AUSTIN, Texas - Fouls piled up as the Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team ran out of steam against Concordia University Texas Sunday evening, Dec. 29, in the Titans' first game of the Concordia Classic. The Titans could not hold off a second-half surge by the Tornados as IWU moved to 7-4 on the season with an 88-69 setback.

Free throws by sophomore Peter Lambesis (Mt. Prospect, Ill.-Mt. Prospect) gave Illinois Wesleyan a 45-44 edge with 16:29 to play, but Concordia used trips to the charity stripe to open up a double-digit lead and never looked back. The Tornados outscored the Titans 46-28 over the second 20 minutes to down IWU and improve their record to 5-5 overall.

As a team, Illinois Wesleyan finished 21-of-48 from the field, including 6-of-21 from long distance. IWU converted 21-of-34 free throws, while Concordia knocked down 31-of-37 trips to the charity stripe as the teams combined for 54 fouls, with Illinois Wesleyan getting called for a season-high 30. The Tornados shot 50 percent from the floor, and made 9-of-19 three-point tries, while also holding a 32-25 rebounding advantage. 

IWU tallied 11 steals and forced 17 Tornado turnovers, while committing just 15 miscues of their own.

Freshman Luke Yoder (Bloomington, Ill.-Central Catholic) led all Titans with 14 points and Lambesis added 13. Junior Doug Wallen (Champaign, Ill.-Champaign Central) and Charlie Bair (Glen Ellyn, Ill.-Glenbard South) chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively, while Bair also notched a team-high six rebounds. Wallen and Bair also tied for the team lead with three steals apiece. Sophomores Cory Noe (Mahomet, Ill.-Mahomet-Seymour) and Keondre Schumacher (Bloomington, Ill.-University) tallied three assists each to lead the Titans.

The Titans wrap up their Texas trip tomorrow, Dec. 30, against Sul Ross State in their second game at the Concordia Classic. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.