WIU Men's Basketball History: Leathernecks Take Iowa State to Overtime in 1973

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beauspencer
Posts: 147
Joined: Fri May 16, 2014 1:24 pm

In honor of tonight's Western Illinois/Iowa State game, here's a classic from history. In 1973, Western Illinois visited Ames, Iowa and nearly pulled off an upset at Iowa State. Eventually, the Leathernecks dropped a 84-81 decision to the Cyclones in overtime.

The Cyclones had to rally in the second half and force overtime to win this game and avoid an upset. “The loss to Iowa State was no near upset by us…it was an upset by them. They are the ones who had to come from behind to win it,” Western coach Walt Moore told the Macomb Daily Journal.

Iowa State’s Eric Heft hit an eight-foot jumper with seven seconds remaining in regulation to force the extra session. The Cyclones jumped out early in overtime, and in a wild chase for a loose basketball coach Moore jumped off the bench and received a technical foul. Iowa State didn’t capitalize, missing the free throw and then committing a turnover on the ensuing possession. However; the Cyclones had already built a four-point lead by this point in overtime and held on for a three-point win.

Hercle “Poison” Ivy led all scorers with 28 points for the Cyclones. Chet Pudlosky paced Western with 23 points and Randy Toepke added 19 points.
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