BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- Limited to their lowest field goal shooting percentage of the season, the Illinois Wesleyan men's basketball team lost an 87-65 verdict to No. 2-ranked Augustana College at the Shirk Center on Saturday, Jan. 19.
The Titans are now 11-7 overall and 4-5 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin while the Vikings won for the 15th straight time and improved to 17-1 and 9-0 against league foes.
The Titans shot .258 in the second half (8 of 31) and managed a .339 mark for the game (20 of 59), their low for the year. The Titans were 7 of 23 from distance (.304) and made 18 of 28 charity tosses (.643).
Meanwhile the Vikings shot .580 from the floor (29 of 50), made 9 of 13 from 3-point range (their season-best .692) and connected on 20 of 22 free throws (also a season-best at .909).
For the second straight game, senior
Brady Rose scored 26 points to lead IWU while sophomore
Charlie Bair was the only other Titan to score in double figures, hitting 5 of 7 from the field and making two 3-pointers. Freshman
Peter Lambesis had eight points and a team-high six rebounds as Illinois Wesleyan was outrebounded by a 43-25 margin.
Four Augustana starters scored in double digits, led by senior guard Nolan Ebel with 23. Chrishawn Orange and Brett Benning had 16 each and Pierson Wofford scored 11 and joined Benning with a team-high seven boards.
Illinois Wesleyan was in control of the contest early, building up a nine-point lead of 17-8 as late as 11:31 left in the first half. But the Vikings went on a 4-minute 10-0 run to grab an 18-17 lead. IWU led 27-25 before Augie had a 13-8 burst to lead 38-35 at halftime.
The Titans battled to square the game at 46-46 on a Bair 3-pointer with 16:08 left in the game but the Vikings took a 17-1 roll over a six-minute stretch to get ahead 63-47 with 10:06 left and never looked back.
What's Next?
Illinois Wesleyan plays at Wheaton College on Wednesday, Jan. 23, at 7 p.m. The Thunder is 13-5 overall and 6-3 in the CCIW after getting 49 points and 11 rebounds from Aston Francis in a 77-65 home win over North Park on Saturday. Wheaton downed IWU, 90-88, in Bloomington on Dec. 5.
