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Matt Leritz shoots a free throw vs. Carroll
44
Carroll (WI) CAR 3-4,0-1 CCIW
63
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 7-0,1-0 CCIW
Carroll (WI) CAR
3-4,0-1 CCIW
44
Final
63
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
7-0,1-0 CCIW
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Carroll (WI) CAR 22 22 44
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 33 30 63

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men's Hoops Victorious in CCIW Opener Over Carroll

Leritz finished with 14-point, 15-rebound double-double

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team held off a pesky Carroll University squad for a 63-44 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin victory Saturday night, Dec. 4, at the Shirk Center. The No. 2 ranked Titans remained undefeated on the season, pushing their record to 7-0 overall and 1-0 in the CCIW. Meanwhile, the Pioneers stumbled to 3-4 on the year, 0-1 in league play.

Carroll held the edge early before sophomore Ryan Sroka (Lake in the Hills, Ill.-Huntley) gave Illinois Wesleyan its first lead of the day, 9-8, with 14:29 to play in the first half. 

Freshman Nick Roper (Creve Coeur, Mo.-MICDS) swiped a pass, and senior Peter Lambesis (Mt. Prospect, Ill.-St. Viator) completed a fast break layup to put IWU up five, 17-12, with 10:22 to go. The momentum-shifting play brought about a Carroll timeout, but the regrouping session did not slow the Green and White as the home team took a 33-22 advantage into halftime. 

The Pioneers trimmed the Titan lead to three, 33-30, with an 8-0 run over the first two minutes of the second period.

Junior Luke Yoder (Normal, Ill.-Central Catholic) halted the run with a fast break bucket, the first in what proved to be a 10-0 IWU run. Four points from Yoder, four from senior Matthew Leritz (St. Louis, Mo.-St. Louis University HS), and two from Lambesis gave IWU a 13-point cushion with 14:33 on the clock. 

From then on, Illinois Wesleyan never looked back en route to the 19-point victory. 

Leritz stuffed the stat sheet with team-highs of 14 points and 15 rebounds. He also added a pair of steals, two assists, and a block. Lambesis tied for the team lead with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting in his return to the starting lineup. Junior Cody Mitchell (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles East) and Yoder tallied 10 points apiece. 

Illinois Wesleyan shot 45.6 percent from the floor, going 26-of-57 for the game, including 4-for-16 from distance (25 percent). Carroll knocked down 36 percent of its shots (18-of-50) overall, 5-of-18 (27.8 percent) triples, and just 3-of-6 free throws. 

The Titans dominated the rebounding battle, out-rebounding the Pioneers, 44-24, including 13 offensive boards. IWU also blocked five shots to CU's four rejections, while both teams finished with seven assists and seven steals.

Both IWU and CU committed 15 turnovers, with the Titans cashing in for 13 points off Pioneer miscues. The Green and White also held a 38-20 lead in points in the paint, a 9-2 edge in second chance points, and a 9-4 lead in fast break scoring. 

The Titans take a week off from competition to focus on finals before returning to the court at King Arena for a road CCIW contest at fifth-ranked Wheaton College. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

 
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