McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team, ranked No. 13, secured a significant victory against Millikin University with a final score of 96-60. The game took place on Saturday evening, February 15, at the Shirk Center in Bloomington, Illinois. This win improved the Titans' overall record to 19-4 and their conference record to 11-3. Millikin's record fell to 11-13 overall and 5-10 in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play.

Senior Nick Roper from St. Louis led the Titans with 20 points on a shooting performance of 7-of-14. Sophomore Mason Funk and senior Marko Andreson contributed 15 and 13 points respectively. Funk also tied for the team lead with seven rebounds and achieved a game-high six steals.

The Titans displayed an efficient offense by making 37 out of their 66 field goal attempts, translating to a shooting percentage of 56.1%. They also converted nine out of their twenty-five three-point attempts (36%). Six players made three-pointers during the game, including Funk who scored three and senior Trey Bazzell who added two. At the free throw line, Illinois Wesleyan finished with an accuracy of nearly perfect, making thirteen out of fourteen attempts.

Illinois Wesleyan demonstrated dominance across various statistical categories such as points off turnovers (28-11), points in the paint (54-14), second-chance scoring (14-2), and bench scoring (49-25). However, Millikin managed an edge in fastbreak scoring with an 18-16 lead.

The Titans started strong as Harrison Wilmsen scored on a putback followed by four quick points from Roper, putting them ahead at the beginning stages of the game. Freshman Josh Fridman hit a crucial triple late in the shot clock which helped extend their lead early on.

Shane Miller provided significant contributions off the bench for IWU, delivering key assists and adding his own points during critical moments in the first half.

Throughout the second half, Illinois Wesleyan extended its lead to as much as thirty-eight points before closing out the game comfortably with several late-game three-pointers sealing their victory.

The Titans will host North Park University at home this coming Wednesday for their final regular season match-up inside Shirk Center scheduled for a tipoff at 7 p.m.