Trenton Massner scored 31, Western starts Summit League play 1-0
DENVER, COLO. – The Western Illinois Men’s Basketball team played on Monday (Dec. 20), defeating the Denver Pioneers 84-80 in overtime at Hamilton Gymnasium. The Leathernecks have now won ten games this season and are starting Summit League play with a victory.
“To get it done tonight, open up the league here on the road after a long layoff and essentially playing back-to-back games, that was huge for us,” head coach Rob Jeter said. “This is how conference games are; you have to win some ugly ones and that’s what I’m really proud of. We found a way to win when we probably didn’t deserve to win. We did some uncharacteristic things but we found a way, and that’s something to build off.”
The first half was a cagey affair, with the Leathernecks shooting just 37.9% from the field and 2-11 from deep. Though Denver was ahead in total rebounds Western did outrebound the Pioneers 4-1 on the offensive glass. Despite the struggles, Western was only down by a point at the end of the first period of play. The second half continued to be back-and-forth, with the Leathernecks and Pioneers trading blows. Denver started out on an 8-0 run, but Western continued to fight and worked their way back into the game. A Trenton Massner and-one ignited a 12-5 run, and the game was back to within two.
Tamell Pearson started to make his mark on the game late in the second half, drawing a foul on the defensive end and making both free throws to bring the deficit to a point with 9:32 remaining. With a spark of energy from the clutch free throws, Pearson would score the team’s next six points.
“It was a gutsy performance – I mean he wasn’t playing great… For him to make those plays down the stretch was huge,” Coach Jeter said. “I love the kid. I think he needs to continue getting more reps and I need to let him play through things because he was huge tonight.”
Late in the second period and into overtime, however, it became the Trenton Massner show. He scored nine of the team’s 11 points in the final 5:09 of regulation, including a huge clutch lay-in to tie the game. Off a missed free-throw, he grabbed the rebound and went coast-to-coast to even the game at 71 with just over three seconds remaining in the second half. He went on to score seven of Western’s 13 points in overtime, hitting several clutch shots at the line as the Leathernecks scrapped their way to an 84-80 victory.
Massner finished with a career-high 31 points on 10-20 shooting, grabbing nine rebounds while dishing out four assists and finishing with three steals in 45 minutes of action. Will Carius hit three shots from deep on his way to 13 points, and Colton Sandage scored 11. Tamell Pearson’s second-half performance saw him finish with 11 points on 4-4 shooting (3-4 from the line), grabbing eight rebounds and blocking a shot, and Luka Barisic scored eight. George Dixon scored seven and grabbed five boards in 30 minutes off the bench while grabbing four steals for the second-straight game.
“Some big attacks down the stretch, Trenton really controlled the tempo,” Jeter said. “We don’t win without his attacks and his decision making.”
Fueled by an efficient 58.3% from the field in the second half, Western managed to make 27 of their 60 shot attempts in the game (45%), hitting seven shots from deep and making 23 free-throws. The defense finished with four blocks and nine steals, forcing 18 Pioneer turnovers and scoring 22 points off those turnovers. The team outscored Denver 36-32 in the paint and won the rebounding matchup during the overtime period.
The Leathernecks were 1-7 in their previous eight overtime games, all of which came prior to head coach Rob Jeter‘s arrival in Macomb. The last time Western won an overtime game was Jan. 11, 2014, which was a home game against Omaha. Their last OT victory on the road dates back all the way to Nov. 23, 2002, when the team defeated Norfolk State 75-74 in Norfolk, Va.
Western men’s basketball is on the road for its second league matchup, facing the Omaha Mavericks on Wednesday (Dec. 22). Tip-off at Baxter Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m.
***Story and photo courtesy of WIU Athletics***
