Illinois Wesleyan drops Cal Lutheran tourney title

Posted on December 31, 2014

By Eric Stock 

THOUSANDS OAKS, Calif. – In what Titans coach Ron Rose said was a display of 'arrogance' following an easy win, Illinois Wesleyan struggled early in a 67-61 loss to host Cal Lutheran at the Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Tournament at Gilbert Arena. 

IWU was outrebounded and outhustled for much of the game, falling behind 51-37 with 12 minutes to go before mounting a rally that got them within four in the final minute. 

"I'm disappointed because I think we came out with a little arrogance after last night's game," Rose said on the WJBC postgame. "We took a lot of bad shots, good shots were hard to come by and we gave into that." 

Wesleyan committed 15 turnovers, leading to 22 Kingsmen points. 

The Titans were led by Rayn Coyle who scored 18 points and pulled down nine rebounds. He was named to the all-tournament team along with teammate Andy Stempel. 

CLU's Arik Smith was tournament Most Valuable Player, scoring a game-high 19 points. 

IWU falls to 8-3 as the Titans prepare to open College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play at North Central on Saturday. 

PODCAST: Head Coach Ron Rose

Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected]. 
 

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