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Jackson Niego
Kodiak Creative
81
Cal Lutheran CLU 0-1,0-0 SCIAC
93
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 1-0,0-0 CCIW
Cal Lutheran CLU
0-1,0-0 SCIAC
81
Final
93
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
1-0,0-0 CCIW
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Cal Lutheran CLU 30 51 81
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 46 47 93

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men’s Hoops Uses Balanced Effort to Earn Season-Opening Win

Titans to play in tomorrow’s championship game at 7 p.m.

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - In the opening game of the 2024 Sikma Hall of Fame Invitational, the 16th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team topped No. 24 California Lutheran University, 93-81, inside the Shirk Center Friday night, Nov. 8. The Titans (1-0) advance to tomorrow's championship game with the win, while the Kingsmen (0-1) will play in the 5 p.m. consolation game.

A balanced scoring output saw six Titans score in double figures, led by senior Hakim Williams (Round Lake, Ill.-Round Lake) who tied a career-high with 17 points. Junior Karlo Colak (Glencoe, Ill.-New Trier) and sophomore Jackson Niego (Western Springs, Ill.-Lyons Township) added career-bests of 13 and 12 points, respectively, while sophomore Mason Funk (Normal, Ill.-University High) tied a career-high with 11 points. Senior Trey Bazzell (Fairbury, Ill.-Prairie Central) finished one point off his career-high, totaling 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting with three triples. Senior Harrison Wilmsen (St. Louis, Mo.-Priory) posted 10 points and grabbed a career-best nine rebounds.

Seniors Nick Roper (St. Louis, Mo.-MICDS) and Marko Anderson (Park Ridge, Ill.-Maine South) added eight points apiece.

Illinois Wesleyan lit it up from the field, shooting 56.7 percent from the floor (34-for-60) and went 8-for-14 from distance. Bazzell nailed three triples, while Williams and Niego each knocked down two. Cal Lu converted 40.6 percent of its shots (26-for-64), which included a 9-of-32 effort from beyond the arc. CLU went 20-for-24 at the charity stripe, while IWU went 17-of-27.

The Titans corralled leads in points off turnovers (29-23), points in the paint (52-30), second chance scoring, fastbreak scoring (15-3), and bench scoring (35-24).

The Kingsmen came out strong, scoring the game's first seven points before Funk's three-ball trimmed the deficit to four, 7-3, with 16:10 on the clock. A stepback three-pointer from Williams pulled IWU within one, but four turnovers allowed Cal Lu to jump ahead, 12-8, with 12:34 to go in the half.

The Green and White got on track with another triple from Williams, this one on an inside-out pass from Wilmsen, before Colak's bucket lifted the home team to a 15-12 lead.

Cal Lutheran reclaimed the lead, 21-19, on a three-pointer with just under nine minutes left in the period. Free throws by Colak and a layup from Wilmsen on an assist from freshman Josh Fridman (Northbrook, Ill.-Glenbrook North) were followed by a three-ball from Bazzell. Layups later in the half by Anderson and Bazzell stretched the Titan lead to 13, but IWU closed the half with a Bazzell triple and Williams putback to ride a 46-30 lead into the break.

Illinois Wesleyan charged ahead by as many as 20 in the second half before coming away with a 93-81 season-opening win.

The Titans will face the winner of Friday night's game between second-ranked University of Wisconsin-Platteville and No. 9 Calvin University tomorrow, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m.

 
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