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Indianapolis, IN - October 30 - NCAA Men's Basketball - Illinois Wesleyan at Butler (Photo by Jimmy Naprstek/Kodiak Creative)
Kodiak Creative
63
Westminster (MO) WESTMO 0-4,0-0 SLIAC
82
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 4-0,0-0 CCIW
Westminster (MO) WESTMO
0-4,0-0 SLIAC
63
Final
82
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
4-0,0-0 CCIW
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Westminster (MO) WESTMO 31 32 63
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 40 42 82

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men’s Hoops Defeats Westminster

Five players scored in double figures

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Strong contributions off the bench powered the No. 16 Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team to an 82-63 win over Westminster College on day one of the Gorlok Classic Friday night, Nov. 22. With the win, IWU remains unbeaten at 4-0 on the season, while WC dipped to 0-4.

Playing in his home city, senior Nick Roper (St. Louis, Mo.-MICDS) posted a team-high 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Off the bench, freshman Josh Fridman (Northbrook, Ill.-Glenbrook North) scored a career-high 14 points with three three-pointers, while seniors Trey Bazzell (Fairbury, Ill.-Prairie Central) and Marko Anderson (Park Ridge, Ill.-Maine South) added 14 and 10 points, respectively. Anderson hauled in a team-high eight rebounds, while Bazzell drilled a team-best four three-pointers.

Senior Hakim Williams (Round Lake, Ill.-Round Lake) stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, six rebounds, five assists, four steals, and two blocks. Sophomore Mason Funk (Normal, Ill.-University High) added six points, six rebounds, a team-high six assists, and three thefts.

Illinois Wesleyan shot 28-for-61 from the field, a 45.9 clip, including a 12-of-28 showing from three-point distance. The Titans finished 14-for-23 at the charity stripe and posted 22 assists on 28 made buckets. IWU also racked up 17 steals as the Green and White won the turnover battle, 22-13.

Westminster finished 20-for-51 from the floor (39.2) and 9-for-24 from beyond the arc. The Bluejays went an impressive 14-for-16 at the free throw line.

IWU narrowly outrebounded WC, 38-35, earning a 12-6 lead in second-chance scoring. The Green and White also finished with leads in points off turnovers (19-10), points in the paint (32-16), fastbreak scoring (9-1), and bench points (41-31).

Six three-pointers, three of which came from Bazzell, carried the Titans to a nine-point halftime lead. Funk fed Bazzell for his first triple of the game to give IWU a 12-7 lead, before Roper threw down a one-handed slam in transition to stretch the advantage to eight, 19-11. 

Back-to-back three-balls from Bazzell upped the Green and White lead to 30-18 as Westminster called a timeout at the 6:17 mark.

On-point passing saw Jackson Niego (Western Springs, Ill.-Lyons Township) find Funk at the free throw line before the sophomore quickly slipped a pass to Anderson cutting in on the opposite block. Anderson's wide-open layup pushed IWU ahead, 38-25, the Titans' largest of the half.

The Bluejays cut into the lead in the final minutes of the period, but stout defense from Niego and Williams kept Westminster from getting a shot off as time expired.

Coming out of halftime with a 40-31 lead, Illinois Wesleyan saw Westminster come out strong, eventually knotting the score at 51-51 with 12:33 to play.

Williams connected on a timely three-pointer from the corner off an assist from Fridman before three-balls by Bazzell and Fridman powered a seven-point spurt. A free throw by Fridman capped the run as IWU grabbed a 62-53 lead. The 7-0 run proved to be a turning point as the Titans outscored the Bluejays, 16-4, over the final eight minutes to earn the win.

Illinois Wesleyan takes on weekend host, Webster University, tomorrow, Nov. 23, at 3 p.m.


 
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