BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - In a down-to-the-wire finish, the Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball Green team defeated the White team 75-73 inside the Shirk Center Monday night, Nov. 16. Despite a determined defensive second-half effort from White, a strong offensive performance from Green proved to be the difference. 

From the jump, Green took the lead and never looked back, leading by as many as 21 points. The difference in the first half turned out to be offense, as Green shot 17-for-32 (53%) from the floor compared to 9-for-30 (30%) from White. Going into halftime, Green led 45-27.  

White relied heavily on its defense to comeback in the second half, converting 18 points off of 16 Green turnovers. By steadily chipping away at the Green lead, White pulled within one point with under a minute to play. Ultimately, White's comeback was thwarted by Green's strong shooting from beyond the arc. 

For the Green team, junior Matthew Leritz (St. Louis, Mo., St. Louis University HS) finished with a game-high 26 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore Lucas Heflen (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North) had 12 points and junior Peter Lambesis (Mt. Prospect, Ill., St. Viator) added 11 points. Junior Gavin Markgraff (McHenry, Ill., McHenry West) finished in double digits as well with 10 points. 

A determined White team was led by junior Cory Noe (Mahomet, Ill., Mahomet-Seymour), who finished with a team-high 19 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Senior Charlie Bair (Glen Ellyn, Ill., Glenbard South) added a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double and freshman Evan Schneider (St. Louis, Mo., Ladue) chipped in 10 points.