By Nick McClintock
ST. LOUIS- Illinois Wesleyan improved their record vs teams in the top 25 to 2-1, with a win vs Wash U 73-72 in St. Louis Saturday Night.
The first half was just a constant barrage of points from the Titans, as no matter what the Bears did, IWU would increase their lead.
IWU would only give up the lead twice for the entire half, a 2-0 deficit after a pair of free throws, and trailed 10-9 before taking the lead for the duration of the half. IWU was especially good from beyond the arc, going 7-13 from three in the first 20 minutes.
IWU would get their biggest lead at the 1:04 mark of the first half, when a three from Colin Bonnett made it 50-36. Wash U would make the final four points of the half and go into the locker room tailing the Titans 50-40.
The second half would start very well for the Bears of Wash U, outscoring the Titans 12-8 over the first five minutes of the half. The tide would continue to turn in favor of the Bears over the course of the next five minutes, as they would eventually take the lead at the 7:06 mark at 65-64. During the run, Wash U outscored the Titans 25-14.
The Titans would shortly regain the lead, but the game would be deadlocked at 69 with around three minutes remaining.
The teams would then trade shots at the free throw line, with both teams giving themselves one point leads, ending when IWU took advantage of a miss by Wash U’s Matt Highsmith. On the ensuing possession, Alec Bauch would drain two free throws to take a 73-70 lead. After a Wash U basket, the Titans were able to inbound the ball a run out the rest of the clock to take home to win.
Leading the Titans was Trevor Seibring with 17 points. Andy Stempel, and Brady Rose joined Seibring in double figures with 14 points each. IWU heads to 7-2 on the season.
Nick McClintock can be reached at [email protected]
