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Monday Madness Basketball Event 700.4900
Rachael Keating

Leathernecks open year at UTSA, SMU

| By: WIU ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

Western Illinois tips off the season on Monday night

MACOMB – The Western Illinois men's basketball team tips off the season on Monday, taking on Texas-San Antonio at the Convocation Center at 8 p.m. in San Antonio. This is the first-ever meeting between the two programs. The Leathernecks do not face a long layoff between games, heading north to take on Southern Methodist on Wednesday in Dallas. It is also the first meeting between the Leathernecks and Mustangs.
 
WHO | Western Illinois (0-0) vs. Texas-San Antonio (0-0); Western Illinois (0-0) vs. Southern Methodist (0-0)
 
WHEN | Monday, November 6, 2023 7 p.m.; Wednesday, November 8, 6 p.m.
 
WHERE | Monday: Convocation Center, San Antonio; Wednesday: Moody Coliseum, Dallas, Texas.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA | Twitter; Facebook; Instagram
 
FOLLOW ALONG | UTSA STREAM; UTSA LIVE STATS; SMU STREAM; SMU LIVE STATS
 
ABOUT THE LEATHERNECKS | Western Illinois is coming off a 16-14 year, the program's first over .500 finish since the 2012-13 campaign. Back are returning starters Jesiah West and Quinlan Bennett. Sixth man KJ Lee and key reserve JJ Kalakon also return to the fold.
 
Newcomers: James Dent Jr., Drew Cisse, Joe Petrakis and Ryan Myers highlight the list of newcomers for the program. WIU reloaded the roster with eight transfers.
 
Chad Boudreau takes over as Leatherneck head coach, being promoted from Associate Head Coach last spring. Boudreau was the lead WIU assistant the past three seasons. He previously was the head coach at Highland College in Freeport, Illinois.
 
ABOUT THE ROADRUNNERS | UTSA went 10-22 last year. The team was projected to finish 14th in the AAC this season.  In their two exhibitions, UTSA was victorious, defeating Trinity 100-70 and McMurry 125-84. Against Trinity, Calton Lindguard Jr. led the way with 20 points.  Trey Edmonds finished with 14 while PJ Carter scored 13 off the bench.
 
Entering the eighth year under head coach Steve Henson, UTSA's roster will feature a completely new look this season, as the Roadrunners bring 12 new players to the floor, complementing two returners from last season – junior guard Christian Tucker and sophomore forward Massal Diouf – and another player returning to San Antonio after a season at Pacific – junior guard Jordan Ivy-Curry. Diouf heads into the season as UTSA's lone returning starter from a year ago, taking the floor in 27 games last year with 21 starts. Tucker saw 30 games with six stats and Ivy-Curry started 19-of-21 appearances in 2021-22 with a team second-best 13.9 points per outing.
 
 
ABOUT THE MUSTANGS |  SMU opens the season Monday night, taking on Southwest Assemblies of God. The Mustangs were predicted to finish seventh in the AAC preseason poll. Zhuric Phelps was named Second Team Preseason All Conference. Last season, Phelps averaged 17.5 points (6th AAC), 3.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists (11th AAC), and 2.3 steals (1st AAC, 16th NCAA). He scored at least 19 points in 17 games, had 5 or more assists 8 times and had 17 games with multiple steals. SMU went 10-22 last season.
 
 
WHAT'S NEXT | Western Illinois remains on the road and take on Southern Methodist on Wednesday night. The Leathernecks are at home on November 12, taking on St. Ambrose at 3:30 p.m. The game follows the WIU women's matchup against Northern Illinois.
 
 
 
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