WAUKESHA, Wis. - The Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team came away with a gritty 71-67 win at Carroll University Saturday, Jan. 18, inside Van Male Fieldhouse. With the victory, the Titans remain one game back in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin standings at 5-2 in league play and 11-5 overall.

Sophomore Peter Lambesis (Mt. Prospect, Ill.-St. Viator) and Doug Wallen (Champaign, Ill.-Champaign Central) tied for the team lead with 16 points apiece as four players reached double figures for the Titans. Lambesis added five rebounds and a pair of steals, while Wallen also tallied eight rebounds. Freshman Luke Yoder (Bloomington, Ill.-Central Catholic) scored 11 points and added five steals, while junior Charlie Bair (Glen Ellyn, Ill.-Glenbard South) notched his sixth double-double of the year with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

The Titans held a 46.3 to 42.6 advantage in field goal percentage, but the Pioneers owned a 42.9 to 29.4 edge from three-point range. IWU also led in bench points (16 to 10), points in the paint (38 to 24), and second chance points (16 to 9). Behind Bair's 12 boards Illinois Wesleyan also racked up a 32-26 rebounding advantage.

Illinois Wesleyan jumped out to a 7-0 lead before Carroll knocked down four straight three pointers to tie the game at 16-16 with 13:36 on the clock.

A three-pointer by Carroll's Nick Penny gave the Pioneers a four-point lead with nine minutes left in the period, but junior Colin Cheaney (Batavia, Ill.-Batavia) hit a bucket on a baseline drive and Wallen converted a fade-away jumper to level the score at 25.

With the game tied at 32 all with just over four minutes remaining,free throws by Bair and Lambesis sparked a run that saw the Titans go up by as many as eight. After holding the Pioneers scoreless for nearly three minutes, a few late buckets sent IWU to the locker room leading by four, 40-36.

Wallen converted a layup with 16:11 to play, snapping a six-minute scoring drought for the Titans, and a Bair jumper gave IWU a one-point lead.

Illinois Wesleyan struggled to get things going offensively out of the break before Wallen's layup with 16:11 snapped a Titan scoring drought that extended back to 1:57 in the first half. Bair followed with a bucket of his own to give IWU a one-point lead.

With a one-point edge seesawing back-and-forth, Schumacher came up with a swipe and score to give the Titans a three point lead. Schumacher 

After a one-point edge seesawed back-and forth, sophomore Keondre Schumacher (Bloomington, Ill.-University) slipped a backdoor pass to fellow sophomore Cory Noe (Mahomet, Ill.-Mahomet Seymour) for a layup. The bucket gave IWU a 52-49 lead with 12:16 and forced a Carroll timeout.

Sophomore Matt Leritz (St. Louis, Mo.-St. Louis University) came through with a basket in the post as part of a 10-2 IWU run that spanned more than five minutes to increase Illinois Wesleyan's lead to 58-52 with 8:34 to go.

Three-pointers by Yoder and Lambesis saw the Titans go up by as many as 10 before coming away with a 71-67 victory.

Illinois Wesleyan looks for its third straight conference win Wednesday night, Jan. 22, at Elmhurst College. Tipoff between the Titans and No. 10 Bluejays is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside R.A. Faganel Hall.