By Jack Bell, Sports Editor
The Western Illinois Men’s Basketball Team is looking for their third win in a row to start the 2022 campaign. The Leathernecks went on the road and defeated in-state rival Illinois State 71-68 on Monday night. Newcomer Alec Rosner lead the way for the Leathernecks with 25 points in his WIU debut. Pre-season First Team All-League selection Trenton Massner picked up right where he left off a year ago for Rob Jeter. The senior scored 12 points, added 11 assists and grabbed 10 rebounds in route to the first triple-double by a Leatherneck since 2018.
The duo of Massner and Rosner in the backcourt for WIU continued their dominant start with big performances in the 113-56 win over Rockford on Wednesday night. It was a quiet first half for Massner, only scoring 5 points. He started the second half red hot, nailing four consecutive threes to extend the Leatherneck lead. Rosner added 12 points, on 3-5 from beyond the arc, collecting 3 rebounds and a steal. Josiah West and Quinlan Bennett each had 12, as the WIU starters combined for 61 points in the blowout win.
The Leathernecks will make the short trip up to the Windy City tonight, to take on the DePaul Blue Demons (1-0) out of the Big East. DePaul opened their season with 72-66 win over Loyola (Md). Tip-off is schedule for 9 p.m. inside the Wintrust Arena, catch the game on Fox Sports 2.
