NAPERVILLE, Ill. - A surge in the latter part of the game came up short as the Illinois Wesleyan men's basketball team lost an 89-69 decision at North Central on Saturday, Feb. 6 at Gregory Arena in Naperville, Ill.
The loss sends the Illinois Wesleyan overall record to 11-11 and 5-6 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin while No. 13 North Central improved to 16-6 overall and 9-2 in the CCIW.
Illinois Wesleyan led 14-13 with 9:13 remaining in the first half, their last lead of the game. North Central had a 15-0 run vs. IWU and led 28-14 with 5:47 before intermission.
The Cardinals led by 15 at halftime (40-25) and built their advantage to 21 points at 52-31 with 15:49 left.
But the Titans sustained a 22-9 run to close to eight points at 61-53 with 8:45 and continued to chip away getting within six at 65-59 after a 3-pointer by sophomore
Jaylen Beasley with 6:52 remaining.
But the Cardinals went on a 10-0 scoring run against the Titans to build their lead back to 16 at 75-59 with 3:56 remaining and never looked back.
Senior
Joel Pennington and junior
Trevor Seibring each scored 15 points to lead IWU with three of Seibring's points coming on a nearly full-court heave at the end of the first half. Junior
Andy Stempel added 12.
Seibring led the Titans with seven rebounds as the Titans were outrebounded 42-26.
Alex Sorenson led five Cardinals in double figures with 23 points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds. Kevin Honn had 16 and Jayme Moten added 13 while Jagger Anderson and Connor Raridon each had 10 with Raridon's all coming in the final half.
North Central connected on 23 of 30 free throws (.767) while the Titans made only four of their 10 attempts (.400).
"North Central was very aggressive and had us on our heels in the first half," IWU head coach
Ron Rose told WJBC Radio in a postgame interview. "I loved the fact that our kids fought and the way they didn't quit. We just didn't finish as many plays as we needed to."
Rose also praised the play of senior guard
Brian Nelms, who finished with five points, two assists and a steal in 13 minutes off the bench. "I liked the way Brian played and was really happy for him. He played his heart out, made some great defensive plays, drew a change and played with a lot of energy."
What's Next?Illinois Wesleyan plays at No. 2-ranked Augustana at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 10 in Rock Island ... The Vikings are 21-1 overall and 10-1 in the CCIW as they were 69-47 winners at home over Carthage on Saturday ... The Vikings beat the Titans 77-60 at the Shirk Center on Jan. 20 ... Illinois Wesleyan leads the series against Augustana, 92-68, dating back to the 1914-15 season ...
