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#4 Luke Yoder
Kodiak Creative
73
Wheaton (IL) WHEIL 22-7,12-4 CCIW
77
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 24-5,14-2 CCIW
Wheaton (IL) WHEIL
22-7,12-4 CCIW
73
Final
77
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
24-5,14-2 CCIW
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Wheaton (IL) WHEIL 34 39 73
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 37 40 77

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men’s Hoops Holds Off Wheaton to Reach Elite Eight

Leritz scores 1000th career point in win

Postgame Press Conference

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The seventh-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team edged 18th-ranked Wheaton College, 77-73, Friday night, March 11, inside the Shirk Center to advance to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament for the first time since 2014. The Titans (24-5) advance to play in tomorrow night's Elite Eight matchup against 15th-ranked Wabash College.

Senior Matthew Leritz (St. Louis, Mo.-St. Louis University HS) went for a game-high 23 points, including surpassing the 1000 career point mark, while junior Luke Yoder (Bloomington, Ill.-Central Catholic) popped off for 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Seniors Peter Lambesis (Mt. Prospect, Ill.-St. Viator) and Cory Noe (Mahomet, Ill.-Mahomet) finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively. 

Illinois Wesleyan used a balanced effort to compile a 34-30 edge on the glass. Leritz, junior Cody Mitchell (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles East), Noe, and Yoder tied for the team lead with six rebounds apiece, while Lambesis recorded five boards. The Titans also mounted advantages in points in the paint (44-30), second chance points (10-6), and points off turnovers (10-6). 

The Green and White finished 31-for-61 from the floor, going 5-for-18 from three-point range. Wheaton hit 43.9 percent (25-for-57) of its shots, but used 10 three-pointers on 29 attempts to keep the game tight. Both teams shot the ball well at the free throw line, with IWU going 10-of-11 and Wheaton going 13-for-16.

Illinois Wesleyan led by as many as nine in the game, but saw Wheaton trim the home team's advantage to three on Nick Schiavello's three-pointer with 3:02 to go. 

Yoder sliced his way through the paint before hitting a jumper with just over two minutes to play to push the Titans ahead, 73-68. 

After a Wheaton timeout, Noe swiped the ball and sent the Titans off running. Yoder dribbled across the baseline before finding a wide open Mitchell on a cut through the lane for a dunk, upping the Green and White's advantage to eight.

Wheaton went on to answer with a three-pointer, but a huge tip out by Leritz on an offensive rebound led to a pair of free throws by Yoder to put IWU up six. The Thunder tacked on a bucket with 16 seconds to play, but the Titans held on for a 77-73 triumph.

Illinois Wesleyan will face off against 15th-ranked Wabash College tomorrow, March 12, at 7:30 p.m. inside the Shirk Center with a Final Four berth at stake. Tickets will go on sale at 5:30 p.m., with doors set to open at 6 p.m.

 
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