News From The Summit: News From The Summit 2/3/2008

SUU falls at W. Illinois--deseretnews.com

WESTERN ILLINOIS 80, SOUTHERN UTAH 74: At Macomb, Ill., David Jackson scored all 16 of his points in the second half to help Western Illinois beat Southern Utah on Saturday night.

Jackson converted a three-point play with 6:02 left to give the Leathernecks (11-11, 6-5 Summit League) the lead for good at 65-62.

Jerryck Owens-Murrey and David DuBois added 13 points each for Western Illinois. Geoff Payne led the Thunderbirds (5-17, 3-8) with 17 points.

Western Illinois Comes Back To Down Thunderbird Men--SUUTBirds.com

Second Half Surge Not Enough to Make Up for Slow Start in 64-51 Loss for Lady T-Birds--SUUTBirds.com

Grizzlies earn 3rd straight victory--The Detroit Free Press
Healthy Kangas gives OU a boost--The Oakland Press
Golden Grizzlies See Shadow, Win Third Straight--OUGrizzlies.com

Grizzlies' momentum stopped in OT--The Oakland Press
Grizzlies Fall 64-63 in Overtime to South Dakota State--OUGrizzlies.com

Burrows' 30 leads IPFW past N. Dakota St.--The Indy Star
2nd-half domination--The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
Burrows Powers IPFW Past North Dakota State, 82-63--GoMastodons.com

IPFW repeats doomed fate--The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
Women's Comeback Falls Short--GoMastodons.com

IUPUI uses 3-pointer barrage to top UMKC--The Indy Star
HOT SHOOTING JAGS RUN HOME WINNING STREAK TO 13 STRAIGHT--IUPUIJags.com

BALANCE, DEFENSE SPUR JAGS TO 65-47 WIN OVER UMKC--IUPUIJags.com

UMKC men, women fall to IUPUI--The Kansas City Star
UMKC Falls To IUPUI In Indy, 90-70--UMKC Kangaroos
Kangaroos Fall 65-47 To IUPUI--UMKC Kangaroos
UMKC Visits Western Illinois Looking To Snap Two-Game Skid--UMKC Kangaroos

WIU vs. SUU--The Peoria Journal Star

Western Illinois men

MACOMB - A two-game homestand sweep moved the Leathernecks moved into uncharted territory on Saturday after its 84-70 win over Southern Utah.

The win moved Western to 11-11 overall, the first time that the Leathernecks have been at .500 in February in coach Derek Thomas' five-year tenure.

The win also came hours after Emmit Thomas, Derek's father was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame for his career as a defensive back.

"This is probably the hardest day I've ever had in terms of trying to focus on a basketball game," Derek Thomas said. "It was hard to focus and I was worried about it for a while, but the guys were ready to go (Saturday)."

The Leatherenecks trailed 39-30 at halftime despite shooting 57 percent from the floor in the half.

Western matched Southern Utah's 16-of-27 shooting from the floor in the second. The difference came from the free-throw line where Western went 15-for-20 in the final 20 minutes.

David Jackson led Western with 16 points.

Western Illinois women

MACOMB - The Westerwinds started the second half of the Summit League season with a tremendous first half in a 64-51 win over Southern Utah on Saturday.

Western held the Thunderbirds to just 12 first half points.

"We were really on in the first half," WIU coach Leslie Crane said. "Our offense stalled out a couple of times but our team kept working on it and they did a much better job in the last 10 minutes of the first half of being patient in our offense."

Amanda Walker led the Westerwinds with 16 points. Richwoods product Stephanie Lovingood added 13 points and led WIU with eight rebounds.

The Westerwinds used 13 offensive rebounds to generate 17 second-chance points.

The win kept Western (10-11, 8-2) in a first-place tie with South Dakota State.