BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – A strong second half put away a determined Carroll Pioneer squad as the No. 17-ranked Illinois Wesleyan men's basketball team won a 70-61 decision on "Seniors' Night" at the Shirk Center on Saturday, Feb. 10.
 
The Titans are 17-5 overall and 10-3 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (still with a one-game lead) while the Pioneers are 9-13 overall and 5-8 against the league.
 
Junior Brady Rose led four Titans in double figure scoring with 17 points as junior Jason Gregoire added 15, sophomore Alex O'Neill got 14 and was 6-of-6 from the field, and junior Colin Bonnett scored 13.
 
Senior Jaylen Beasley corralled a game-high 14 rebounds as the Titans won the rebound war, 34-29.
 
With the score tied at 36-36 with 16:13 to play in the game, the Titans went on an 8-2 run to assume a 44-38 lead. The stubborn Pios crept back within one at 46-45 with 11:49 remaining before Illinois Wesleyan had a 12-2 surge to go on top 58-47 with 8:52 left. Carroll got no closer than seven the rest of the way.
 
The Titans struggled offensively in the first half, enduring a field goal drought of more than 9 minutes (from 14:10 to 5:08), and held a 31-28 lead at the break. IWU got two free throws each from Bonnett and Rose during the 9-minute stretch.
In the first 20 minutes, IWU shot just 41.7 from the field (10 of 24) and connected on 3 of 12 from 3-point land.
 
Carroll had three players in double figures with Joel Heesch and Tyler Ingebrigtsen scoring 12 and Tanner Zaeske adding 10.
 
What's Next?
The Titans travel to Decatur to face Millikin University on Wednesday, Feb. 14 … The Big Blue is 11-12 overall and 4-10 in the CCIW after an 83-74 setback to Augustana at home on Saturday.