CHICAGO - The Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team held off a late push by the University of Chicago to come out victorious 78-74 on the road Tuesday night, Nov. 19, at the Ratner Athletics Center. A three-pointer by the Maroons (1-2) with 11 seconds to play cut the Titans' (3-1) lead to one, 75-74, but free throws down the stretch lifted IWU to victory.
Junior Grant Wolfe (Effingham, Ill.-Effingham) dropped 20 points and fellow junior Charlie Bair (Glen Ellyn, Ill.-Glenbard South) added a 10-point, 12-rebound double-double to lead a balanced offensive effort for the Titans. Sophomores Keondre Schumacher (Bloomington, Ill.-University HS) and Peter Lambesis (Mt. Prospect, Ill.-Prospect) also notched double digit points, adding 18 and 15, respectively.
The Maroons used the three-ball to keep pace with the Titans in the first half. Playing to a 20-20 tie midway through the period, senior Bernie Coderre (Flossmoor, Ill.-Homewood-Flossmoor) sparked a 7-0 Illinois Wesleyan. After a Coderre layup, the senior captain pulled down a defensive rebound to get the Titans out in transition for a triple from Wolfe. A bucket by Wallen gave IWU a 27-20 edge, but a trio of three-pointers by Chicago led to a 35-35 tie at intermission.
Wolfe led the way for the Titans through the opening 20 minutes with 11 points.
Illinois Wesleyan got out to a 45-39 advantage in the second half, but seven straight points from Chicago forced an IWU timeout with 15:26 to go.
Schumacher hit a three-pointer out of the break to get the Titans back on track. Over the next five minutes an 11-3 run gave IWU a 56-49 lead with 10 minutes to go.
Another Schumacher three with just over four minutes remaining put Illinois Wesleyan up 65-64, before buckets by Lambesis and Wolfe pushes IWU ahead by five, 70-65, with 1:32 on the clock.
IWU's five-point edge was short lived though, as UC used three triples to make it a one-point game with 11 seconds to go, but free throws in the waning seconds secured the 78-74 win.
As a team, IWU converted 33-of-66 shots for a 50 percent clip compared to UC's 43.1 field goal percentage. Chicago held the upperhand from long range draining 12 three-pointers to Illinois Wesleyan's five. The Titans held a 39-36 edge on the glass, as well as a 6-5 advantage in steals. IWU dominated the paint, outscoring UC 40-26 inside.
Illinois Wesleyan is back in action Saturday, Nov. 23, at Lake Forest College. Tipoff between the Titans and Foresters is scheduled for 4 p.m.
