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Waukesha, WI - December 07 - NCAA Men's Basketball - #5 Illinois Wesleyan at Carroll (Photo by Jimmy Naprstek/Kodiak Creative)
Kodiak Creative
77
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 18-2,10-1 CCIW
46
Elmhurst ELM 9-11,5-6 CCIW
Winner
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
18-2,10-1 CCIW
77
Final
46
Elmhurst ELM
9-11,5-6 CCIW
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 45 32 77
Elmhurst ELM 17 29 46

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men’s Hoops Soars Past Elmhurst

Three Titans finish in double figures

ELMHURST, Ill. - A hot start powered the third-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team past Elmhurst University, 77-46, Saturday, Feb. 1, at R.A. Faganel Hall. The Titans grabbed their eighth straight win to bolster their record to 18-2 overall and 9-1 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. The Bluejays slipped to 9-11 on the year and 5-6 in league play.

Senior Hakim Williams (Round Lake, Ill.-Round Lake) led the Titans with 16 points and tied for the team lead with four assists, including the 200th of his career. Joining him in double figures were senior Nick Roper (St. Louis, Mo.-MICDS) and sophomore Mason Funk (Normal, Ill.-University High). Roper dropped 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting, highlighted by a SportsCenter Top-10 worthy dunk. Funk finished with 14 points and seven rebounds.

The Green and White shot the ball at a 45 percent clip, going 28-for-62 overall and 8-for-27 from distance (30 percent). IWU finished 13-for-22 at the free throw line, while EU went 9-for-16 at the stripe. The Bluejays were limited to 35 percent shooting (16-of-46) and 5-of-20 from three-point range. 

The Titans won the rebounding battle, 45-29, with senior Marko Anderson (Park Ridge, Ill.-Maine South) topping the team with nine boards. IWU also collected leads in fastbreak scoring (6-0), second-chance scoring (16-1), bench scoring (24-20), and points in the paint (36-14).

Illinois Wesleyan scored the first eight points of the game as senior Harrison Wilmsen (St. Louis, Mo.-Priory) and Roper fueled IWU's hot start. Freshman Josh Fridman (Northbrook, Ill.-Glenbrook North) slipped a shifty pass into Roper on a dive towards the basket to force EU's timeout with IWU in front, 8-0. 

A signature roll from Funk stretched the lead to double digits, 12-2, before the sophomore connected on a three-ball to push IWU ahead, 20-5. The triple brought about yet another timeout from Elmhurst, this time with 12:56 on the clock. 

The remainder of the half saw Roper throw down a highlight-reel baseline dunk on an and-one and both Roper and Williams drill threes. 

Ultimately, IWU closed the first half on a 23-5 run to go into the break with a 45-17 stronghold. 

The Titans led by as many as 34 as senior Shane Miller (Springfield, Ill.-Springfield), sophomores Jackson Niego (Western Springs, Ill.-Lyons Township) and Brady Keuhl (St. Louis, Mo.-Parkway West), and freshman Alec Schmidts (Barrington, Ill.-Barrington) hit shots in the second half.

Illinois Wesleyan makes a return trip to the suburbs Wednesday night, Feb. 5, for a battle with North Central College. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Gregory Arena.


 
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