-back high-major teams on the road, that's something that's going to test us, something we need," Jeter said. "But to be 2-0 to start the year, you could not ask for anything better than that. We overcame adversity in the first game we did too in a different way (Wednesday). We played hard and played smart."
 
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