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BLOOMINGTON, IL - The Titans defeated Ohio Wesleyan University 84-55 to advance into the championship game tomorrow afternoon, Saturday, Nov. 11 at 5 pm inside the Shirk Center. (Kodiak Creative/Jimmy Naprstek)
Kodiak Creative
69
UChicago UC 3-2,0-0 UAA
75
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 4-2,0-0 CCIW
UChicago UC
3-2,0-0 UAA
69
Final
75
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
4-2,0-0 CCIW
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
UChicago UC 33 36 69
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 31 44 75

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men’s Hoops Holds Off Chicago

Titans improve to 4-2 on the season

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball used a strong second half to take down the University of Chicago Saturday night, Nov. 25, inside the Shirk Center. With the win, Illinois Wesleyan boosted its record to 4-2, while UC dipped to 3-2 on the season.

Junior Harrison Wilmsen (St. Louis, Mo.-Priory) led the Titans in scoring for the second straight game with 20 points. Senior Ryan Sroka (Lake in the Hills, Ill.-Huntley) added 14 points, while senior Luke Yoder (Normal, Ill.-Central Catholic) scored all of his 10 points in the second half. Sophomore Karlo Colak (Glencoe, Ill.-New Trier) added eight points and a team-high five rebounds. Junior Hakim Williams (Round Lake, Ill.-Round Lake) led the team in assists with six, which tied his career high. 

The Titans won the battle inside, outscoring the Maroons 32-26 in the paint. The Green and White also outscored Chicago in fast break points, 17-2, and recorded 19 assists to the Maroons 12. From the free throw line, the Titans were 14-of-16, behind Yoder's perfect 6-of-6 performance, compared to the Maroons 8-of-10. 

Chicago came out strong hitting seven first-half three-pointers to move ahead by as many as 12, but Illinois Wesleyan clawed its way back. Trailing by a dozen with just under 11 minutes to play, the Titans used three-pointers by Wilmsen and Trey Bazzell (Fairbury, Ill.-Prairie Central) along with a tough take by Hakim Williams to cut the Maroons lead to four, 25-21. Freshman Jackson Niego (Western Springs, Ill.-Lyons Township) slipped a pass to Sroka for a layup to pull IWU within two, 25-23, but Chicago came right back with a triple to force Head Coach Ron Rose to call a timeout with 3:24 to go in the half.

Out of the regrouping session, Sroka buried a three-pointer in front of the UC bench to spark an 8-0 IWU run. Williams then kicked out to Colak for a corner three before Niego knocked down a pull-up jumper near the free throw line to level the score at 31 all.

Chicago hit a bucket with 13.0 seconds left in the period to take a 33-31 edge into halftime.

A seven-point run put the Maroons ahead, 44-37, with 16 minutes to play in the second half, but the Titans once again battled back. 

Roper fed Wilmsen for a tough layup and Colak converted a jumper from the paint to cut the Maroon lead to three, 44-41, before a key defensive play by freshman Mason Funk (Normal, Ill.-University High) saw the Titans even the score. The heady play by Funk was followed by a give-and-go between Wilmsen and Williams as a tough layup knotted the game at 46. 

Feeding off the energy, junior Marko Anderson (Park Ridge, Ill.-Maine South) grabbed a monster rebound and found Yoder on the outlet, who quickly dished to Sroka for the go-ahead three-pointer. The 49-46 lead marked IWU's first of the game.

Chicago called a timeout around the 11-minute mark with Illinois Wesleyan clinging to a 49-48 advantage. Wilmsen went to work out of the timeout, hitting a hook shot and a layup to open up a 53-48 IWU edge.

The Titans expanded their lead to nine with free throws by Roper and a jumper from Sroka, as Illinois Wesleyan sat in front, 67-58, with 2:09 on the clock.

Chicago pulled within four down the stretch, but Yoder's free throws lifted IWU to the 75-69 victory.

Illinois Wesleyan begins CCIW play Wednesday, Nov. 29, with a roadtrip to R.A. Faganel Hall for a 7 p.m. battle with the Bluejays of Elmhurst University.

 
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