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Western Illinois University Athletics

w
68
North Dakota UND 6-21,2-12 Summit League
70
Winner Western Ill. WIU 15-11,6-8 Summit League
North Dakota UND
6-21,2-12 Summit League
68
Final
70
Western Ill. WIU
15-11,6-8 Summit League
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
North Dakota UND 35 33 68
Western Ill. WIU 36 34 70

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

Men's Basketball Earns Gutsy League Victory

Leathernecks make it 15 regular-season wins for the first time since 2012-13.

MACOMB, Ill. – The Western Illinois University Fighting Leatherneck men's basketball team played on Saturday (Feb. 12), defeating the Fighting Hawks of North Dakota 70-68 at Western Hall in Macomb, Ill. With the victory, Western Illinois earned its 15th win of the season, a feat that hasn't been accomplished since the 2012-13 season when Western finished 22-9 and were co-regular season Summit League Champions.
 
Western Illinois got out to a fast start in this one, scoring seven straight points off the opening tip and forcing a North Dakota timeout. The Fighting Hawks responded with a 10-0 run of their own before Luka Barisic hit a three-pointer and opened up his scoring account for the game. Both teams would trade buckets down the stretch of the first half, with KJ Lee shimmying his way through the lane to score two of his six first-half points as the Leathernecks were ahead 36-35 at the break.
 
Western Illinois' defense came to play in the first part of the second half, with the Fighting Hawks shooting just 3-9 in the first 6:30 of action during a Leatherneck run that was capped off with a breakaway slam by Trenton Massner. Both teams then got in a bit of foul trouble and got to the line and, while the Leathernecks were not able to capitalize at the rate they would have hoped, Western eventually used the foul line to its advantage.
 
With mere seconds remaining and the Leathernecks down 67-68, Colton Sandage showed fans that you don't have to be the biggest guy on the court to make an impact play down low, grabbing an offensive rebound off a missed lay-in and drawing a foul in the process. Sandage would step up to the line with six seconds remaining in the ballgame and swish both shots, giving Western a 69-68 lead. After Will Carius forced a North Dakota turnover on the ensuing inbounds play, Luka Barisic got the ball, was fouled, and hit one more shot at the line to cap off a 70-68 Western Illinois victory.

"(North Dakota) didn't have the size so we were able to take advantage of that," head coach Rob Jeter said. "We got more opportunities at the end because we kept going."
 
Barisic led all scorers with 21 points and grabbed a season-high 14 rebounds, making 4-8 from deep and seven shots from the foul line. Tamell Pearson had a solid outing, utilizing his 6-10 frame to score over the top of the Fighting Hawk defense to the tune of 14 points on 6-10 shooting. Will Carius scored 12 and finished with five rebounds and two steals, and Trenton Massner had a team-high three steals to go with 10 points, four rebounds and four assists. Colton Sandage finished with seven points and three rebounds, KJ Lee scored six points in his second-straight game with 20+ minutes of action and George Dixon added seven rebounds (three offensive).
 
"It was a tough game. It's hard to win a college game… Our game plan was to pass the ball inside and score on them, and that's what we ended up doing," Luka Barisic said. "It's always a great feeling when you get stops."
 
As a team the Leathernecks shot 42.1% from the field and dominated the glass, outrebounding North Dakota 49-32 (12-4 offensive). Western scored had nine second-chance points and 30 in the paint as the defense held UND to under 40% shooting from the field and just 33% from deep while generating nine Fighting Hawk turnovers.
 
"When you find yourself where we are… all we're focused on is being better tomorrow and the next day. If we do that, we know that we can compete with that next cluster of teams and that next cluster can put you in a final game to go to the NCAA tournament," Jeter said. "We were able to beat Oral Roberts and we had opportunities to beat some of those other teams. It's more about getting better in the next practice, next game so that we can be prepared for whatever opportunity we get."
 
The Leathernecks are back in action on Thursday (Feb. 17), facing the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State. Tip-off in Brookings, S.D., is scheduled for 7 p.m.
  
 
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