McLean County Times

Men's Basketball Secures Road Win in Decatur

The Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team picked up a key College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin victory Wednesday night, Feb. 8, at Millikin University, 57-51, inside the Griswold Center. The Titans move to 12-10 on the season and 7-6 in conference play. Millikin falls to 10-11 on the year, 4-10 in league play. 

In a defensive battle, Illinois Wesleyan shot 36.4 percent from the floor compared to the Big Blue's 30.4 clip from the field. From three, Millikin shot 25 percent to IWU's 23.8 percent. The Titans outrebounded Millikin 43 to 28, including an 11 to 5 advantage on the offensive glass. The Green and White also held advantages in points in the paint (26 to 20) and bench points (18 to 11). 

Ryan Sroka (Lake in the Hills, Ill.-Huntley) led the Titans with 15 points on a 5-of-8 shooting performance. Lucas Heflen (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North) scored 11 points. Harrison Wilmsen (St. Louis, Mo.-Priory) added 10 points and six rebounds. Cody Mitchell (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles East) recorded a game-high 14 rebounds, four of those coming on the offensive glass.

The first half was a game of runs as both teams got settled. Millikin went on a 7-0 run midway through the first half before a Sroka offensive board and assist gave Mitchell a layup to cut the Big Blue lead to 14-10. 

After the Mitchell bucket, the Titans would respond with nine unanswered points of their own in under a two minute span. 

A Trey Bazzell (Fairbury, Ill.-Prairie Central) and-one off of an inbounds play would give the Titans a 20-19 lead with just under six minutes remaining in the first half. A back and forth affair ensued from there, with neither team gaining over a four-point lead for the remainder of the half. The Titans enjoyed a 28-24 lead at the break. 

Back-to-back buckets from Evan Schneider (St. Louis, Mo.-Ladue) and Heflen gave the Titans a 37-31 lead midway through the second half, their largest lead of the game up to that point. 

Heflen would strike again later in the half, contributing to a 6-0 run by the Titans, giving the Green and White a 47-40 advantage with five minutes remaining. 

Millikin cut the Titan's lead to four with 30 seconds remaining before a Heflen fastbreak layup upped the Green and White lead to six. Clutch free throws in the final moments courtesy of Bazzell closed out the 57-51 victory. 

The Titans continue their road trip to Naperville, Ill. this Saturday, Feb. 11 for a CCIW bout with North Central. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:15 pm inside Gregory Arena. 

Original source can be found here