Upset Bid Falls Short in PUC’s Loss to Western Illinois

Upset Bid Falls Short in PUC’s Loss to Western Illinois


MACOMB, Ill. - The Purdue University Calumet men’s basketball team dropped a heartbreaker to NCAA Div. I opponent Western Illinois, falling 59-56 on Saturday night in an exhibition matchup. The Peregrines stay at 6-8, as they will look to use tonight’s contest as a spring board into meat of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference schedule.
The two teams got off to a slow start, fighting through a defensive battle in the first half. The Black and Gold shot just 25.9 percent from the field in the period, but were able to hold WIU to 40 percent shooting with 12.5 percent from downtown while forcing eight turnovers in the period.
Purdue Calumet was able to get off to an early 5-4 advantage on Michael Patton’s 10-foot jumper. Kameran Madison drained a trey from the top of the key to push the PUC lead to four, 8-4, but the Leathernecks fought back with a 12-4 spurt to go ahead 16-12.
Andrew Anderson scored back-to-back buckets to return the lead to the Peregrines, 17-16, with four minutes left. However, Western Illinois would outscore PUC 9-5 to close out the opening period and head into the break with a 25-22 lead.
The Leathernecks scored the first nine points of the final stanza to open up their lead to 12, 34-22, before Patton stopped the bleeding with a baseline jumper and a slam to spark a 15-5 run. Kameron Bright tied the game at 39 for the Peregrines minutes later, rattling off four-straight points.
Anderson kept the momentum going, tipping in a missed jumper to hand PUC its first lead since the opening half, 41-39. However, Western Illinois answered with an 11-2 run to jump back out to a 50-43 lead with 6:42 remaining.
Bright knocked down another jump inside the paint to cap off a 7-0 run that knotted the game once again, 50-50, with four and half minutes left. The Leathernecks would use a pair of treys late in the shot clock to pull ahead 56-50, before Kedric Williams drained a trifecta from the corner to bring the two teams back to terms with just over minute left on the clock.
Western Illinois knocked down a trio of free throws in the final minute, but the left the door open as Kaimarr Price missed four-consecutive tries from the charity stripe. However, Andrew Anderson’s three-point try at buzzer fell short as the Leathernecks escaped the win.
Purdue Calumet shot an impressive 45.2 percent from the field in the final stanza to finish with a 36.2 shooting percentage on the night. The Peregrines cleaned up the glass, posting a 42-33 rebounding advantage with 14 offensive caroms.
Anderson filled up the stat sheet with 10 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals, while Patton added 10 points and five boards. Kedric Williams came off the bench to tally eight points, six caroms and three assists.