MACOMB – Zion Young had a career-night performance as the Western Illinois men's basketball team came up short in home opener against Stetson 77-75 on Saturday (Nov. 9).
WIU came out the gates strong as they went on a 9-1 run at the start of the half. Sophomore Kobe Webster ignited the charge for the leathernecks in the beginning by hitting a three-pointer. Then Senior James Claar kept the momentum going by throwing down back-to-back dunks to give the Leathernecks an 18-12 lead. After a long half of both teams going back and forth, the Leathernecks maintained the lead ending the half up 31-26.
During the start of the second half, the Hatters went on a 10-5 run to tie the game at 36-36. WIU let Stetson outscore them 51-44 during the second half. C.J Duff drilled a clutch three-pointer to make it 74-72 with 10 seconds remaining. Leathernecks needed a quick foul to send Stetson players to the foul line. With just 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 and Claar led the team with 8 rebounds.
The Leathernecks will continue their home stretch as they face Tennessee-Martin Wednesday (Nov. 13) at 7 p.m.