Box Score

FRANKLIN, Ind. – A basket with 0.4 seconds remaining sent the Illinois Wesleyan men's basketball team to a 67-66 loss to Franklin College at the Spurlock Center Gym in Franklin, Ind., on Sunday (Dec. 30).

•  Two free throws by junior Andrew Ziemnik with 6.4 seconds left gave Illinois Wesleyan a 66-65 lead but Franklin's Gunner Erwin, who finished with 29 points, took the ball the length of the floor for a layup and the winning score. Erwin had 23 of the Grizzlies' 32 points in the final period.

•  The Titans are 8-3 in nonconference play after being 9-2 in nonconference play for the past three seasons. Franklin improved to 7-4.

•  Illinois Wesleyan shot 52.4 percent from the field (22 of 42) and made 6 of 15 3-pointers (40.0). IWU had a 59.3 percentage from the free throw line (16 of 27). Franklin shot 48.0 from the floor (24 of 50) and knocked home 9 of 24 3-ball tries (37.5). The Grizzlies made 10 of 15 from the line.

•  IWU had a 31-28 lead in rebounds and the Titans committed 13 turnovers compared to 11 for Franklin.

•  Illinois Wesleyan led 14-9 with 13:14 to play in the first half but Franklin went on a 9-0 run to claim an 18-14 lead with 10:35 in the first. Franklin led 35-33 at intermission. The Grizzlies led by as many as nine at 48-39 with 14:52 left in the game.

•  “We almost pulled off another one,” IWU head coach Ron Rose told WJBC Radio in a postgame interview. “We had too many careless turnovers and mistakes on the defensive end to deserve to win. (Franklin) is a quick team and have three or four kids who can shoot the ball.
“We have two days of practice to get ready for Wheaton and hope to bounce back and play better. That will be our focus.”

Illinois Wesleyan Statistical Leaders
Junior Andrew Ziemnik (18 points, 9 rebounds)
Senior Kevin Reed (11 points)
Sophomore Pat Sodemann (11 points)
Junior Victor Davis (9 points, 6 rebounds)

Franklin Statistical Leaders
Gunner Erwin (29 points)
Bailey Howard (14 points)
J.T. Barton (10 points)

Who's Next?
The Titans have concluded their non-league schedule and will open College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play on Wednesday (Jan. 2) at Wheaton at 7 p.m. The Thunder is ranked No. 14 in the latest D3hoops.com poll and are 10-1 with their lone loss coming to Northwestern College (Minn.) 67-62 on Dec. 14. Wheaton has not played since Dec. 15.