BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan men's basketball team was defeated by North Central College on Saturday, Feb. 18 at the Shirk Center, losing in overtime by a final score of 82-80. On "Seniors' Night", senior Andy Stempel notched 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field to pace the Titans, scoring 18 in the first half.

With a loss the Titans fall to 16-8 (8-7 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) while North Central ended their regular season with a 15-10 overall mark and a 9-7 CCIW record. The loss eliminates the Titans from CCIW tournament consideration as fourth-place North Central holds a 2-0 advantage over IWU in the season series if both teams would finish at 9-7 in the league with a Titan win over Augustana Tuesday.

Go here for an explanation of the tie-breaker ramifications.

After being outscored by the Cardinals 39-32 in the first half, the Titans flipped the score in the second to send the game to overtime. Down by three points with seven ticks on the clock, sophomore Colin Bonnett drove to the basket, drawing the hoop and the harm. Bonnett hit the free-throw to tie the game forcing the Cardinals to attempt a shot at the buzzer. Bonnett matched his career high with 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the floor.

Bonnett also hit a key 3-pointer in overtime to give the Titans a one-point lead, their only lead in the second-half and overtime. Following the shot by Bonnett, North Central went on a 6-1 run to pull away from the Titans. With two seconds left in the game, Bonnett hit another triple, but a long inbounds pass from North Central sealed the victory for the Cardinals as the Titans were unable to foul.

Sophomore Brady Rose tallied 12 points while senior Trevor Seibring contributed 10 points, nine rebounds and three assists, each of the latter led the team. Senior Alec Bausch and Bonnett each scooped up a game-high three steals.

IWU struggled from beyond the arc on Saturday, shooting .240 percent from deep (6-of-25). This was an area in which North Central excelled, shooting 10-of-24 or .417 percent. The Titans were outrebounded 40-34, but scored more points in the paint with 34.

What's Next?
The Titans close out their season at home on Tuesday, Feb. 21, against Augustana with a 7 p.m. tipoff. It will be "Matt 'the Cat' Adams Night" at the Shirk Center with a towel giveaway for the first 500 entrants which features the likeness of the long-time IWU "fan / volunteer / assistant coach / bat boy / question-answerer."