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Bench cele - Men's Hoops
Kodiak Creative
62
North Central (IL) NCC 10-17,7-9 CCIW
66
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 19-7,14-2 CCIW
North Central (IL) NCC
10-17,7-9 CCIW
62
Final
66
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
19-7,14-2 CCIW
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
North Central (IL) NCC 36 26 62
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 35 31 66

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men’s Hoops Holds Off NCC to Reach CCIW Tournament Championship

Titans to play second-seeded Elmhurst tomorrow, Feb. 24, at 7:30 p.m.

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Free throws by senior Luke Yoder (Normal, Ill.-Central Catholic) pushed the 22nd-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team into the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament Championship as the Titans edged out fourth-seeded North Central College, 66-62, Friday night, Feb. 23, inside the Shirk Center. The Green and White's record advanced to 19-7 on the year, while the Cardinals closed the season 10-17. 

With the victory, Illinois Wesleyan will make its first appearance in the CCIW Tournament Championship since 2020. IWU and Elmhurst will battle tomorrow night, Feb. 24, at 7:30 p.m. following the IWU women's basketball team's title tilt against Carroll University at 3:30 p.m. The arena will be cleared in between contests in accordance with conference rules.

The Titans trailed by as many as eight in the contest, but battled their way back behind consistent shooting. IWU finished 24-for-44 from the field, good for a 54.5 clip, while going 7-for-18 from three-point distance and 11-for-15 at the free throw line. The Cardinals' red-hot three-point shooting cooled off in the second half to finish 11-for-28 from beyond the arc and 24-for-59 overall (40.7 percent). NCC made just four trips to the free throw line, converting three.

Senior Ryan Sroka (Lake in the Hills, Ill.-Huntley) and junior Nick Roper (St. Louis, Mo.-MICDS) led the Titans in scoring. Sroka went for a team-high 15 points, while Roper scored 12 and pulled in a team-best eight rebounds. Yoder along with juniors Hakim Williams (Round Lake, Ill.-Round Lake) and Trey Bazzell (Fairbury, Ill.-Prairie Central) tallied nine points apiece. 

Trailing by one, 36-35, out of halftime, junior Harrison Wilmsen (St. Louis, Mo.-Priory) glided down the lane for a driving layup to put the Titans in front. 

Back-to-back buckets from Roper extended the cushion to five, 45-40, but North Central battled back to level the score at 47 all with 12:44 to play.

The St. Louis duo teamed up moments later as Wilmsen found Roper for a three-ball to break the tie. Sroka then hit a corner three-pointer off Yoder's assist before hitting his signature mid-range jumper to propel the Titans ahead, 55-49.

The Cardinals had one more comeback in the tank, as NCC tied it up at 59 all with 3:48 left in the game. But, again, it was Sroka coming through in a big moment with a three pointer off an assist from Marko Anderson (Park Ridge, Ill.-Maine South) to give the Titans a lead that they would never relinquish. 

NCC cut the Titan advantage to just two before a pair of clutch free throws off the hands of Yoder with under 10 seconds remaining pushed the Green and White to a four point victory. 

Illinois Wesleyan and Elmhurst will square off in the championship game tomorrow night starting at 7:30 p.m inside the Shirk Center. 


 
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