Box Score

JACKSONVILLE, Ill. - Junior Ryan Coyle scored 24 points to lead Illinois Wesleyan to a 76-63 win over Buena Vista at the Bill Merris Illinois College Tournament in Jacksonville, Ill., on Friday, Nov. 21. IWU outscored the Beavers 25-10 in the final 8:17 of the game.

The Titans improved to 1-1 this season while Buena Vista is now 1-2. The Titans will play at 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22, against the host school, Illinois College, a convincing 90-68 winner over Rockford College in Friday's second game.

Coyle, who scored 24 points in the entire 2013-14 season, was 7-of-16 from the field, made three 3-pointers and made all seven of his free throw tries.

The Titans led at halftime, 36-33, but trailed by as many as six points at 48-42 with 12:07 to play. The Titans were behind, 53-51, with 9:11 remaining before going on a 10-0 run to lead 61-53 with 5:31 to play and extended the lead to the finish. IWU outrebounded the Beavers, 45-38, in a game that saw seven ties and had 14 lead changes. IWU's largest lead was 15 at 75-60 with 1:01 left.

"In the second half we started to move the ball around more and those extra passes led to our win," IWU head coach Ron Rose said in a postgame radio interview. "We played much smarter as a team compared to how we played last week at Benedictine and the final 10 minutes was a step in the right direction."
 
Illinois Wesleyan Statistics and Leaders
Field goal percentage- .388 (26-of-66)
3-point field goal percentage- .333 (7-of-21)
Free throw percentage- .708 (17-of-24)
Coyle  - 24 points
Senior Dylan Overstreet- 15 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals
Junior Bryce Dolan- 6 assists
Junior Mike Marietti - 7 rebounds
 
Buena Vista Statistics and Leaders
Field goal percentage- .367 (22-of-60)
3-point field goal percentage- .286 (6-of-21)
Free throw percentage- .520 (13-of-25)
Cole Darrow - 13 points
Nick Clark - 12 points
Nick Wuebker - 11 points, 11 rebounds
Kennedy Drey - 10 points