Pyle leads Western Illinois to 65-59 win over South Dakota

Jan 27, 2019, 12:43 am

VERMILLION, S.D. -- Ben Pyle scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Western Illinois to a 65-59 win over South Dakota on Saturday afternoon.

Kobe Webster added 13 points and four rebounds for the Leathernecks (8-13, 3-5 Summit League). C.J. Duff had 11 points and Brandon Gilbeck chipped in 10 points with six rebounds and three blocks.

The Leathernecks trailed 31-26 at halftime and struggled early in the second half. They began to rally midway through, taking advantage of a seven-minute South Dakota drought to build a 55-50 lead on back-to-back 3-pointers by Pyle and Isaac Johnson with 4:47 to go. South Dakota evened it up 56-all with 2:14 remaining but Webster hit a layup and a 3-pointer after that to put the Leathernecks on top for good.

Triston Simpson had 17 points and six rebounds for the Coyotes (9-12, 3-5). Trey Burch-Manning added 14 points and Tyler Peterson had eight points and 12 rebounds.