Skip To Main Content

Upcoming Events and Recent Results

Western Illinois University Athletics

Sarah Ritter

Leathernecks make final road push

Western Illinois visits North Dakota, North Dakota State

MACOMB – The Western Illinois men's basketball team closes out the regular season this week, playing at North Dakota on Thursday and at North Dakota State on Saturday. The Leathernecks play the Fighting Hawks at 11 a.m. while WIU meets the Bison at 1 p.m. WIU swept both schools at Western Hall earlier this season.
 
WHO | Western Illinois (15-12, 8-8) at North Dakota (11-18, 5-11)
 
WHERE | Englestad Sioux Center

WHEN | 11 a.m., Grand Forks, North Dakota

SOCIAL MEDIA | Twitter; Facebook

FOLLOW ALONG | Watch | Live Stats
 

WHO | Western Illinois at North Dakota State (12-16, 9-7)  

WHERE | Scheels Center

WHEN | 1 p.m., Saturday

SOCIAL MEDIA | Twitter; Facebook

FOLLOW ALONG | Watch | Live Stats
 
Last time out:
Western Illinois dropped an 82-69 contest at St. Thomas. The Leathernecks led 29-22 at the 4:45 mark of the first half, but the Tommies ended the half on a 14-0 run.

Quinlan Bennett had a double-double of 20 points, 12 rebounds. Jesiah West also finished with a double-double, scoring 11 points while grabbing 11 rebounds. Trenton Massner added 15 points and eight assists while Alec Rosner scored 12.
 
About the Leathernecks:
Western Illinois comes in averaging 73.4 points per game while allowing opponents to score 72.7. The Leathernecks are making 45.2 percent from the floor while foes are hitting 46.3 percent. WIU is making 32.1 beyond the arc while opponents are converting the same.

Trenton Massner is leading the team in scoring, averaging 18.6 points per game to lead WIU. Alec Rosner adds 14.0 while Vuk Stevanic is scoring 10.4. Jesiah West is chipping in 9.8 while Quinlan Bennett averages 9.3. West leads the team on the boards, averaging 7.1 game while Massner adds 5.3 and Bennett has 5.1.
 
About the Fighting Hawks:
North Dakota is averaging 71.2 points per game while allowing opponents to score 73.1. The Fighting Hawks are shooting 43.4 from the field while opponents are making 47.0. UND is making 35 percent of its shots while opponents hit 35.2.

B.J. Omot leads the team with 11.7 points per game while Matt Norman scores 11.2 and Tsotne Tsartsidze scored 10.3.
North Dakota has won four of its last five games.

History:
Western Illinois claimed the previous meeting between the two, winning 92-80 inside Western Hall. Massner set a program record vs. UND, scoring a program-high 46 points. Bennett added a double-double in the effort. Tsotne Tsartsidze led the Fighting Hawks with 19 points while Matt Norman added 18.

The victory tied the all-time series between the programs at 7-7 and extended Western Illinois' win streak over North Dakota to four.
 
About the Bison:
Grant Nelson leads the team, scoring 17.6 points per game while Boden Skunberg tallies 14.3. Andrew Morgan adds 10.6. Nelson averages 9.0 rebounds per game while Morgan pulls down 5.7.

North Dakota State averages 73 points per contest while opponents are scoring 72.9. The Bison are shooting 45.6 from the field while opponents make 44.2. NDSU makes 33.9 from three with opponents netting 34.2.
 
History:
Western Illinois topped the Bison in Macomb on Dec. 19 79-60. Trenton Massner had a double-double of 24 points, 11 rebounds while Alec Rosner scored 19 and Jesiah West had 14 points, seven rebounds. Grant Nelson had a big night for NDSU, scoring 35 points. The Western win gave NDSU an all-time series lead of 24-10. WIU has won two of the last three vs. the Bison, including a 90-79 overtime win in Fargo last season.
 
Fast Facts:
Western Illinois has dropped three-straight games, falling to Kansas City, Oral Roberts and St. Thomas. The eight conference wins are the most for the team since the 2012-13 season. A win gives the Leathernecks a .500 win percentage in league play for the first time since the 12-13 season. One more victory matches last year's win total while two more wins would be the program high since the 12-13 season.

Trenton Massner's 15 points last week gave him over 1000 points in his Leatherneck career. His 75 three-point makes ties him for sixth in a single-season while his 216 attempts is fourth, his 139 assists rank him seventh. Career-wise, Massner is 26th in career points with 1007, his 135 three-pointers and 388 attempts are tied for 10th and his 266 assists are currently 11th.

Jesiah Wests's 46 blocks rank him in a tie for 8th for most in a single season in the Division I era while the 46 career blocks at WIU also have him in 9th all-time.

Alec Rosner's 68 made three-pointers have him tied for 8th most in a single season while his 178 attempts are 10th.
 
What's next:
After this week's games, Western Illinois and the rest of the Summit League head to Sioux Falls, South Dakota for the conference tournament.

This year is a bit of a change as all 10 schools in the league qualify for the postseason league tournament.

The tournament begins play Thursday evening with the 8 seed taking on the 9 seed with the 7 vs. 10 seeds to follow.

Play continues Saturday with Oral Roberts play the 8-9 winner and South Dakota State facing the 7-10. The rest of the league's first-round games will be held with the semifinals slated for Monday and the finals Tuesday.

Western Illinois is currently in fifth place, one game back of North Dakota State and St. Thomas. The Leathernecks are one up on sixth-place Kansas City and two up on seventh South Dakota.

WIU can rise as high as third this week and fall as low as seventh.
 
Print Friendly Version

Related Videos

Now Playing:

Related Stories