Box Score

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan men's basketball team came up short in its bid for an NCAA automatic berth, losing 78-74 at Augustana in the title game of the 2015 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin postseason tournament on Saturday, Feb. 28.

The Titans are now 19-8 while No. 8-ranked Augustana improved to 23-4. IWU will await the selection committee decision for its postseason fate with the championship announcement set for 11:30 a.m. on Monday, March 2, via NCAA.com.

Augustana got out to a 22-11 lead (their largest of the game) and was ahead 24-16 before the Titans went on a 10-4 run to close to within two at 28-26. A Brady Rose 3-pointer tied the game at 33-33 with 5:16 before half and the game was knotted at 37-37 when the Vikings tore out to a 9-0 run and led 46-37. The Vikings led 46-39 going into the locker room.
 
IWU came out with a 10-3 start for the second half and tied the game at 49-49 with 17:10 left. On another Rose 3-pointer, IWU went ahead 56-55 with 14:06 left, the Titans' first lead since 4:57 in the first half. IWU led 62-58 before Augie reeled off five straight to lead 63-62 and Augustana led 72-67 with 4:31 to play before IWU scored five straight to tie the issue at 72-72 with 3:56 remaining. But Augustana claimed a 76-72 advantage with 2:32 to play and held onto the lead the remainder of the way.

In a game that had nine tie scores and 10 lead changes, Augustana outrebounded IWU 33-28 and each team committed 12 turnovers. IWU led 28-6 in scoring off the bench.
 
Illinois Wesleyan Statistics and Leaders
Field Goal Percentage - .491 (28 of 57)
3-Point Field Goal Percentage - .429 (6 of 14)
Free Throw Percentage - .706 (12 of 17)
Sophomore Trevor Seibring (14 points, game-high 8 rebounds)
Senior Dylan Overstreet (14 points, 7 assists)
Senior Pat Sodemann (11 points)
Sophomore Alec Bausch (11 points, 5 rebounds)
 
Augustana Statistics and Leaders
Field Goal Percentage - .509 (28 of 55)
3-Point Field Goal Percentage - .250 (4 of 16)
Free Throw Percentage - .857 (18 of 21)
Hunter Hill (17 points)
Jawan Slaughter (15 points)
Griffin Pils (15 points)

TIP-INS: Overstreet's seven assists give him 383 in his career, No. 6 all-time at IWU. Next on the list is Travis Rosenkranz with 390 (2007-11) ... The Titans are now 0-6 in CCIW tournament title games with three of those losses coming to Augustana ... IWU has a 6-8 record in the CCIW tourney ... IWU would need to get an at-large bid into the NCAA tourney ... Illinois Wesleyan has made five straight NCAA appearances and 23 overall NCAA tournament appearances with a national championship in 1997, third place finishes in 1996, 2001 and 2006 and semifinal appearances in 2012 and 2014 ... IWU has a record of 53-23 in 23 NCAA tourneys, the most wins in D-III postseason. Second is Wittenberg with a record of 51-27 in 27 NCAA appearances and third is Franklin & Marshall with 43 wins (43-28) in 23 appearances.