Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content
IWU vs Wheaton
Kodiak Creative
81
Winner Wabash Wabash 28-3,16-1 NCAC
75
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 24-6,14-2 CCIW
Winner
Wabash Wabash
28-3,16-1 NCAC
81
Final
75
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
24-6,14-2 CCIW
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Wabash Wabash 34 47 81
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 39 36 75

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men’s Hoops Sees Season End in Elite Eight with Loss to No. 15 Wabash

Titans finish season with record of 24-6

Postgame Press Conference

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team saw its season come to an end with a heartbreaking setback to 15th-ranked Wabash College in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division III Men's Tournament Championship Saturday, March 12, at the Shirk Center. With the 81-75 loss, the Titans finished the season with a 24-6 record. The Little Giants advance to the Final Four in Fort Wayne, Ind. and push their record to 27-3.

Senior Matthew Leritz (St. Louis, Mo.-St. Louis University HS) and junior Luke Yoder (Normal, Ill.-Central Catholic) paced the Green and White. Leritz went for 21 points and 13 rebounds to notch his 12th double-double of the season, while Yoder tallied 20 points. Senior Peter Lambesis (Mt. Prospect, Ill.-St. Viator) and junior Lucas Heflen (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North) tallied eight points apiece, with sophomore Ryan Sroka (Lake in the Hills, Ill.-Huntley) adding six points and seven rebounds.

The Green and White shook off a sluggish start to even the score at 14 on a pair of free throws by Lambesis midway through the first half, IWU's first advantage of the game after spotting Wabash a 10-0 lead to start the night.

A Yoder layup in transition and a three-pointer by junior Lucas Heflen (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North) upped the Titans' lead to four, 33-29, at the under-four media timeout. 

Illinois Wesleyan extended its lead to seven on a bucket by Leritz, but a fadeaway jumper as the buzzer sounded trimmed the Green and White's edge to five, 39-34, at the half. Wabash used seven first-half triples to overcome IWU's efficient shooting over the first 20 minutes of play.

A cluster of fouls by the Titans coupled with a 14-4 run by the Little Giants saw Wabash reclaim the lead, 48-45, with 16:46 left to play.

A three-pointer by Heflen evened the score at 48 all and got IWU back on track as Yoder followed with two free throws and Heflen hit a floater. The quick 7-0 spurt put Illinois Wesleyan up 52-48 at the 15:19 mark.

Trading runs back and forth, the score sat even at 60-60 as the under-eight media timeout rolled around. Out of the break, Yoder converted a pair of free throws to give IWU a 62-60 edge, which proved to be IWU's last lead of the night. 

Free throws by Yoder and Leritz cut what was once a seven-point Wabash lead to three, 71-68, with 1:42 remaining, but the Little Giants scored six points in a 36 second span to go ahead 77-68. 

Five points from senior Cory Noe (Mahomet, Ill.-Mahomet-Seymour) made it a two possession game with 21 seconds to play, but Wabash put the game out of reach with two more free throws.

The Titans finished the season with a 24-6 record, marking Illinois Wesleyan's most wins since the 2013-14 campaign (27-5). The loss marked the end of the IWU careers of Leritz, Lambesis, Noe, and Gavin Markgraff, a group that led the Green and White to College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin tournament and regular season championships. Illinois Wesleyan compiled 69 wins and a .734 win percentage during the group's tenure.

 
Print Friendly Version