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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Big nights from the senior duo of Lucas Heflen (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North) and Cody Mitchell (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles East) propelled the Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team to a 79-61 win over Carroll University inside the Shirk Center Saturday night, Feb. 4. (Photo by Kodiak Creative/Jimmy Naprstek)
Kodiak Creative
69
Winner Carthage CARTH 17-8,9-7 CCIW
67
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 12-13,7-9 CCIW
Winner
Carthage CARTH
17-8,9-7 CCIW
69
Final
67
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
12-13,7-9 CCIW
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Carthage CARTH 31 38 69
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 29 38 67

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men’s Hoops Falls to Carthage in Regular Season Finale

Titans will be No. 6 seed in next week’s CCIW Tournament

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team dropped their final regular season College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin matchup, 69-67, against Carthage College inside the Shirk Center on Saturday, Feb. 18. The Titans fall to 12-13 (7-9 CCIW) on the season, while the Firebirds advance to 16-8 on the year, including a 9-7 record in league play. 

Celebrating senior day, seniors Cody Mitchell (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles East) and Lucas Heflen (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North) led the Titans in scoring. Mitchell finished with 23 points, a 3-of-4 performance from beyond the arc, and 11 rebounds. Heflen tacked on 15 points, two assists, and two steals. 

The Titans struggled offensively, shooting 32.9 percent from the floor compared to the Firebirds 42.9 percent. From three, the Green and White were 7-of-22 compared to Carthage's 9-of-26. The Titans led in bench points (20-2) and won the battle at the free throw line (87.5 percent to 60 percent). Carthage led in points in the paint, 28-26. 

Illinois Wesleyan trailed by as many as eight in the opening half, but battled its way back with a seven-point run powered by Heflen. Trailing 21-13 out of a Carthage timeout, Heflen hit a corner three and a layup to cut the deficit to one. 

Carthage answered with a quick two, but a dunk by Heflen kept the deficit at one. After sophomore Trey Bazzell (Fairbury, Ill.-Prairie Central) drilled a three, Mitchell and junior Ryan Sroka (Lake in the Hills, Ill.-Huntley) hit back-to-back buckets to give the Green and White its first lead, 29-28.

The Firebirds scored the final three points of the first half to take a 31-28 edge into the break.

In the second half, the Green and White evened the score at 31, but Carthage ran out to a nine-point lead behind a pair of and-ones. The Firebirds held a 53-44 lead with 8:16 left to play, an advantage they would stretch to as many as a dozen.

Key free throws from Heflen and an and-one from sophomore Harrison Wilsen (St. Louis, Mo.-Priory) cut the deficit to eight, 63-55. Mitchell then converted a tough putback in traffic to make it a two possession game, 63-57, with 1:34 on the clock.

Carthage hit free throws down the stretch as the Firebirds held off the Titans, 69-67, despite a pair of three-pointers from Mitchell in the final minute. 

The Titans will turn their focus to the CCIW Tournament Quarterfinals, as IWU holds the No. 6 seed. Illinois Wesleyan will travel to the No. 3 seeded Carthage College for a rematch Tuesday night, Feb. 21. 

 
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