Box Score

HOLLAND, Mich. – Senior Andrew Ziemnik scored 17 points and snared 12 rebounds to lead Illinois Wesleyan to a 74-65 win over Wilmington on Friday, Dec. 20, in the opening round of the Holland Sentinel/Devette Classic at the DeVos Fieldhouse on the campus of Hope College in Holland, Mich.

Illinois Wesleyan improved to 8-1 this season and the Quakers slip to 4-4.

Wesleyan dominated Wilmington on the boards by a 46-32 edge (14 offensive rebounds for IWU) and IWU committed 12 turnovers to eight for Wilmington.

IWU trailed by as many as six points at 10-4 with 12:55 to go in the first half and the teams were tied at 24-24 with 5:43 left. But the Titans went on an 11-2 run to gain a nine-point edge at 35-26 with 3:48 to go before halftime. The Titans led at intermission by a 42-34 score.

Wilmington got as close as three at 53-50 with 10:36 to play but Wesleyan answered the challenge and limited the Quakers to only 13 points in the final quarter of the game.

Senior Nick Anderson was limited to only four minutes with an ankle injury and head coach Ron Rose credited Trevor Seibring for his play. "As a freshman, he came in and did a great job for us in a physical, physical game," Rose told WJBC Radio in a postgame interview. "We didn't do a great job of adjusting to that style of play but we gutted it out and I loved the way the team finished."

Rose also lauded senior Michael Mayberger, who got a career-high nine rebounds and scored 13 points. "Michael has a great feel for the game and made a lot of smart, tough plays down the stretch."

Illinois Wesleyan Statistics and Leaders
Field Goal Percentage - .417 (25 of 60)
3-Point Field Goal Percentage - .333 (9 of 27)
Free Throw Percentage - .714 (15 of 21)
Ziemnik (17 points, 12 rebounds)
Senior Michael Mayberger (13 points, career-high 9 rebounds)
Junior Pat Sodemann (12 points)
Junior Jordan Nelson (9 points)
Junior Dylan Overstreet (4 assists)

Wilmington Statistics and Leaders
Field Goal Percentage - .394 (26 of 66)
3-Point Field Goal Percentage - .227 (5 of 22)
Free Throw Percentage - .889 (8 of 9)
RJ Leppert (13 points)
Malcolm Heard II (10 points, 8 rebounds)
Christian Patterson (10 points)
Ben Vonderhaar (10 points)

Who's Next?
IWU will play host school Hope at 2 p.m. (Central time) on Saturday in the championship game of the Holland Sentinel/Devette Classic. Hope was a 78-66 winner over Lake Forest in Friday's second game.