BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- After trailing by two at halftime and shooting just 31 percent in the first 20 minutes, the Illinois Wesleyan men's basketball team rallied for a 65-53 win over Millikin University at the Griswold Center in Decatur, Ill., on Wednesday, Feb. 1.

The 53 points by Millikin is a low for an IWU opponent this season as the Titans improved to 13-6 overall and evened their mark at 5-5 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. The Big Blue are 3-17 this season and 1-10 in the league.

Connecting on only eight of 26 shots from the field in the first 20 minutes, IWU trailed by as many as six at 13-7 with 10:49 to play before a 10-2 run, capped by a Nick Coleman 3-pointer, gave IWU a 17-15 lead at the 5:34 mark.
Millikin led by a 24-22 score at intermission and IWU tied the game with the first bucket of the second half. Millikin had a 27-26 edge before the Titans churned out a 9-3 run to claim a five-point 35-30 lead with 13:46 remaining and the Big Blue got no closer than two the rest of the way.
IWU was 13 of 26 from the floor in the final half and finished at .404 (21 of 52). The 21 field goals is a season low, as were the eight assists.

Junior Brady Rose led IWU with 15 points, 10 in the second half, and Coleman added 14 with 11 coming in the final period. Rose and senior Trevor Seibring each snared five rebounds as Millikin outboarded the Titans, 36-32.

Despite shooting just .577 from the free throw line (15 of 26), eight of the final 10 IWU points were knocked in at the stripe. Millikin was 5 of 9 from the line in the game.

Zach Fisher came off the bench to score a game-high 18 for Millikin while Jordan Cunningham had 14 points and a game-best 10 rebounds.

What's Next?
The men host Carroll at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 4. There will be a celebration to honor the 20th anniversary of the 1997 Illinois Wesleyan men's basketball NCAA Division III championship team at halftime of the men's game ... In addition to the team being honored, Saturday night will also feature the 2016 IWU football team singing the National Anthem prior to the men's game and it is the annual "Pink Zone" game with money being raised for the Bloomington-Normal Community Cancer Center ... The IWU women meet Carroll at 5 p.m. that evening, also a "Pink Zone" game.