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Nurse scores 27 in debut to help Western Illinois to 67-46 exhibition win over Westminster

December 1, 2007 on 8:20 pm | In Athletics |

Box Score

MACOMB, Ill. - Sophomore David Nurse (Kearney, Mo./Kansas City Kansas College) led all players with 27 points in Western Illinois’ 67-46 exhibition win over Westminster.

The Leathernecks never trailed after Westminster’s 3-2 lead four minutes into the game, building a 26-21 halftime edge and leading by as many as 10 at the 8:47 mark.

“We had some early mistakes that could have been due to nerves,” said Western Illinois head coach Derek Thomas. “Some of the guys got a little excited playing in their first game. I was alright with the pace. We just missed some open shots. We wanted to keep the game to a low score and it worked to our advantage.”

Western shot 37.4 percent (9-24) in the first period but came out of the locker room to shoot 52.6 percent (10-19) after the break, including 4-for-6 from long range. On the night the Leathernecks shot 44.2 percent from the field and 43.8 percent from three-point range. Nurse hit four of his six three-pointers, 5-of-8 from the field and 13-of-14 from the line. He also dished out three assists and did not commit a turnover in 37 minutes.

“He’s very tough he has a lot of energy and he can do a lot of things on the floor. He is going to be an outstanding player for us,” said Thomas.

The Leatherneck defense showed promising signs, at one point in the second half holding the Blue Jays without a field goal for 6:15 while stretching their lead to a game-high 23 points, 63-40, with 2:44 to play.

“That’s what we harped on all summer and all fall and all preseason in practice,” Thomas said. “The players understand how important it is to our success and I was pretty happy with the effort tonight.”

Junior Josh Rivers (Las Vegas, Nev./Southeastern Illinois College) was the only other player in double figures for Western Illinois contributing 12 points as one of three newcomers in the starting lineup.

The Blue Jays were led by a pair of players with nine points - Kurt Kovach and Andrew Buxton.

Other postgame quotes from Coach Thomas:
“We’re not really ready yet to be playing these kinds of games but it was nice to give us an idea of what we need to be working on and see someone different and what other people will do when you play against them. Sometimes you can’t simulate that in practice.”

“Our guys were listening well tonight. We’re trying to slow the tempo down a little and work the ball around. They doubled us up a little and we were able to turn around and shoot the ball well. We just want to make people to play at our place.”

“We have so many new guys. We were able to put them in different combinations and see who can play with each other. It’s like a teaching practice but you’re motivated because you’re playing against someone else.”

“We’ll go back and watch the tape of tonight and help these guys get better. We’ll show them why they didn’t do some things so well and point out some of the things they did do well. We’ll build on what we did tonight. It’s too early to be real excited or real down about things. We’ll just keep trying to get better.”

On freshman James Granstra (6 points, 6 rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench):
“He did a great job in there. He’s large and he can affect shots and he gets to the glass. That’s something we’re going to need this year. If he and Delvon Johnson can go out there with their size and rebound for us then we’re going to be able to find them some minutes.”

On the 15 turnovers:
“We had a lot of different combinations out there, trying to see who can do what. You’ll have a few more turnovers in the exhibition games because of that. That’s what these games are for.”

Originaly from Source