McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team secured a victory over Carroll University with an 86-72 win on Saturday night in Waukesha, Wisconsin. This triumph improved the Titans' record to 12-6 overall and 8-1 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW). Meanwhile, Carroll's Pioneers fell to a 10-8 season record and 3-6 in the CCIW.

Harrison Wilmsen and Nick Roper, both juniors from St. Louis, led the Titans by scoring 19 points and 18 points respectively. Wilmsen achieved his score by shooting six out of ten from the floor and six out of eight from the free throw line. Roper made eight of his thirteen shots. Senior Ryan Sroka contributed with 12 points and led with four assists, while junior Hakim Williams added 11 points alongside a team-high seven rebounds.

The Titans collectively shot at a rate of 53.3%, making 32 out of their total attempts from the floor, including eight successful three-point shots out of twenty-two tries. Carroll managed to shoot at a rate of 41.8% but had success beyond the arc with ten three-pointers out of twenty-five attempts.

Illinois Wesleyan maintained control throughout with advantages in several areas: they outrebounded Carroll by four (35-31), dominated points in the paint (38-20), held an edge in transition points (16-9), and capitalized on turnovers for a lead in points off turnovers (13-6).

Wilmsen set the tone early by scoring five initial game points, ultimately leading his team into halftime with a comfortable lead after hitting multiple free throws. Despite efforts from Carroll to close gaps during play, Illinois Wesleyan finished strong before halftime thanks to contributions from players like Karlo Colak and Sroka.

Looking ahead, Illinois Wesleyan will return home to face Wheaton College at the Shirk Center on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.