MARION, Ind. -- Top-10 Opponent…check. Overtime Thriller…check. Another win for the Indiana Wesleyan University men's basketball team…check.

No. 2-ranked Indiana Wesleyan outlasted No. 6-ranked and defending national champion Cornerstone (Mich.) University 91-89 in OT tonight in Luckey Arena. The win comes less than a week after IWU notched a 100-93 victory in overtime against No. 4-ranked Bellevue (Neb.) University last Saturday.

"It's a great experience for them to just play a team that knows how to win," said Indiana Wesleyan head coach Greg Tonagel. "It's also good for them to play against a team that is very physical and very competitive."

Indiana Wesleyan (4-0) led a majority of the first half and built their largest lead of the night when junior guard Aaron Martin drilled a 3-pointer for a 33-22 advantage with 5:36 left in the half. But less than three minutes later Cornerstone had drawn to 35-32 with a 10-2 spurt. IWU held onto the lead heading into halftime up 39-33.

The Wildcats would hold a single digit lead through the first 15 minutes of the second half. The Golden Eagles finally drew even with a Wes Hudson 3-pointer to tie the score 65-65 and 5:20 remaining in the second half.

IWU sophomore guard Jordan Weidner drained a pair of free throws on the next possession, but Cornerstone's Justin Yoder drilled a bomb to capture a 68-67 lead the next time down the court. It's was CU's first lead since holding an 11-9 advantage in the first five minutes of the game.

Cornerstone (0-2) would gain a three point lead on two different possessions, with the final one coming at 72-69 and 3:40 on the clock.

Martin would take over for the Wildcats as he fueled a 10-3 run to turn a three point deficit into a 79-75 advantage with just over a minute left. Martin scored seven points in the stretch, including a 3-pointer from the corner that gave Indiana Wesleyan the four point cushion.

Cornerstone guard Donald Bates quickly answered with a layup on the other end and promptly stole the inbounds pass. He scored and was fouled and converted the free throw for an 80-79 Cornerstone lead with 47 seconds left.

On the ensuing Wildcat possession, senior guard Derrick Troyer was fouled and he hit one of two free throws to tie the score at 80-80. The Golden Eagles looked to take the last shot and Bates drove the lane. His shot was blocked by junior forward Taylor Schoen. Troyer was able to heave a half court shot at the buzzer than did draw iron, but the game went into overtime as the shot was too hard.

Trailing by one early in the overtime session, IWU junior guard George Jones IV drove to the basket and was off the mark. He gathered the offensive rebound and scored. Jones IV then contributed on the defensive side with a steal and he drove to the basket and scored for an 86-83 Wildcat lead.

But Bates again hit a key shot for Cornerstone with a 3-pointer for the ninth tie of the game. With the scored tied at 88-88 and a minute remaining, IWU junior forward Patrick Hopkins backed deep into the paint for the bucket and a 90-88 lead.

Cornerstone's Ty Mason missed a shot with 40 seconds left and Hopkins gathered the rebound. There was a four second difference in the shot clock and game clock. IWU ran the clock deep and Martin's shot was off, but he was fouled in the corner and hit one of two free throws for a 91-88 score and 3.8 seconds remaining.

Indiana Wesleyan fouled bates with 1.8 seconds and he hit the first free throw and missed the second on purpose. Yoder collected the offensive board in the corner but time expired before he was able to get a shot off as IWU corralled the 91-89 victory.

"It's a win," said Tonagel. "There are some obvious things that we can continue to improve. We've got to move forward in all areas and we learned that tonight in free throws and rebounding."

Indiana Wesleyan struggled all night at the line, hitting just 23-of-39 (59.0-percent). IWU was also outrebounded 48-40 and allowed Cornerstone to grab 19 offensive rebounds.

What Indiana Wesleyan did do well was shoot the ball, especially over the final 25 minutes. IWU shot 55.2-percent (16 of 29) in the second half and overtime.  Overall, Indiana Wesleyan shot 49.2-percent.

Hopkins led all players in points (24), rebounds (14) and assists (four). Hopkins' two double-doubles have come against Bellevue and Cornerstone.

"Pat just continues to play. He's a load and continues to draw a lot of attention," added Tonagel. "He obviously stuffs the stats but what's missing is how many opportunities he creates for other people. "

Martin finished with 20 points, Troyer with 16 and Jones IV with 12 as Indiana Wesleyan boasted four players in double figures.

Bates finished with 23 points for the Golden Eagles and Wes Hudson added 15.

Indiana Wesleyan will next play Aquinas (Mich.) College tomorrow at 3 p.m. in the final game of the MCC/WHAC Challenge.