Photo Gallery, IWU vs.North Central (photos by Claire Hoverson '17)

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- The Illinois Wesleyan men's basketball team saw a 14-point lead disappear in the final 5:56 of the game and lost in overtime, 96-89, to a pesky North Central team at the Shirk Center on Saturday, Jan. 16.

IWU had a three-game winning streak snapped and fell to 9-7 overall and 3-2 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin while the No. 25-ranked Cardinals improved to 11-5 overall and 4-1 in the CCIW.

The Titans had their largest lead (of 14) in the game at 73-59 with 5:56 left before the Cardinals outscored IWU, 18-4 in closing minutes of regulation to tie the match at 77-77. North Central scored seven of the first eight points in overtime to assume an 84-78 lead and the Titans got no closer than three (84-81 with 1:43 left) the rest of the way as North Central got IWU, 19-12 in the extra session.

Illinois Wesleyan got four players in double figures, led by the double-double of 26 points and 10 rebounds from junior Trevor Seibring. Senior Joel Pennington scored 19, senior Bryce Dolan chipped in 15 and junior Alec Bausch came off the bench to score 10. Senior Ryan Coyle also gathered in 10 rebounds.

The Cardinals, with five in double digit scoring, got 31 points and 15 rebounds from freshman Connor Raridon (the son of NCC head coach Todd Raridon), who made 14 of 15 free throws. Jayme Moten had 18 and made six of six free throws in overtime, Alex Sorenson had 16 before fouling out, Kevin Honn scored 14 and fouled out and Jagger Anderson chipped in 13 points.

North Central outrebounded IWU, 40-33 and admitted to 12 turnovers compared to just seven for IWU. North Central shot .875 (21 of 24) from the free throw line while the Titans struggled at the stripe, shooting .654 (17 of 26). IWU also shot a below-average .286 (six of 21) from 3-point range.

What's Next?
Illinois Wesleyan hosts the preseason CCIW favorite Augustana Vikings on Wednesday, Jan. 20 at the Shirk Center. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. ... The No. 3-nationally ranked Vikings are 15-1 overall and 4-1 in the CCIW after a 71-63 win Saturday at Carthage ... Illinois Wesleyan leads the series against Augustana, 92-67, dating back to the 1914-15 season ... The Vikings finished second in the national D-III tournament last season, losing 70-54 to Wisconsin-Stevens Point ... Augustana went 2-1 against IWU last year. During the regular season, Illinois Wesleyan won 89-84 in Rock Island and Augustana beat IWU at the Shirk Center, 82-56. In the CCIW postseason tourney, also at Rock Island, Augustana downed IWU 78-74.