If a day goes by without Trenton Massner doing something remarkable, has a day really gone by?
The Summit League needs a foil with Oral Roberts increasingly looking like a runaway train. Owners of a 11-0 league record and an elite offense, the Golden Eagles have put themselves in position to do what just one team has before in league history: win the regular season title with an unblemished record.
But a magic week from Massner could have Western Illinois ready to take up that mantle as the Golden Eagles’ chief challenger the rest of the way.
In the span of 116 hours, Massner helped WIU win three games, doing something remarkable in each. Last Monday it was a program record 46 points in a win over North Dakota. On Thursday, it was a buzzer-beating, game-winning 3 against South Dakota and, as the finale, it was a 30-point effort in an overtime win against South Dakota State on Saturday — a game in which WIU trailed by 19.
It was a week to remember in Macomb, where crowds swelled in Western Hall. The comeback win over the Jackrabbits came in front of the biggest crowd of the season, and one that was nearly triple the gate from WIU’s home opener back in November.
“It’s good when it happens at home, for us, this place, this town, this community, this university, it creates energy, momentum, some positive vibes. It’s fun to be part of that,” head coach Rob Jeter said in a release.
The momentum stretches even further back, as the Leathernecks have won five straight games, just the second time they’ve done that in league play in the past 20 years. The streak has shined a light on Massner, a player that may get lost in the shuffle nationally as he shares a league with Max Abmas.
The Wapelo, Iowa, native came to WIU after two seasons at Northwestern State, the latter of which saw him lead the Demons in scoring and land on the all-Southland second team. He did all that playing off the ball, but since he joined Jeter at WIU has had the ball firmly in his hands. The numbers speak for themselves.
Massner (18.7 ppg, 5.3 apg, 5.6 rpg) is the only player in the country averaging at least 18 points, 5.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds a game. In the last five years there have only been 13 other players to post those sort of numbers over the course of an entire season.
(Some of that list: Ja Morant, Ayo Donsumo and Jon Elmore.)
Those numbers now reflect the magic in Macomb over the past week, including that game winner against the Coyotes.
“I’ve…
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