MARION, Ind. -- Sophomore guard Jordan Weidner hit his first six 3-pointers en route to a career-high 29 points in leading No. 10-ranked Indiana Wesleyan past Goshen (Ind.) College 74-66 on Wednesday night in the Mid-Central College Conference Tournament First Round game in Luckey Arena.

Weidner lit up Goshen early and often with 11 points in the first four minutes of the game. The All-Conference player drilled three deep shots in a two minute span that helped Indiana Wesleyan capture an early 14-6 advantage.

Indiana Wesleyan (21-10) seemed poised to blowout Goshen as the Wildcats built a 27-15 lead just past the midway point in the period. But nearly just as quick as the lead ballooned, it deflated. The Maple Leafs used a 20-7 run to end the half and take a 35-34 advantage into intermission.

Compounding the problem for Indiana Wesleyan was free throw shooting. Indiana Wesleyan went to the line a whopping 24 times in the opening half but hit just seven for 29.2-percent.

"I've never see that before, 7-of-24," said Indiana Wesleyan head coach Greg Tonagel. "That continues to be an Achilles heel to us. Sometimes we're hitting them and sometimes we're not. But if you want to go deep in the tournament you better hit your free throws."

Just like the first half, Indiana Wesleyan exploded out of the gates with a 14-6 run to regain the lead at 48-41. Capping the run was Weidner's fifth consecutive made 3-pointer. He later drilled his sixth straight from deep before missing one final 3-point attempt.

"A career-high six 3's for him," said Tonagel "It really opened up the offense. That's the Jordan Weidner from last year and that was a big lift for our offense."

Indiana Wesleyan looked to finally finish off Goshen (18-13) with 6:20 remaining in the contest. Junior forward Patrick Hopkins hit two free throws for a 60-49 lead. But Goshen scored six unanswered points to close within 60-55 and 4:08 on the clock.

On the next Wildcat possession and the shot clock winding down, senior guard Derrick Troyer drilled his only 3 of the game to put the Wildcats up eight. IWU increased the lead to as many as 11 over the final three and a half minutes and settled for the 74-66 victory.

"The second half was night and day from the first half," stated Tonagel. "There was a sense of urgency that if you lose you're done. And why we didn't come out with that is beyond my comprehension. Thankfully we came alive in that second half."

"(Goshen) doesn't have a lot of seniors on that roster," continued Tonagel. "They are going to be good next year. Them being an eight seed shows the parity in this league."

Indiana Wesleyan turned their fortune around at the free throw line in the second half. IWU hit 17-of-23 (73.9-percent) to end the evening with more makes than misses (24 of 47, 51.1-percent).

Weidner seems to enjoy games against Goshen. His previous career-high of 28 points came on November 30, 2010 against Goshen in just his 11th career collegiate game.

"Weidner gets better as the year goes on," added Tonagel. "He's a gamer. Offensively he had a great performance tonight."

Hopkins added 18 points and seven rebounds while junior guard Aaron Martin was the third Wildcat in double figures with 11 points and eight boards. Troyer chipped in nine points and four rebounds while freshman Zac Vandewater contributed two points and six boards in 22 minutes off the bench.

Indiana Wesleyan advances to the MCC Tournament Semifinals at 3 p.m. on Saturday, February 25. The top-four seeds all won tonight so Indiana Wesleyan will host No. 4-seed University of Saint Francis (Ind.). USF defeated No. 5-seed Huntington (Ind.) University 67-66 tonight in Fort Wayne, Indiana. No. 2-seed Grace (Ind.) College will host No. 3-seed Marian (Ind.) University in the other semifinal.

"(Saint Francis) is going to be ready to play," said Tonagel. "They are playing for everything. But so are we, we're playing for an opportunity to play in the championship. I think matching their intensity is going to be key right off the bat."

Indiana Wesleyan swept Saint Francis in the two regular season meetings. IWU won 75-68 in Fort Wayne on January 17 and then beat them 72-70 in Luckey Arena on February 7.

Tickets will be $7 for adults and $2 for students and only NAIA Passes may be accepted. All Indiana Wesleyan students with a student ID will receive a free ticket courtesy of the IWU athletic department.