MARION, Ind. -- Senior guard Aaron Martin lit up the scoreboard as No. 5 Indiana Wesleyan University men's basketball overcame a slow start to pound Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) University 78-68 on Saturday afternoon in Luckey Arena.

Martin drilled six 3-pointers to lead all players with 21 points while 15 of those points came in the second half. He was 6-of-7 from beyond the arc and his final 3-pointer put him over 1,000 career points.

"Aaron had an awesome game," said Indiana Wesleyan head coach Greg Tonagel. "He made shots but I thought he played solid defense and was in the right spot positionally which kept him on the floor. And he had opportunities to shoot and he knocked them down. Aaron can really shoot."

Mount Vernon Nazarene (5-5, 0-3 Crossroads League) came out and dominated the start of the game and silenced Luckey Arena with a 13-0 run to open the afternoon. It took over four minutes for Indiana Wesleyan to score their first point, a basket in the paint by sophomore guard Zac Vandewater.

The Cougars continued to maintain a double-digit lead for the first 12 minutes of the game, peaking with a 25-9 lead midway through the half.

"By far the worst start we've had all year long and the worst 10 minutes we've had all year long," said Tonagel. "And I'm not sure why because all week we talked about needing a strong start and have a mentality that they are going to want to come in here and take it from us. Look at what they did last year. Twice they took 10 point leads on us."

Once Mount Vernon Nazarene took a 16 point lead, Indiana Wesleyan turned the momentum around and dominated the final 30 minutes of play. IWU finished the half on a 20-3 run and claimed a 32-31 lead at halftime. Mount Vernon Nazarene went over five minutes without a point and scored just six points in the final 10 minutes of the opening half.

"For the final 30 minutes we played some good basketball," continued Tonagel. "We fought, we scrapped. We didn't panic and try to get it back in one basket. Last year they tried to get it back in one basket but they didn't this year and stayed within the system and slowly chipped away at it."

The two teams traded baskets early in the second half until Martin drilled a 3-pointer with 15:18 to play for a 43-41 advantage. IWU would not trail again.

Martin's 3-pointer was the beginning of a 12-3 run that put Indiana Wesleyan ahead 52-44. By the midway point of the second half Indiana Wesleyan reached a double figure lead for the first time at 56-46 on a George Jones IV bucket.

The Wildcats expanded the lead to as many as 19 points before the Cougars scored 11 points in the final two minutes with the benches emptied.

"One of the things we talked about this week was the measure, the measure of this team," added Tonagel. "How have we changed. And part of that was mentality and this team has grown up some. I wanted to see our guys come out with a changed and more mature mentality. And we did it."

Junior guard Jordan Weidner added 19 points and six assists. He shot 6-of-11 from the field and was a perfect 7-of-7 from the line. Senior forward Patrick Hopkins contributed 15 points and eight rebounds while senior forward Taylor Schoen chipped in eight points and four rebounds off the bench.

"Taylor is invaluable," stated Tonagel. "He doesn't show up in the stat sheet but if you are a coach and break down the film you realize how important he is to this team. Its hustle and heart. With hustle and heart you are going to have an impact."

Indiana Wesleyan (9-1, 3-0 Crossroads League)shot 52.0-percent (26 of 50) from the floor and a scorching 90.9-percent (20 of 22) from the foul line and hit their final 18 attempts. IWU won the battle of the boards 32-25.

Indiana Wesleyan finishes the short stint of Crossroads League games before the turn of the calendar with a 3-0 mark. IWU returns to Crossroads League play in January.

With the rest of the December schedule slated with non-conference games, Indiana Wesleyan will begin that stretch with a home game versus No. 23 Indiana University-East at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, December 4.