Box Score

Western Ill. WIU 21-12,13-5 OVC

Little Rock LR 21-11,14-4 OVC

Western Ill. WIU

21-12,13-5 OVC

Final

Mar. 08, 2024

Little Rock LR

21-11,14-4 OVC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Western Ill. WIU	28	29	57
Little Rock LR	40	42	82

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | Friday, March 08, 2024 | WIU ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

Leathernecks End Run at OVC Tournament

WIU drops conference semifinal to Little Rock

EVANSVILLE, Ind – Western Illinois ran out of gas and answers on Friday night, falling to Little Rock 82-57 in the semifinals of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. After a slugfest on Thursday night, the Leathernecks (21-12, 13-5) could not slow top-seeded Little Rock, which was playing its first game of the tournament. The Trojans advance to Saturday's championship game.

"You have to tip your hat to Little Rock, they came out, Coach Walker had that team well-prepared, they executed offensively," WIU coach Chad Boudreau said. "We started the game, we were scoring, we were making plays, we were making shots, but so were they and it never stopped. It was 40 minutes of them, they did a great job offensively and we couldn't keep up."

The Leathernecks were sharp to start, building an 8-4 lead two minutes into the game. Both teams' offenses were effective and efficient early as the squads went back and forth.

"The first time we played them, our defense kept us in the game and this time around, we couldn't get the stops, shots stop falling and that's a bad recipe," Boudreau said.

But while Little Rock's offense stayed strong, WIU struggled as the Trojans took their first lead of the game at the 9:41 mark of the first half, 21-19.

"They had a good game plan coming into the game," Jesiah West said. "It wasn't anything we hadn't seen before but they had different wrinkles and they hit us by surprise, it was very well-executed by them

Little Rock continued to build on its advantage, taking a 40-28 lead into halftime, thanks to a 19-7 run to close the half.

"During that run, we had some good looks, we just couldn't get them to fall and that's the game," Boudreau said. "We had a chance, they went zone because we were scoring, but we stopped and all season when we've had that, we backed it up with stops but tonight we couldn't."

After intermission, Little Rock continued to push the tempo, getting out in the open court and getting more good looks. Little Rock's advantage grew to as many as 26, 59-33 at the 14:50 mark.

The Leathernecks kept fighting, as the offense picked things up, but unfortunately for Western Illinois, the margin was too large as the squad never managed to get the deficit under 20.

JJ Kalakon led the way, scoring a team-high 15 points. Ryan Myers added 12, Quinlan Bennett scored nine, Jesiah West chipped in with seven and Drew Cisse tallied six. Cisse and Kalakon each added eight rebounds and two blocks. Cisse also had a pair of steals. WIU went 20-67 (30 percent) from the field, 6-27 (22 percent) from three, and 11-18 (61 percent) from the line.

Despite the defeat, the season was a success for the Leathernecks in Boudreau's debut campaign. The squad had its first 20-plus win season and 13 conference wins for the first time since the 2012-13 season. The 21 victories are the most ever for a first-year coach in program history and currently rank Boudreau second nationally among first-year coaches this season.

"This was a great year, we're disappointed in the loss, but this is a great year for the group we put together," Bennett said. "It was a brotherhood, we all gelled together, that's why it hurts more, seeing your brothers down, but this was a great year for the school, the community, we just didn't finish the job."

The team also won 10 road games, among the best in the nation and the most for the program since 1957-58. The quarterfinal win over Tennessee State was the team's first since the 2018-19 campaign.

"This senior season has been nothing but memorable for me, we did things that haven't been done by this school in a long time," West said. "We did things people didn't expect us to do this year, I don't live with regrets, I gave it my all this year and now you go on to what's next."

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