Trevor Seibring matched a career high with 21 points in Illinois Wesleyan's 80-67 win over Elmhurst in the CCIW Tournament at Rock Island. (WJBC photo)
By Bryer Lehr
ROCK ISLAND – Hopefully, the sixth time is a charm for the Illinois Wesleyan men’s basketball team.
The Titans (19-7) advanced to their sixth CCIW conference tournament final in program history with an 80-67 semifinal win over the Elmhurst Bluejays. The Titans have lost their previous five appearances in the championship game.
Elmhurst came out of the gate hot, knocking down a pair of three-pointers to open up a 10-2 lead early in the first half. Illinois Wesleyan shook off the slow start with back-to-back three-pointers from Bryce Dolan and Pat Sodemann to cut the Titans’ deficit to 17-15 with 10:22 remaining in the first half. Both teams went back and forth before Sodemann knocked down a triple with 2:55 to play before halftime to give Wesleyan their first lead, 29-28. The Titans closed the half on an 11-4 run to take a 35-32 lead into the break.
The Titans broke the game wide open in the second half by knocking down their first ten shots of the second half, including a pair of triples, which extended their lead to 55-43 with 13:48 remaining. The Bluejays would cut the lead to seven on an Erik Crittenden jumper with 8:24 to play, but an Alec Bausch three-pointer would spark 9-2 run for the Titans to push the Titans lead to 70-56. Wesleyan was able to close the game at the free throw line, knocking down 7 of 11 down the stretch.
Erik Crittenden had a game-high 24 points off the bench for the Bluejays (19-7). Trevor Seibring led the Titans with 21 points, while the CCIW’s regular season Most Outstanding Player Dylan Overstreet flirted with a triple-double (11 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists). Bryce Dolan (12 points) and Brady Rose (10 points) also scored in double figures for the Titans.
IWU will face the winner of the North Central-Augustana semifinal in Saturday night’s championship in Rock Island at 7 p.m.
