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2024 CCIW Men's Basketball Regular Season Champs
Zoe Gousios
85
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 17-7,13-2 CCIW
74
North Park NPU 10-14,5-10 CCIW
Winner
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
17-7,13-2 CCIW
85
Final
74
North Park NPU
10-14,5-10 CCIW
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 42 43 85
North Park NPU 33 41 74

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men’s Hoops Clinches Outright CCIW Regular Season Title

Five Titans score in double figures


CHICAGO, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team broke the hearts of the North Park University Vikings Wednesday, Feb. 14, with a win inside Holmgren Athletic Complex, 85-74, to clinch the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Regular Season title outright. The Titans rise to 17-7 on the season and a league-best 13-2 mark in CCIW play. The Vikings drop to 10-14 on the year, including a 5-10 clip in league play.  

Senior Luke Yoder (Normal, Ill.-Central Catholic) led the team with 19 points on a 6-of-10 shooting performance, including a 3-of-5 clip from deep. Junior Hakim Williams (Round Lake, Ill.-Round Lake) scored 15 points, while junior Nick Roper (St. Louis, Mo.-MICDS) added 14. Senior Ryan Sroka (Lake in the Hills, Ill.-Huntley) and junior Harrison Wilmsen (St. Louis, Ill.-Priory) rounded out the double digit Titan scorers with 12 apiece. 

Junior Marko Anderson (Park Ridge, Ill.-Maine South) tied with Roper for a team-high nine rebounds each. Sroka, Yoder, and Roper led the team in assists, each with three, while Hakim Williams had a team best three steals. 

The Titans shot 48 percent from the floor and 35 percent from three, compared to the Vikings 40 percent and 20 percent, respectively. IWU was 20-of-27 from the free throw line. Illinois Wesleyan scored an advantage in points in the paint (42-32), while the Vikings outscored the Titans in bench points (53-13) and points off turnovers (21-11). 

The Titans got off to a fast start with 10 straight paint points, courtesy of Yoder, Wilmsen, Roper, and Sroka to give IWU an early 10-2 lead. A three from Yoder extended the Titan lead to 13-4 just five minutes into the first half. 

Illinois Wesleyan went up 19-8 on a layup by Roper, before a 7-0 Vikings run pushed NPU within four, 19-15. Despite punches from the Vikings the rest of the first half, the Titans always had a response, not allowing NPU within five in the first half. IWU enjoyed a 42-33 lead heading into halftime. 

NPU came out of the intermission strong, cutting the IWU lead to 46-41, before a Wilmsen trail three-pointer on an assist by Sroka extended the Titan lead again. Illinois Wesleyan was able to keep their lead around ten points for the rest of the game, going up by as many as 14 on two free throws by Yoder with around four minutes left in the game. 

Illinois Wesleyan would close the game strong on a layup by Anderson and four free throws by Hakim Williams in the final minutes of the game to secure the 11 point victory. 

The Titans close out the regular season Saturday, Feb. 17, with a Senior Day contest against North Central College. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. and will see the Titans recognize Luke Yoder, Ryan Sroka, Evan Schneider, and Grant Hardy prior to the game.
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