Box Score

KENOSHA, Wis. – The Illinois Wesleyan men's basketball team blitzed Carthage early and cruised to a 77-65 win over the Red Men at the Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis., on Saturday, Jan. 31.
 
The Titans improved to 15-5 overall and 7-2 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, good for a first place tie with Augustana. The No. 4-ranked Vikings were upset 76-69 at North Park on Saturday.
 
Carthage is now 7-12 overall and 3-6 in the league.
 
Six Titans dropped in 3-pointers in the first half as IWU was 10-of-17 from beyond the arc in the first half and held a 43-21 edge at intermission. Carthage was guilty of 10 turnovers in the first half that led to 17 Titan points. IWU had its largest lead of 24 at 36-12 with 5:29 to go in the half.
 
The Red Men closed to within 10 at 62-52 with 6:48 left but a 3-pointer by Jordan Nelson, a basket by senior Dylan Overstreet and two free throws and a basket by Joel Pennington gave IWU a 9-0 run and sealed the win.
 
"Early in the game I was very pleased with our energy on defense, which led to some aggressive, smart offense on the other end," said IWU head coach Ron Rose in a postgame interview on WJBC Radio. "We were passing the ball inside before it was coming out and it was the best balance we've had all year from a ball movement standpoint."
 
Citing the play by Pennington, sophomore Alec Bausch and junior Mike Marietti, Rose said, "I was very happy with our bench play - our guys off the bench all contributed in some way to this win."
 
Illinois Wesleyan attempted 31 3-point field goals, tied for the eighth most in a single game. The rebounds were even at 35-35 and Carthage committed 13 turnovers compared to 11 for IWU.
 
Illinois Wesleyan Statistics and Leaders
Field Goal Percentage - .475 (28 of 59)
3-Point Field Goal Percentage - .419 (13 of 31)
Free Throw Percentage - .533 (8 of 15)
Nelson (15 points)
Overstreet (14 points, 4 assists)
Pennington (12 points)
Senior Pat Sodemann (11 points)
Sophomore Trevor Seibring (game-high 7 rebounds, 4 points)
 
Carthage Statistics and Leaders
Field Goal Percentage - .444 (24 of 54)
3-Point Field Goal Percentage - .300 (6 of 20)
Free Throw Percentage - .611 (11 of 18)
Mike Stevenson (14 points)
Cameron Van Wyk (12 points, 5 rebounds)
Ellis Matthews (10 points)
 
Who's Next?
The Titans play another CCIW road game on Wednesday, Feb. 4, playing at Millikin at 7 p.m. The Big Blue is 8-12 overall and 3-6 in the CCIW after an 88-72 loss at Elmhurst on Saturday.