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#3 Cory Noe
Kodiak Creative
55
Franklin Frank 14-16,7-10 HCAC
73
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 22-5,14-2 CCIW
Franklin Frank
14-16,7-10 HCAC
55
Final
73
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
22-5,14-2 CCIW
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Franklin Frank 26 29 55
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 40 33 73

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men’s Hoops Blows By Franklin in NCAA Opening Round

Titans to play UW-La Crosse tomorrow, March 5, at 6:45 p.m.

Press Conference

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The seventh-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team cruised past Franklin College, 77-53, in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament Friday night, March 4, inside the Shirk Center. Illinois Wesleyan (22-5) advances to the second round, where the Titans will face off against the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse tomorrow, March 5, at 6:45 p.m.

Franklin drilled a three-pointer with around eight and a half minutes to go in the opening period to push ahead, 17-16, but junior Cody Mitchell's (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles East) jumper kicked off an IWU run. 

Junior Luke Yoder (Normal, Ill.-Central Catholic) followed with a layup before senior Matthew Leritz (St. Louis, Mo.-St. Louis University HS) threw down a two-handed dunk to get the Shirk Center crowd roaring. Leritz's slam pushed the Titans ahead by five, 22-17, and forced a Franklin timeout.

IWU's run continued as buckets by Mitchell, Leritz, and senior Cory Noe (Mahomet, Ill.-Mahomet-Seymour) extended the Titan lead to 38-26 at the break.

The Green and White continued rolling in the second half, going up by as many as 25 en route to the convincing 73-55 victory. 

Illinois Wesleyan was led by double-double efforts by Leritz and Mitchell, while Noe and sophomore Ryan Sroka (Lake in the Hills, Ill.-Huntley) also hit double digits in points. Leritz tied Noe for the team-lead with 14 points, while he and Mitchell tied for the game-high with 11 rebounds. Mitchell completed the double-double with 12 points, while Sroka tallied 10 off the bench.

The point guard duo of Yoder and junior Lucas Heflen (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North) orchestrated the well-balanced IWU offense. Heflen dished out a game-high five assists, with Yoder adding three helpers and nine points.

The Titans shot 43.3 (29-for-67) percent from the field and 36.4 percent (8-for-22) from beyond the arc, while the Grizzlies went 19-for-51 (37.3 percent) overall and 12-for-32 (37.5 percent) from three-point range. Franklin finished 5-for-5 at the free throw line, where IWU went 7-for-14.

Led by Mitchell and Leritz, the Green and White earned a 43-31 edge on the glass. The Titans grabbed a whopping 15 offensive rebounds, which turned into 19 second chance points. IWU also garnered leads in points off turnovers (19-3), points in the paint (32-14), fast break points (11-0), and bench points (19-13). 

Illinois Wesleyan will take on 14th-ranked UW-La Crosse tomorrow night, March 5, at 6:45 p.m. with a Sweet Sixteen berth on the line. Tickets will be available at the door ($15 - adults, $10 - students, seniors, and children under three).

 
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