BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The No. 23 ranked Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team dropped a top-25 showdown with No. 10 Washington University in St. Louis Thursday night, Dec. 19, inside the Shirk Center. Ultimately the Bears' 40-24 rebounding advantage was too much to overcome as the Titans fell 97-88.

A layup by Wallen with just under three minutes to play pulled the Titans within four points of the Bears, but WashU's Jack Nolan drilled a three-ball to push the deficit back to seven, 81-74. Free throws were the only source of offense for both teams over the next minute and a half before a Wallen jumper once again trimmed the Bears' advantage.

Junior Doug Wallen (Champaign, Ill.-Champaign Central)  converted a jumper with 1:35 to play, cutting WashU's lead to five, 83-78, but six straight points by the Bears extended IWU's deficit to 11 with 49 seconds to go. Juniors Grant Wolfe (Effingham, Ill.-Effingham) and  Charlie Bair (Glen Ellyn, Ill.-Glenbard South)  sunk buckets in the closing minute, but the Bears converted free throws to stave off the Titans' comeback effort.

Wolfe scored a career-high 28 points on 9-of-14 shooting, while dishing out four assists and notching two steals. Bair added a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double, while sophomore Peter Lambesis (Mt. Prospect, Ill.-Mt. Prospect) and Wallen added 19 and 13 points, respectively.

As a team, the Titans shot 54 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from distance. The Bears shot 53 percent for the game, including 34.6 percent from distance. IWU held a 9 to 6 edge in steals, as well as a 20-7 advantage in points off turnovers. WashU held the upperhand in second chance points 24-10, while each team totaled 38 points in the paint.

After trading buckets in the early part of the first half, WashU used an 18-4 run over a six-minute span to take control 31-18 with 7:45 to go.

Wolfe found Schumacher for a three-pointer on Illinois Wesleyan's next trip down the floor to bring the Titans within 10. The triple from Schumacher got the IWU offense going as Wolfe sunk a layup and a triple before Lambesis and freshman Luke Yoder (Bloomington, Ill.-Central Catholic) added buckets for a 21-12 run. Illinois Wesleyan shot 9-of-14 from the floor over the final seven and a half minutes and forced four WashU turnovers to pull within four, 43-39, at halftime.

Illinois Wesleyan returns to action at the Concordia Texas Classic Sunday-Monday, Dec. 29-30. IWU tips off the tournament against host Concordia Sunday, Dec. 29, at 5:30 p.m. before tangling with Sul Ross State at 2 p.m. Monday, Dec. 30.