Skip To Main Content

Upcoming Events and Recent Results

Western Illinois University Athletics

cb
84
Winner North Dakota St. NDSU 18-8,10-4 Summit League
81
Western Ill. WIU 14-11,5-8 Summit League
Winner
North Dakota St. NDSU
18-8,10-4 Summit League
84
Final
81
Western Ill. WIU
14-11,5-8 Summit League
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 OT 2 F
North Dakota St. NDSU 37 31 8 8 84
Western Ill. WIU 33 35 8 5 81

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

Leathernecks Falter in Double Overtime

Colton Sandage and Luka Barisic combined to score 50 points, team turns its focus to Saturday.

MACOMB, Ill. – The Western Illinois University Fighting Leatherneck men's basketball team played on Thursday (Feb. 10), falling 81-84 to the North Dakota State Bison in a game that took two extra periods to complete. The Leathernecks are now 14-11 on the season and 5-8 in league action.
 
"They made a couple tough twos over the top of us near the rim and we failed to get a few of ours to go in but that's just how it goes sometimes," head coach Rob Jeter said. "I think what I'm more pleased with is that we were down what, 16 or 18, and there was no life in us but we found a way to get back. A few more free throws could have gone down and maybe we could take the lead but that didn't stop us – we just kept going. That's what's more encouraging… the fact that we battled back and didn't give in."
 
Fueled by two Colton Sandage three-pointers, the Leathernecks opened this game on a 12-2 run, taking a double-digit lead into the first media timeout. NDSU responded with a 14-2 run of their own, and both teams would trade buckets as the first half wound to a close. When the buzzer sounded, WIU trailed by four, 33-37. The Bison exploded to start the second half, taking a commanding 49-33 lead with 17:07 remaining in the game. Despite the deficit, Western Illinois did not give up and clawed its way back into the matchup.
 
The Leathernecks would outscore NDSU 20-4 in the game's next eight minutes, holding the opposition to just 1-12 shooting and tying the game up with 8:04 to go. After North Dakota State took the lead on a Sam Griesel and-one, Colton Sandage would draw a foul and hit two shots at the line to even the game at 68 apiece with 20 seconds to go and sending the matchup into overtime. The teams traded buckets in the first overtime and were knotted up after one period of play, and entered the second extra period tied at 76 apiece. After taking an 81-78 lead with 2:36 to go in the second OT, Western Illinois would go scoreless and trail 81-84 at the final buzzer.
 
Colton Sandage led all scorers with 27 points, shooting 8-18 from the field, 6-12 from deep and 5-6 at the line while grabbing six rebounds. Luka Barisic continued his stretch of consistent shooting with 23 points on 6-11 from the field and 9-10 at the line, while Trenton Massner had an off shooting night but still finished with 15 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block. Will Carius scored 10 and Tamell Pearson grabbed seven rebounds – five of which were offensive. KJ Lee played a season-high 31 minutes, making his lone shot attempt and finishing the game with five rebounds and one steal, Cameron Burrell finished with five rebounds, one steal and two blocks in 19 minutes of action and George Dixon grabbed three rebounds.
 
"KJ did a nice job for a freshman playing against a guy like Griesel," Jeter said. "I thought he did a heck of a job and he's more than ready now. You try to figure out if he's ready or not and I think he's proven that he's ready to be out on the floor."
 
"I trust all these guys who are on the court with me. KJ was huge, that's huge as a freshman to step up and guard someone like Griesel, it was big time. George and CB as well, everyone just contributed tonight. We went small at one point, CB was even guarding Rocky Kreuser, so it was all about toughness and getting that stop."
 
As a team the Leathernecks went 19-25 (76%) from the foul line and hit 12 shots from deep, grabbing 45 total rebounds and dominating the offensive glass with 14 offensive rebounds. The Leathernecks scored seven second-chance points and 24 in the paint, while the defense forced 11 Bison turnovers and held the Bison to just 4-16 (25%) shooting from deep.
 
Western Illinois is back in action on Saturday (Feb. 12), taking on the North Dakota Fighting Hawks at Western Hall. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.


 
Print Friendly Version