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Chicago, IL - March 08 - NCAA Men's Basketball - #9 Illinois Wesleyan vs #7 Saint John's (Photo by Dave Naprstek/Kodiak Creative)
Kodiak Creative
65
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 24-6,12-4 CCIW
72
Winner Wis.-La Crosse UWL 25-5,12-2 WIAC
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
24-6,12-4 CCIW
65
Final
72
Wis.-La Crosse UWL
25-5,12-2 WIAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 33 32 65
Wis.-La Crosse UWL 29 43 72

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men’s Hoops Upended in Sweet Sixteen at UW-La Crosse

Titans end the season with 24-6 record

LA CROSSE, Wis. - The ninth-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team saw its season end Friday night, March 14, at Mitchell Hall on the campus of University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. The Titans (24-6) fell to the fifth-ranked Eagles (25-5), 72-65, in the Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA Division III Tournament. 

Senior Hakim Williams (Round Lake, Ill.-Round Lake) and junior Karlo Colak (Glencoe, Ill.-New Trier) paced the Titan offense with 14 and 10 points, respectively. Senior Nick Roper (St. Louis, Mo.-MICDS) added seven points and a team-high nine rebounds. Williams led the team with three blocks while also securing two rebounds. Colak, Roper, sophomore Mason Funk (Normal, Ill.-University High), and freshman Josh Fridman (Northbrook, Ill.-Glenbrook North) were good for two steals apiece. 

Illinois Wesleyan shot 40.9 percent from the field, but went 6-for-23 from beyond the arc (26.1 percent). IWU made it to the free throw line just nine times, converting five. UWL went 25-of-54 from the field and was limited to 3-for-10 from distance. The difference came at the free throw line, where UW-La Crosse went 19-for-26 courtesy of 21 IWU fouls.

The Eagles held leads in points in the paint (42-34), points off turnovers (13-12), and second-chance scoring (7-6). The Titans held the upperhand in fastbreak scoring (16-6) and bench scoring (22-7). 

The Eagles and Titans played to a tie at 21 all, but a technical foul called against IWU put UWL ahead, 23-21, with 5:32 left in the first half.

Williams leveled the score at 25 with a deep jumper to kick off a five-point run by the senior. Senior Harrison Wilmsen (St. Louis, Mo.-St. Louis Priory) found Williams for a three-pointer the next time down the floor to push IWU ahead, 28-25, with 2:47 to play.

Colak's old-fashioned three-point play upped the lead to four, 31-27. The Titans finished the period with a four-point advantage as senior Marko Anderson (Park Ridge, Ill.-Maine South) hauled in a rebound and threw a full-court baseball heave pass to Williams for a layup.

Illinois Wesleyan began the second half with a 15-3 run that spanned more than five minutes. The Green and White got started with a jumper by Wilmsen on a dish by Fridman before buckets by Colak, Wilmsen, Anderson, Funk, and Williams catapulted IWU ahead, 48-32, at the 13:46 mark.

The Eagles clawed back within one, 56-55, with 6:30 to play as UW-La Crosse scored 12 of 13 points over a two and a half minute stretch.

UWL scored a layup with 4:38 left to play to take the lead and never looked back as the Titans ultimately closed out its season with a 72-65 loss in the Sweet Sixteen. 

The game marked the final in the careers of Hakim Williams, Trey Bazzell, Shane Miller, Nick Roper, Harrison Wilmsen, and Marko Anderson. 
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