McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team secured a victory over Elmhurst University, ranked No. 21, with a score of 79-67 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin matchup on Wednesday night at the Shirk Center. This win elevated the Titans' record to 15-7 overall and 11-2 in conference play, maintaining their position at the top of the CCIW standings. Elmhurst's record now stands at 18-5 overall and 10-4 in CCIW games.

Junior Nick Roper from St. Louis led with a career-high 25 points and eight rebounds. Other key contributors included juniors Hakim Williams, who scored 14 points and matched junior Marko Anderson for nine rebounds, and Harrison Wilmsen, who added 13 points along with two assists, two rebounds, and a steal. Senior Luke Yoder contributed seven points, six assists, and five rebounds.

Illinois Wesleyan converted 41.2 percent of their shots on the night, including seven three-pointers from nineteen attempts. They also excelled at free throws with a near-perfect performance of sixteen out of seventeen shots made. Elmhurst shot at a rate of 37.7 percent from the field but struggled beyond the arc with only seven successful three-pointers out of thirty-two attempts.

In terms of rebounding, Illinois Wesleyan held a narrow advantage over Elmhurst with a count of 43 to 42. This translated into an edge in second-chance scoring (18-12) as well as points in the paint (32-28). The Titans also led in fastbreak scoring (11-7) and bench contributions (14-10).

A strategic timeout by IWU coach Ron Rose helped turn around an early deficit as they tied up the game after trailing by seven points during the first half. Contributions from various players helped secure their lead going into halftime.

After halftime adjustments by both teams resulted in an initial Bluejay timeout early in the second half following strong defensive plays by IWU which included blocks leading to offensive opportunities like Ryan Sroka’s three-pointer assisted by Yoder.

Despite further timeouts called by Elmhurst trying to regain momentum against Illinois Wesleyan’s increasing lead—reaching its peak at seventeen points—the Bluejays were unable to mount a comeback effectively sealing IWU's twelve-point victory margin.

Looking ahead; Illinois Wesleyan will begin their two-game road trip starting Saturday against Carthage College scheduled for tipoff at Tarble Center which is part of doubleheader event alongside women’s basketball team match-up.