BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- The No. 18-ranked Illinois Wesleyan men's basketball team won its eighth straight game, taking an 87-47 win over visiting North Park in a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin game at the Shirk Center on Saturday, Jan. 27.

The Titans are now 16-3 overall and 9-1 in the CCIW, good for a two-game lead in first place after a loss by Augustana. Go here to see CCIW standings.
North Park, who had played IWU to only a one-point loss (76-75) in Chicago on Jan. 13, is now 4-14 overall and 1-9 in conference play.

For the 10th straight game, junior Brady Rose led the Titans in scoring, netting 22 points with four 3-pointers as IWU went 11-for-25 from beyond the arc (.440). Junior Jason Gregoire scored 11 and sophomore Zach Knobloch scored 10 with two 3-pointers. Illinois Wesleyan got 42 points from bench players compared to only 18 for the Vikings. IWU committed 12 turnovers and North Park admitted to 16 turnovers that led to 22 Illinois Wesleyan points.

Freshman Charlie Bair came off the bench to grab a team-high nine rebounds in eight minutes as the Titans had a commanding 53-30 rebound lead.

Colin Lake, who dazzled the Titans with 46 in the Jan. 13 meeting in Chicago, was limited to 11 points on 3-of-10 shooting from the field. Billy Kirby led the Vikings with 12 points and Matt Szuba had seven rebounds.

What's Next?
Illinois Wesleyan plays at Augustana on Wednesday, Jan. 31, at 7 p.m. in Rock Island, Ill. The Vikings are 15-4 overall and 7-3 in the CCIW after suffering an 81-78 home court loss to Carthage on Saturday night.