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NAPERVILLE, IL - The Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team wore down North Central College Saturday night, Dec. 9, using a balanced effort to earn a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin win. (Kodiak Creative/Jimmy Naprstek)
Kodiak Creative/Jimmy Naprstek
77
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 8-6,4-1 CCIW
64
Augustana (IL) AUGIE 5-10,2-4 CCIW
Winner
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
8-6,4-1 CCIW
77
Final
64
Augustana (IL) AUGIE
5-10,2-4 CCIW
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 40 37 77
Augustana (IL) AUGIE 30 34 64

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Hot Shooting Lifts Men’s Hoops to Win at Augie

Titans post highest single-game shooting clip since Jan. 17 against Elmhurst

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team picked up a key College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play with a 77-64 triumph at Augustana College Sunday, Jan. 7. The Titans improved to 8-6 overall and 4-1 in the CCIW with the win, while the Vikings dropped to 5-10 on the season, 2-4 in the conference.

The Titans cracked the Viking zone with a balanced offensive showing as seven players finished with eight-or-more points. Senior Ryan Sroka (Lake in the Hills, Ill.-Huntley) led the Green and White with 16 points, while senior Luke Yoder (Normal, Ill.-Central Catholic) and junior Harrison Wilmsen (St. Louis, Mo.-Priory) added 11 points each. Juniors Nick Roper (St. Louis, Mo.-MICDS), Hakim Williams (Round Lake, Ill.-Round Lake), and Trey Bazzell (Fairbury, Ill.-Prairie Central) along with freshman Mason Funk (Normal, Ill.-University High) scored eight points apiece.

Roper also led the Titans with nine rebounds and three steals, while he was second to Yoder (5) with four assists.

Illinois Wesleyan was red-hot offensively, finishing with a field goal percentage of 60.8 percent as IWU went 31-for-51 from the floor. The clip marked the best by the Green and White since Jan. 17, 2022 when Illinois Wesleyan hit 64.4 percent of its shots against Elmhurst. IWU finished 9-for-12 from the free throw line and 6-for-16 from three-point distance. Meanwhile, Augie converted 25-of-53 shots (47.2 percent) and just 6-of-20 from beyond the arc. The Vikings were 8-for-9 in freebies.

The Titans held a 31-20 lead on the glass, which made way for a 10-6 edge in second chance scoring. IWU also dominated the paint, 42-22, while Augie recorded leads in points off turnovers (21-10), bench points (24-23), and fastbreak scoring (11-8).

With the score tied at 20, Illinois Wesleyan doubled up Augie over the final 7:41 of the first half. Bazzell drilled a triple and Sroka followed with a driving layup. 

Roper turned defense into offense around the three-minute mark, as he swiped the ball and threw down a dunk to stretch the Titan lead to double digits, 36-26.

The Green and White maintained a 10-point lead into the break, 40-30. 

In the second half, Illinois Wesleyan never relinquished the lead. Augsustana did its best to cut into the IWU advantage with four second-half three-pointers, but the Titans responded to each punch from the Vikings. 

With Augie trying to gain some steam, freshman Jackson Niego (Western Springs, Ill.-Lyons Township) nailed a three-pointer in front of the Illinois Wesleyan bench to keep momentum with the Green and White and force an AC timeout with 11:08 to go. 

The big bucket by the freshman point guard stretched IWU's lead to 14, 53-39, and capped a 7-0 Titan run.

Illinois Wesleyan upped its lead to as many as 18 before coming away with the 13-point victory.

The Titans return home for the first time in over a month Wednesday night, Jan. 10, as IWU welcomes Millikin University to the Shirk Center for a 7 p.m. tipoff.


 
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