Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content
Matthew Leritz vs. NPU
49
North Park NPU 8-12,3-9 CCIW
73
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 17-4,10-2 CCIW
North Park NPU
8-12,3-9 CCIW
49
Final
73
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
17-4,10-2 CCIW
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
North Park NPU 24 25 49
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 39 34 73

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men’s Hoops Rolls Past North Park

Titans up their record to 17-4 overall, 10-2 in CCIW

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The ninth-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team defeated North Park University, 73-49, at the Shirk Center Monday night, Feb. 7, for its 10th College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin victory of the season. With the win, IWU is 17-4 overall and 10-2 in the CCIW. NPU saw its slide continue as the Vikings dropped their ninth straight league game and fell to 8-12 on the year, 3-9 in CCIW games. 

Illinois Wesleyan, which never trailed in the contest, shot 52.1 percent from the floor (25-for-48) and went 7-for-18 from three-point distance. IWU cashed in on 16-of-18 free throw attempts, good for an 88.9 clip at the charity stripe. North Park was limited to 18-for-56 from the field and 5-of-15 from beyond the arc, while the Vikings finished 8-for-13 at the free throw line. 

Senior Matthew Leritz (St. Louis, Mo.-St. Louis University HS) led the Green and White with 19 points, while sophomore Ryan Sroka (Lake in the Hills, Ill.-Huntley) totaled 14 points off the bench. Senior Cory Noe (Mahomet, Ill.-Mahomet-Seymour) also finished in double figures, contributing 12 points with three triples made. Junior Luke Yoder (Normal, Ill.-Central Catholic) accumulated eight points and was credited with a team-high five assists. 

On the glass, junior Cody Mitchell's (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles East) game-high 12 rebounds led the Titans to a commanding 36-29 rebounding advantage. IWU also held a 30-18 lead in points in the paint, a 28-10 edge in bench points, and an 11-5 advantage in points off turnovers. Illinois Wesleyan recorded seven blocks, led by Leritz and Mitchell with two apiece. 

With both teams struggling to find their footing offensively, a Leritz layup broke the shutout nearly four minutes in. 

Three-pointers by Yoder and Noe opened up a 23-11 IWU lead with 8:24 to go in the opening period, before Sroka's fast break and-one extended the Green and White's lead to 30-16 with five minutes left in the half.

North Park cut into Illinois Wesleyan's 39-24 halftime-lead over the first eight minutes of the second half. The Vikings pulled within seven, 46-39, to force a Titan timeout with 12:56 remaining. 

A four-point play by Sroka was followed by back-to-back buckets by Noe. After hitting a pull-up jumper, Noe drained a three-ball on the skip pass from freshman Nick Roper (Creve Coeur, Mo.-MICDS) to give IWU a 20-point lead. 

The Titans' advantage grew to as many as 26 as freshmen Harrison Wilmsen (St. Louis, Mo.-Priory) and Hakim Williams (Round Lake, Ill.-Round Lake) found their way into the point column, before dribbling out a 73-49 victory.

The Green and White will make a short trip down to Decatur, Ill. Wednesday, Feb. 9, to take on Millikin University. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside the Griswold Center.
 
Print Friendly Version