BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team held off a valiant comeback effort from Carthage College to secure a 71-63 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin victory at the Shirk Center Saturday evening, Jan. 13. 

Senior Ryan Sroka (Lake in the Hills, Ill.-Huntley) and junior Harrison Wilmsen (St. Louis, Mo.-Priory) led the Titans in scoring with 17 points apiece. Juniors Hakim Williams (Round Lake, Ill.-Round Lake), Nick Roper (St. Louis, Mo.-MICDS), and Marko Anderson (Park Ridge, Ill.-Maine South) each stuffed the stat sheet. Williams finished with five points and a game-high six assists, along with a pair of steals and two blocks. Roper went for six points and 10 rebounds with one assist, one block, and one steal, while Anderson hauled in a team-high 13 points. He also added six points and an assist. 

Illinois Wesleyan shot at a 45 percent clip, going 27-for-60 from the field and 6-for-18 from the three-point line. The Titans finished 11-for-17 from the free throw line. Carthage was limited to 26-for-71, shooting 36.6 percent overall, and finished 6-for-26 from beyond the arc. The Firebirds converted just 5-of-13 free throw attempts.

The Green and White held advantages in points off turnovers (16-8), fastbreak scoring (11-4), and bench scoring (19-8). The Firebirds held leads in points in the paint (40-36), second chance scoring (20-14), and rebounding (43-42). 

Illinois Wesleyan raced out to a 9-0 advantage as the stingy Titan defense held the Firebirds scoreless for nearly the first four minutes of the game. IWU stretched the lead to 15 on a three-ball from Williams, before a pair of offensive rebounds by Anderson made way for triples from Sroka and freshman Mason Funk (Normal, Ill.-University High) to extend IWU's lead to 29-12. 

A putback from Anderson gave the Green and White a 38-25 advantage into the final seconds of the first half. Carthage held the ball for the last shot of the period, but junior Trey Bazzell (Fairbury, Ill.-Prairie Central) stuffed the baseline three attempt to send the game to the break.

In the second half, Carthage clawed back within four several times as the clock ticked under nine minutes. 

Key buckets by Williams and Anderson pushed IWU ahead by six with 5:37 to play. 

Out of a timeout, Roper converted a layup and a technical foul made way for free throws to give IWU some breathing room, 67-55, with 2:37 left to play. A reverse layup from Yoder and a two-handed slam from Wilmsen closed out the key conference win.

Illinois Wesleyan travels to King Arena for a Wednesday matchup, Jan. 17, against Wheaton College. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.