WHEATON, Ill. -- The Illinois Wesleyan men's basketball team lost an 86-77 decision to the Wheaton Thunder in a road game at King Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 23.

The second straight loss sends the Titans to an 11-8 overall record and a 4-6 record in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin while the Thunder improved to 14-5 overall and 7-3 in the league.

IWU finished at a season-low .333 from the field (28 of 84) and made 7 of 34 3-pointers (.206, the second lowest of the campaign). The 84 shot attempts and 34 3-point attempts are both season highs.

The Titans led early by a 7-2 score before falling behind by as many as nine at 32-23 with 3:46 left. IWU closed to within two at halftime (32-30) but trailed by as many as 10 points (55-45) with 11:33 remaining. But the Titans had a 16-8 surge to close to within two points at 63-61 with 5:50 to go after a traditional 3-point play by freshman Peter Lambesis.
A 10-2 run sent the Thunder ahead 73-63 with 3:36 left and Wheaton led by as many as 13 down the stretch.

Senior Brady Rose led the Titans with 21 points and senior Jason Gregoire added 12. Illinois Wesleyan was dominant on the boards, outrebounding the Thunder 50-38. Sophomore Doug Wallen and senior Danny Baker each had eight rebounds for the Titans.

Senior Aston Francis, the nation's Division III scoring leader, poured in 45 points in the win, making all 15 of his free throw tries, and led his team with nine rebounds.

What's Next?
After a weekend off, the Titans return home to play Millikin on Wednesday, Jan. 30, in a 7 p.m. game at the Shirk Center ... The Big Blue is 10-8 overall and 4-6 in the CCIW after losing 93-92 in overtime at home to North Central on Wednesday. Calvin Fisher scored 32 and had six 3-pointers for Millikin in the loss ... Millikin plays at Elmhurst on Saturday.