Early struggles cost Illinois Wesleyan in loss to North Central

Posted on February 6, 2016

By Eric Stock

NAPERVILLE – A 75-foot shot that cut perfectly through the net from Trevor Seibring’s hands at the end of the first half was the lone bright spot in an otherwise dismal first 20 minutes for Illinois Wesleyan in a 89-69 loss to No. 13 North Central at Gregory Arena.

The Cardinals jumped out to a 20-point first half lead on the strength of 62 percent field goal shooting. IWU managed to draw within 65-59 on a Jaylen Beasley 3-pointer from the left wing with 6:47 to play.

PODCAST: Listen to the postgame interview with IWU coach Ron Rose on WJBC.

NCC (16-6, 9-2 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) responded with 10 unanswered points including back-to-back baskets by Alex Sorensen to put the game out of reach. Sorensen finished with game highs of 23 points and 11 rebounds. IWU was led by Seibring and Joel Pennington who both scored 15.

IWU drops to 11-11 on the season, 5-6 in the CCIW. The Titans visit No. 2 Augustana on Wednesday.

Women fall to NCC

The IWU women fell to North Central 87-81 as the Cardinals converted 9 of 17 from beyond the arc in the second half. The Titans (13-9, 8-3) were led by Molly McGraw’s 17 points.

PODCAST: Listen to the postgame interview with IWU coach Mia Smith on WJBC.

Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].

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