Box Score Illinois Wesleyan 83, Wis.-River Falls 76 - Box Score

ST. PAUL, Minn. - All five Illinois Wesleyan starters scored in double figures en route to an 83-76 win over Wisconsin-River Falls in the NCAA Division III first round on Friday, March 4 at UST's Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul, Minn.

Senior Sean Johnson scored 20 points to lead IWU, who improved to 20-8 and will face regional host St. Thomas at 7 p.m. on Saturday. The No. 8-ranked Tommies (25-3) were 70-60 winners over Northwestern College (Minn.) on their home court Friday.

Junior Jordan Zimmer knocked home five 3-pointers and scored 15 points, senior Doug Sexauer had 13 points and seven rebounds, junior John Koschnitzky had 12 and junior Eliud Gonzalez added 10.

The Titans, who led by a 44-38 score at halftime after trailing early by a 17-8 score, shot .491 from the field in the game (27 of 55) and made 11 of 21 (.524) 3-point field goal tries. IWU made 18 of 24 from the free throw line (.750).

Wisconsin-River Falls, whose season ends at 20-8, shot .444 (24 of 54) from the field and made five of 15 (.333) from beyond the 3-point arc. The Falcons, who got 21 points and a game-high 11 rebounds from Jake Voeltz, made only 23 of 33 free throws (.697).

Illinois Wesleyan outrebounded the Falcons, 35-32, and Sexauer was the team leader with seven rebounds. The Titans committed 12 turnovers to nine by Wisconsin-River Falls.

In the second game of the night, senior guard Tyler Nicolai scored all of his 17 points in the second half, including nine in a game-closing 16-5 run as St. Thomas outlasted Northwestern (21-7). Nicolai played all 40 minutes and added five steals and four assists.
The Tommies forced 12 second-half turnovers as they posted their 14th second-half comeback win and improved to 14-1 at home this season.