BROOKINGS, S.D. –
Western Illinois men’s basketball wrapped its first Summit League road
trip with a 91-56 setback at South Dakota State Saturday (Jan. 4).
The
journey through the Dakotas began with North Dakota State on Thursday,
and the swing marked Western’s first meeting with the two since the 2019
league tournament.
WIU
disposed of the Jackrabbits in the quarterfinal round last year, 79-76,
to become the first No. 8 seed to defeat the top seed, and later
dropped a close 76-73 decision to the Bison in the semis.
“We did a poor job of executing the gameplan,” said head coach Billy Wright.
“We have to do a better job at sticking to our gameplan and doing what
works. Early on, James [Claar] had some good possessions in the post.
Once our offense got a little stagnant, the ball stuck. We missed a lot
of shots that we normally make, took a few quick ones, and then it
snowballed.”
An energetic Leatherneck squad took to Frost Arena for the early advantage.
The
scorebook noted three baskets from the different players — and a 6-3
Leatherneck edge – but it wasn’t long until the score sat knotted at
10-all (15:07). James Claar worked
the low post for six of those points, including the tying layup, but
Western’s hot hand began to simmer when the Jacks worked a 13-2 run.
The
Leathernecks entered halftime down, 40-26, while also seeking their
first 3-pointer of the afternoon. Entering the matchup, WIU had 144
straight contests with at least one made trey and eyed a 0-for-10 clip
at the break.
The streak continued on the range of Zion Young.
He
opened the second half with an old-fashioned 3-point play and nailed a
corner trey a few possessions later (18:17) to close his team’s deficit
to 10. The score was met by an 11-2 SDSU run, from which Western never
recovered.
Young and Kobe Webster guided the team with 12 and 13 points, respectively, while Claar grabbed 10 rebounds with six points.
With
the road swing now complete, the Leathernecks return home to Western
Hall for three straight contests: Purdue Fort Wayne (Jan. 8), Denver
(Jan. 11) and Oral Roberts (Jan. 16).
