Following the women’s 36-point victory, fans stuck around to watch Illinois Wesleyan men’s basketball take on Wheaton in another conference matchup.
The Titans are currently ranked first in the College of Illinois and Winsconsin conference, topping Wheaton’s ninth, but both still put on an entertaining battle.
Illinois Wesleyan prevailed in the end, securing their eighth CCIW win, 90-68, making them 8-1 in the conference.
Wheaton made the first shot of the game, a three-pointer to set them up ahead of the Titans. But two baskets from senior guard Nick Roper set Illinois Wesleyan up by two to get them on the board.
Wheaton battled back, keeping up a consistent lead while the Titans stayed on their heels.
With 13 minutes left in the first half, senior guard Trey Bazzell scored a jumper to get Illinois Wesleyan’s momentum back.
The Titans got off on a roll, with Wheaton trailing close behind. By the end of the first, Illinois Wesleyan had an eight point lead.
Senior guard Hakim Williams, who had three assists in the first half, walked off the court with blood spattering his jersey from a nose injury.
“Any CCIW game is going to be super physical,” Williams said when asked about it. “I just stay in the moment and don’t let it get to me.” Williams returned for the second half unphased and ready to play.
In the second half, another layup from sophomore guard Mason Funk gave the Titans a ten point lead, which they kept for the rest of the game.
Roper and Funk led the team in scoring, and a dunk from Roper gave them their biggest lead of the game, ahead of the Thunder by 26.
A tip-in from first-year forward Alec Schmidts sealed the victory for the Titans with 50 seconds left. This game marks the Titan’s eighth consecutive conference win,
“It’s always good to get a conference win, especially at home,” Funk said, the team’s second-highest scorer of the day. Funk scored 17 of Illinois Wesleyan’s 90, behind Roper who scored 23.
The win keeps Illinois Wesleyan at number one in the CCIW, and it puts them in the top-three in Division III with an overall record of 16-2.
The Titans fall behind the Trine University Thunder, who are 16-1 overall, and Wesleyan University Cardinals, who are 19-0.
The next CCIW matchup for IWU will be against North Central College on February 5, in Naperville.
North Central is currently 3-6 in the conference, ranked seventh. The Titans are looking to continue their conference win streak.
“We’re working on coming out in the first half ready to play. We’re definitely a second half team right now,” Funk said.
The next home game will be on Saturday, February 15, against Millikin for another CCIW battle.
