Kodiak Creative/Jimmy Naprstek

Box Score

Redlands UR 6-2,0-1 SCIAC

Ill. Wesleyan IWU 7-5,3-1 CCIW

Redlands UR

6-2,0-1 SCIAC

Final

Dec. 19, 2023

Ill. Wesleyan IWU

7-5,3-1 CCIW

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Redlands UR	43	41	84
Ill. Wesleyan IWU	31	43	74

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 12/19/2023 9:11:00 PM

Comeback Falls Short for Men’s Hoops Against Redlands

Roper goes for career-highs of 24 points and 11 rebounds

Next Game:

at UW-Stevens Point

12/30/2023 | 3 p.m.

Next Game

Full Schedule

Dec. 30 (Sat) / 3 p.m.

at UW-Stevens Point

History

Recap
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THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Turnovers proved costly as the Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team's comeback was thwarted by the University of Redlands Tuesday night, Dec. 19, at the Kingsmen Classic. IWU (7-5), which trailed by as many as 17, pulled within three in the second half but could not overcome the deficit in a 84-74 setback at the hands of Redlands (6-2).

Junior Nick Roper (St. Louis, Mo.-MICDS) put together a career day with 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting and 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. Fellow junior Harrison Wilmsen (St. Louis, Mo.-Priory) also finished in double figures with 16 points and six caroms.

Going up against Redlands frantic full-court pressure, Illinois Wesleyan finished the game 29-of-67 from the floor (43.3 percent) with five three-pointers. IWU finished 11-for-17 from the free throw line. Redlands connected on 46 percent of its shots (29-for-63), including 8-of-32 three-point tries. The Bulldogs converted 18-of-33 free throw attempts.

Illinois Wesleyan finished with 22 turnovers, while forcing Redlands into just 18. Senior Ryan Sroka (Lake in the Hills, Ill.-Huntley) paced IWU with three steals. Conversely, the Titans dished out 20 assists to 12 by the Bulldogs. Senior Luke Yoder (Normal, Ill.-Central Catholic) was credited with a career-best 10 assists, while Roper and junior Hakim Williams (Round Lake, Ill.-Round Lake) added three apiece.

Redlands held a 28-18 advantage in points off turnovers, along with leads in second chance scoring (19-17), fastbreak scoring (22-14), and bench production (32-23). Illinois Wesleyan led in points in the paint, 48-38, aided by a 43-39 lead in rebounding.

The Titans won the tip and quickly made the most of the opening possession as Yoder hit a cutting Sroka for a quick layup. Wilmsen doubled the lead with a putback to push IWU ahead, 4-0, but Redlands responded with seven straight points to climb out in front, 7-4.

Another putback from Wilmsen cut the Bulldog run, before Williams found Roper for a corner three-pointer. The triple pulled IWU within two, 13-11, at the 13:34 media timeout.

Turnovers kept the Green and White from finding much momentum offensively, while Redlands broke open a 17-point lead, 38-21, with 2:20 left in the half.

Illinois Wesleyan halted a 12-0 run by the Bulldogs on a putback from Roper, which proved to be a spark for the St. Louis, Mo. native. The 6-foot-8 guard followed with another bucket on an assist from Yoder, before Yoder found Sroka for a quick score in transition.

Trailing by 14 with 3.9 seconds left and the full length of the court, the Titans inbounded the ball to Roper near midcourt. Racing past his defender, Roper floated through the lane for a buzzer-beating layup to trim the deficit to a dozen, 43-31, at the break.

Illinois Wesleyan tried to cut down Redlands' lead with buckets by Roper, freshman Mason Funk (Normal, Ill.-University High), and junior Shane Miller (Springfield, Ill.-Sacred Heart-Griffin), but the Bulldogs answered each punch to take a 57-42 lead with 13:32 to play.

The Titans got going on a pair of buckets from Wilmsen off assists from Roper and Yoder to trim the deficit to 11 at the under-12 media timeout, but the Bulldogs drilled a three out of the break.

The Green and White answered with an inbounds pass to Roper for a quick layup before Williams converted a putback to pull IWU within 10, 62-52.

Illinois Wesleyan's run continued as Miller found Williams for a three-pointer from the wing and Yoder swiped the ball and scored. The Titans' 13-2 run was capped by a long pass ahead from Roper to Funk for a gliding layup to make it a one possession game, 62-59, with 6:51 remaining.

That was as close as the Green and White would get though, as Redlands held off Illinois Wesleyan's comeback attempt.

The Titans are back in action after the holiday with a road non-conference game at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Saturday, Dec. 30. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m.

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