Box Score
Photo Gallery
SALEM, Va. – The Illinois Wesleyan men's basketball team suffered a cold shooting night and lost to Wisconsin-Whitetwater, 71-63, in the NCAA Division III semifinal game on Friday, March 21 at the Salem (Va.) Civic Center.
The Titans end their season with a 27-5 record while the Warhawks improved to 28-4 and will play for the championship on Saturday. There is no third place game.
The first half saw seven ties and five lead changes. Illinois Wesleyan had a 14-7 lead with 13:29 to play before the Warhawks went on an 18-8 run to claim a 25-22 lead with 2:50 before intermission. The game was tied at 25 and 27 before the Titans got a basket from junior
Dylan Overstreet to go up 29-27 and led by a 29-28 score at the half.
Whitewater started the second half on an 11-4 spree to get a 39-33 advantage with 17:19 remaining. The Warhawks led 51-39 with 10:49 to play and built up a lead as large as 15 at 55-40 with 9:52 to go in the game. But the Titans were not finished and had a 19-7 run to claw back within three points at 62-59 on an
Andrew Ziemnik basket with 2:21 remaining but could get no closer.
The Titans outrebounded the Warhawks, 41-36, and committed 14 turnovers to 11 for Wis.-Whitewater. Wesleyan shot only 31 percent in the second half (9 of 29) and connected on 5 of 23 3-pointers in the game.
Illinois Wesleyan Statistics and Leaders
Field Goal Percentage - .351 (20 of 57)
3-Point Field Goal Percentage - .217 (5 of 23)
Free Throw Percentage - .667 (18 of 27)
Senior
Andrew Ziemnik (13 points, 5 rebounds)
Junior
Pat Sodemann (12 points)
Senior
Victor Davis (10 points, 8 rebounds)
Sophomore
Mike Marietti (8 points)
Junior
Dylan Overstreet (9 points, 6 rebounds)
Wis.-Whitewater Statistics and Leaders
Field Goal Percentage - .462 (24 of 52)
3-Point Field Goal Percentage - .500 (5 of 10)
Free Throw Percentage - .692 (18 of 26)
KJ Evans (30 points, 5 rebounds)
Eric Bryson (10 points, 9 rebounds)
Alex Merg (10 points)
Reggie Hearn (9 rebounds)