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Nick Roper drives the paint against Wheaton Jan. 24, 2024
Ashtin Elder
64
Wheaton (IL) WHEIL 4-15,3-7 CCIW
73
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 13-6,9-1 CCIW
Wheaton (IL) WHEIL
4-15,3-7 CCIW
64
Final
73
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
13-6,9-1 CCIW
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Wheaton (IL) WHEIL 35 29 64
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 27 46 73

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men’s Hoops Gets Comeback Win Over Wheaton

Four Titans finish in double digits

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team maintained control of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin regular season race, defeating Wheaton College on Wednesday, Jan. 24, inside the Shirk Center, 73-64. The Titans improves to 13-6 on the year and 9-1 in the CCIW. The Thunder drop to 4-15 on the year and 3-7 in league play.

The Titans were led in scoring by junior Harrison Wilmsen (St. Louis, Mo.-Priory) with 16 points. Senior Ryan Sroka (Lake in the Hills, Ill.-Huntley) was not far behind with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Juniors Nick Roper (St. Louis, Mo.-MICDS) and Hakim Williams (Round Lake, Ill.-Round Lake) each finished with 11 points. Roper led the team in rebounds, capping off a double-double with 10 boards. Senior Luke Yoder (Normal, Ill.-Central Catholic) finished with seven assists. Freshman Mason Funk (Normal, Ill.-University High) recorded a career-high three blocks. 

Illinois Wesleyan shot 37.9 percent from the floor in the first half, but 55.6 percent in the second half. Wheaton, on the flip side, shot 40 percent in the first half on 8-of-18 from three. However, in the second half, the Thunder regressed to a 35.7 percent clip in the second 20 minutes. The Green and White also held advantages in bench points, 16-10, fast break points, 13-0, and points in the paint, 36-12.

The Titans got off to a good start, with a Sroka triple and Roper pull-up jumper putting the Green and White ahead 5-0 early. A Wilmsen three ball gave Illinois Wesleyan an 8-3 advantage before the Thunder would go on a run of their own.

A 13-3 run gave Wheaton a 16-10 lead just five minutes into the contest. The Thunder continued to score efficiently, going up 26-13 midway through the first half.

Wilmsen's layup, assisted by Yoder, pulled the Titans within three of the Thunder lead, 30-27, with 2:28 left before halftime. Wheaton would score the last five points of the half to hold a 35-27 advantage heading into the second half.

The Titans would mount a comeback in the second 20 minutes of play. An 8-0 run, capped off by a Wilmsen and-one, would give the Titans their first lead of the game, 47-45, with 10:06 remaining. 

Illinois Wesleyan would continue to grow its lead, on the back of a 16-2 run that spanned five minutes. An old-fashioned three point play courtesy of Sroka, followed by a Karlo Colak (Glencoe, Ill.-New Trier) three assisted by Sroka finished off the run, as the Titans found themselves up 65-51 with 4:21 remaining. 

The Thunder would get as close as seven points down the stretch, but Illinois Wesleyan would ride its strong second half to a 73-64 victory. 

Illinois Wesleyan returns home this weekend, Saturday, Jan. 20 against Augustana College. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. inside the Shirk Center and will serve at the back end of a doubleheader with the Titan women's team.
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