BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- The Illinois Wesleyan men's basketball team improved to 7-0 for the first time since the 2005-06 team opened 10-0 with a 75-67 overtime decision against Carthage College at the Shirk Center on Saturday, Dec. 1.
Illinois Wesleyan and Carthage both opened their College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin campaigns as the Red Men slipped to 3-4 overall.
Illinois Wesleyan trailed 48-36 with 11:14 remaining before surging on a 14-0 run to get a 50-48 lead with 6:52 left in regulation. The game ended in a 62-62 tie before Illinois Wesleyan outscored Carthage, 13-5, in the overtime session.
The Titans were led by the 16-point effort from senior
Jason Gregoire with senior
Colin Bonnett getting 13. Sophomore
Grant Wolfe came off the bench to score 12 points and freshman
Matthew Leritz collected a game-high 15 rebounds.
Senior
Brady Rose suffered through a four for 17 shooting night from the field and finished with nine points. He scored his first basket, a 3-pointer, with 9:13 to play in the game.
Rose wasn't alone in a rough shooting night - the Titans, who came into the game with a .510 team field goal percentage, were held to a season-low .371 from the field (26 of 70) and fired at a .370 pace from 3-point range (10 of 27). Carthage shot .403 (25 of 62) and made eight of 28 3-pointers for a .286 percentage, the low for an opponent against IWU this season.
Kienan Baltimore scored a game-high 23 for the Red Men with Jordon Kedrowski adding 22 points and Sean Johnson scoring 12 and snaring 11 rebounds. Mike Canady also got 11 rebounds as the Red Men held a 45-41 edge on the boards in the game.
What's Next?
The Titans host Wheaton in a 7 p.m. game on Wednesday, Dec. 5 at the Shirk Center ... The Thunder (5-2, 0-1 CCIW) started the year with five wins and now look to snap a two-game losing streak, having lost 90-60 to Chicago last Wednesday and 68-65 at North Park on Saturday night ... Wheaton senior guard Aston Francis is one of the leading scorers in Division III, averaging 31.7 points a game.
