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Brady Kuehl vs North Park
© AshtinElder
76
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 20-4,12-3 CCIW
71
North Park NPU 14-10,7-8 CCIW
Winner
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
20-4,12-3 CCIW
76
Final
71
North Park NPU
14-10,7-8 CCIW
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 42 34 76
North Park NPU 26 45 71

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men’s Hoops Claims CCIW Tournament Hosting Rights, Share of League Title

Ron Rose accrues 200th career CCIW win

CHICAGO - Four double-digit scorers led the 13th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team to a 76-71 win at North Park University Wednesday night, Feb. 18. 

The win, along with outcomes around the league, clinched the Titans the No. 1 seed and hosting rights of next week's College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament. IWU upped its record to 20-4 (12-3 CCIW) and secured at least a share of the program's 34th conference title. Additionally, Ron Rose tallied the 200th CCIW win of his career, becoming just the fourth coach in league history to eclipse the mark. He joins IWU's own and the CCIW all-time wins leader Dennie Bridges (421-129) as well as Carthage's Bosko Djurickovic (305-196), and Augustana's Grey Giovanine (214-88).

Junior Mason Funk (Normal, Ill.-University High) picked up his second 30-point game of the year. He converted 14-of-22 shot attempts for 33 points while adding in eight rebounds and five blocks, all of which were game-highs. Senior Karlo Colak (Glencoe, Ill.-New Trier) posted 13 points, seven boards, and four assists. 

Making his first career start, junior Brady Kuehl (St. Louis, Mo.-Parkway West) put together a great performance. The St. Louis native finished with a career-best 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting. He also pulled in four rebounds, notched three steals, and rejected two shots. Junior Casen Lawrence (St. Louis, Mo.-Westminster Christian) went for 10 points and a team-high five steals. He also shared the team lead with Colak with four assists.

Illinois Wesleyan shot 52.6 percent from the field, connecting on 30-of-57 shot attempts. IWU finished the night 5-of-18 from distance and 11-for-20 at the stripe. North Park converted at a 44.6 clip (29-of-65) overall. The Vikings chucked up 23 three-point tries, making six, while hitting 7-of-11 freebies.

The Green and White scored leads in second-chance points (11-10), fastbreak scoring (18-16), blocks (9-1), and steals (12-7). The Vikings held a slim 36-35 lead on the glass, while also finishing with the advantage in bench scoring (8-6).

Kuehl tied the game at 19 all with a shot fake and drive from the baseline corner with 11:03 to play in the opening half. Lawrence followed with a triple off an extra-pass assist from junior Jackson Niego (Western Springs, Ill.-Lyons Township) before Kuehl drained another bucket to push IWU ahead, 24-19. 

After North Park hit a triple to bring about a timeout near the eight-minute mark, Funk rattled off an eight-point run. Beginning with a triple off the helper by senior David Williams (Peoria, Ill.-Peoria Notre Dame), Lawrence fed Funk for back-to-back buckets. A free throw completed the run and stretched the lead to 10, 32-22, with 5:33 to go in the half. 

Sophomores Connor Williams (Palos Park, Ill.-Stagg) and Anthony Kemp (Bourbonnais, Ill.-Bradley-Bourbonnais) scored alongside makes by Funk and Colak to give IWU control at the break, 42-26.

Illinois Wesleyan moved ahead by as many as 21 in the second half, but a gritty North Park squad used a 10-2 run over 2:18 late in the game to claw back within four, 75-71. Lawrence made 1-of-2 free throws in the waning seconds to seal the win.

The Titans will go for the outright regular season title Saturday, Feb. 21, when they travel to the Carver P.E. Center on the campus of Augustana College. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m.

 
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