NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- After taking a 66-65 lead with 4:24 to play, Illinois Wesleyan was outscored 19-9 the remainder of the game and lost an 84-75 decision at North Central on Saturday, Dec. 3, in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin opener for both teams.

The No. 16-ranked Titans lost for the first time this season and is now 5-1 (0-1 CCIW) while the No. 6-ranked Cardinals recovered from a mid-week loss to improve to 4-1 overall (1-0 CCIW).

Illinois Wesleyan had the 66-65 advantage with 4:24 left before the Cardinals went on an 8-0 run and snagged a 73-66 lead with 1:48 remaining. IWU, who had led by as many as nine in the first half (28-19 with 5:29 to go), got no closer than four the rest of the way and trailed by as many as 12 late.

"We went cold over the course of three or four possessions and they were able to take control of the game," IWU head coach Ron Rose told WJBC Radio in a postgame interview. "The game was different from the first five we played, which was a disadvantage to us. To compete for the conference championship, a team has to win at home and that starts Wednesday for us."

Senior Trevor Seibring led IWU with 16 points and grabbed six rebounds while senior Alec Bausch had a team high seven rebounds as the Titans were outrebounded, 38-30.
Junior Brady Rose scored 13 points, sophomore Nick Coleman added a career-high 11 points and senior Andy Stempel scored 10 points, all in the second half. Sophomore Colin Bonnett was the fifth Titan in double figure scoring with 10 points.

North Central got 25 points and five rebounds from Alex Sorenson while Connor Raridon chipped in with 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Erwin Henry led all players with 13 rebounds and scored 17 points.

The Titans managed 43.8 percent shooting from the field (28 of 64) and hit on 10 of 24 3-point efforts (41.7 percent) while the Cardinals shot 52.6 percent (30 of 57) but made just three-of-15 from 3-point range (20 percent). Illinois Wesleyan made nine of 14 free throws and North Central made 21 of 29 charity tosses.

What's Next?
Illinois Wesleyan is at home on Wednesday, Dec. 7, for a 7 p.m. game against North Park. The Vikings are 5-0 overall and 1-0 in the CCIW after an 87-78 win at Augustana on Saturday ... The Vikings are among those receiving votes in last week's D3hoops.com poll ... A junior varsity game against North Park is scheduled for 5 p.m. Wednesday.