McLean County Times

Men’s Hoops Downed by North Park

 The Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team was tripped up at North Park University Wednesday night, Feb. 15, in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play. The Titans (12-12, 7-8) could not overcome a tough offensive night in a 63-57 loss to the Vikings (19-5, 12-3).

Junior Ryan Sroka (Lake in the Hills, Ill.-Huntley) scored a team-best 14 points and added seven rebounds, while sophomores Hakim Williams (Round Lake, Ill.-Round Lake) and Harrison Wilmsen (St. Louis, Mo.-Priory) tallied 10 points apiece. Senior Cody Mitchell (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles East) grabbed a team-best 11 rebounds.

As a team, IWU finished just 16-for-56 from the field (28.6 percent) and 1-for-13 (7.7 percent) from beyond the arc. Illinois Wesleyan converted 22-of-30 free throw attempts, good for a 73.3 clip. On the flip side, North Park used a balanced scoring night to overcome IWU. The Vikings shot 32.3 percent from the floor (21-of-65) and went 4-for-25 from distance. At the free throw line, NPU converted 17-of-23 attempts.

Illinois Wesleyan finished with a 44-37 rebounding advantage, but North Park won the turnover battle, 18-10. The Viking bench outscored the Titans 31-17, and NPU mounted leads in fastbreak scoring (14-2) and points off turnovers (20-3).

The game sat tied at 41 all with 9:24 to play before a 14-3 run over five and half minutes pushed the Vikings ahead, 53-44, with 5:46 left to play. Williams converted a pair of free throws and Wilmsen added a putback to trim the deficit to five.

Illinois Wesleyan continued to chip away at the deficit, using a barrage of free throws from Sroka to pull within two, 57-55, with 1:49 left on the clock. 

Fouls and turnovers kept the Green and White from gaining any momentum from there, as the Vikings used a seven-point run to regain control, 63-55. Illinois Wesleyan tacked on a layup in the final seconds, but it was not enough in a 63-57 defeat.

The Titans look to close out the regular season on a high note Saturday, Feb. 18, as IWU celebrates Senior Day with a 4:15 p.m. game against Carthage College. Illinois Wesleyan will celebrate the careers of Lucas Heflen and Cody Mitchell prior to tipoff. 

Original source can be found here