WIU unable to finalize the comeback falls by two to Stetson.
Zion Young notched a career-high performance for the Western Illinois men’s basketball team, but Stetson slipped away with a 77-75 victory on Saturday (Nov. 9) in the home opener.
WIU was off to an early 9-1 lead capped off from a three-pointer by Kobe Webster. James Claar threw it down with back-to-back dunks to extend the Leatherneck lead to 18-12. The Hatters tied it at 26-26 until Dre’Shawn Allen drilled his first basket as Leatherneck to regain the lead. Western was able to sustain the edge, ending the half up 31-26.
Stetson worked to tie the score 36-36 to begin the second half and slowly found rhythm to pull away. WIU continued to fight as C.J. Duff drilled a three to make it 74-72 with 10 seconds remaining. Seconds left on the clock, Young hit a half-court buzzer-beater to finalize the score 77-75, Stetson.
Young led the team with a career-high 24 points besting his previous record by three. Claar pitched in 8 rebounds to the lead team.
The Leathernecks will continue their home stretch as they host Tennessee-Martin Wednesday (Nov. 13) at 7 p.m.
***Report Courtesy of Western Illinois University***
