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Western Illinois University Athletics

Men's Basketball vs University of South Dakota 700.4922
Sathya Sai Chilukuri
65
Winner Western Ill. WIU 7-6,0-0 OVC
54
Central Ark. UCA 3-10,0-0 ASUN
Winner
Western Ill. WIU
7-6,0-0 OVC
65
Final
54
Central Ark. UCA
3-10,0-0 ASUN
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Western Ill. WIU 33 32 65
Central Ark. UCA 19 35 54

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | WIU ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

Leathernecks Control Central Arkansas in Nonconference Finale

Balanced attack sends WIU into break on four-game win streak

CONWAY, Ark. – The Western Illinois men's basketball team ended nonconference play emphatically on Wednesday afternoon, traveling to Central Arkansas to pick up a 65-54 win.

The win is the fourth straight for the Leathernecks, fifth in the last six, and improves the squad to 7-6 overall ahead of the start of Ohio Valley Conference play on December 31 at SIUE.

Western Illinois never trailed, taking an early lead and keeping Central Arkansas at bay.

Drew Cisse continued his dominance in the post, finishing with 14 points, 17 rebounds, and a block. Ryan Myers was hot in the first half, helping WIU dart ahead, scoring all 10 of his points in the opening 20 minutes.

James Dent Jr. led the way, scoring a team-high 17 points, all off the bench. Dent added six rebounds and four steals, doing a little bit of everything for the Leathernecks.

Quinlan Bennett added eight points, four rebounds, three steals, and three assists, while Jesiah West added eight points. JJ Kalakon finished with four points and five steals.

The Leathernecks (7-6) took a quick 6-0, then relied on a suffocating defense to stymie the UCA offense. 

UCA trailed 15-11, but Western Illinois closed the half on an 18-8 run, grabbing a 33-19 lead at the break.

In the second half, the Bears cut the deficit to eight, 40-32, but the Leathernecks had another answer, going on a 13-2 run. Central Arkansas never cut the lead to single digits the rest of the game.

WIU had another strong shooting performance from the field, going 24-46 (52.2 percent) while holding Central Arkansas to 18-58 (31.0). WIU also was strong beyond the arc, hitting 4-8 (50 percent) from three, while Central Arkansas was 4-21 (19 percent) on triples.

As they have done all season, the Leathernecks dominated the glass, outrebounding Central Arkansas 42-32 and outscored the Bears 34-24 in the paint. The Leathernecks were also opportunistic, turning 14 UCA turnovers into 23 points.

Western Illinois now heads into a long holiday break before starting OVC play at SIUE on December 31.
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