Western Illinois' basketball hero does it again — this time in the final second

Wes Huett, Journal Star
·2 min read
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Western Illinois men's basketball player Trenton Massner dribbles during a game Thursday against South Dakota.
Western Illinois men's basketball player Trenton Massner dribbles during a game Thursday against South Dakota.

Trenton Massner became a rock star earlier this week, setting a school record with 46 points and leading off ESPN's SportsCenter.

The Western Illinois senior basketball player had his encore Thursday night.

Massner dropped in a deep 3-pointer in the final second to lift Western Illinois to a 75-72 win over South Dakota — the Leathernecks' fourth consecutive victory.

"I've always wanted a moment like that, I was telling one of my teammates before the season, that's one of those things I've never done, hit a buzzer-going-off-game-winner," Massner said in a release from the school. "I've hit some go-ahead shots, but nothing like that."

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With the game tied 72-72, Western Illinois (13-8, 6-4) got a big defensive stand followed by a Jesiah West rebound with about 15 seconds remaining. He passed to Massner, who calmly dribbled up court to set up the final play.

"I got a lot of trust in that dude, we've seen him make spectacular shots night after night," West said. "We were going up the floor together, and I said 'What do you want to run?' and he said, 'It's game time.' "

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The 30-footer was a relatively clean look for the senior, who used the double screen of Stevanic and West as decoys for his bucket. He finished with 23 points on 9-for-21 shooting, including 5-for-14 from 3-point range. he added six rebounds and six assists.

"I knew coming up the floor, I was shooting a 3 no matter what, whether it was a step-back or not," Massner said. "I saw them come up, the guy guarding me was looking back for the screen to come up, so it was like, 'OK, I'm going to shoot it, it's a better look than I'll get coming off a screen.' "

The rest is history — until he does it again, that is.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Western Illinois' Trent Massner follows record game with game-winner