Box Score

MAITLAND, Fla. - The No. 17-ranked Illinois Wesleyan men's basketball team rallied from an 18-point second half deficit to get a 68-67 win over Hope College at the RDV Sportsplex D3 Basketball Classic in Maitland, Fla., on Saturday (Dec. 22).

• The Titans improved to 8-2 this season while the Flying Dutchmen slipped to 4-6.

• Hope led by 15 in the first half, by a 39-28 margin at the half and by as many as 18 at 48-30 with 17:21 to play in the game. But Illinois Wesleyan battled back with a 26-7 run over the next 10 minutes to take a 56-55 lead with 7:44 to play on a basket by junior Andrew Ziemnik.

• Hope whittled a 5-point IWU lead with 1:18 to play down to 1 point with 32 seconds left with the ball and a chance to win but a shot by Colton Overway with :07 remaining was blocked by IWU's Eric Dortch and Hope did not get another chance.

• Ziemnik was chosen as the tourney's "MVP" and he and sophomore guard Dylan Overstreet were named to the all-tournament team RDV Sportsplex D3 Basketball Classic.

• Illinois Wesleyan outrebounded Hope, 37-23, and the Titans committed 19 turnovers to only eight by Hope.

• The Titans shot 48.8 percent from the field (21 of 43) and made 7 of 21 3-point efforts (33.3). IWU was 19 of 26 from the free throw line (73.1 percent). Hope finished at 36.8 percent from the field (21 of 57) and made 7 of 17 treys (41.2). The Dutchmen were 18 of 24 from the line.

•  “It was an improbable win,” IWU head coach Ron Rose told WJBC radio. “Early in the game (Hope) was were the aggressor but in the second half we competed a lot harder. A key to the game was Dortch playing defense against Overway, including the blocked shot late. Offensively we spread floor better and attacked the basket so much better.”

Illinois Wesleyan Statistics Leaders
Overstreet (15 points, 3 assists)
Sophomore Pat Sodemann (12 points)
Ziemnik (11 points, 6 rebounds)
Senior Kevin Reed (7 rebounds, 9 points)

Hope Statistics Leaders
Colton Overway (22 points)
Caleb Byers (16 points, 5 rebounds)

Who's Next?
• The Titans will play their final non-conference game of the season at Franklin College at 2 p.m. Central time on Sunday (Dec. 30) in Franklin, Ind.