MOUNT VERNON, Ohio -- Shots started going down for No. 3 Indiana Wesleyan University men's basketball during the second half as they pulled away from host Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) University 60-50 on Saturday in Mount Vernon, Ohio.

Indiana Wesleyan (21-3, 10-2 CL) led 22-20 at halftime but shot 60.9-percent (14 of 23) in the second half to outscore Mount Vernon Nazarene 38-30 for the 10 points victory. IWU missed all eight 3-point attempts in the first 20 minutes but hit 4-of-7 (57.1-percent) in the final period.

Three Wildcat starters epitomized the two very different halves on Saturday. Senior forward Patrick Hopkins, junior guard Jordan Weidner, and sophomore guard DJ Bettinger combined for six points in the opening half. Those three then carried the Wildcats with 24 combined points in the final 20 minutes.

Following a close first half which never saw a lead grow more than six points, Indiana Wesleyan opened the second half on a 12-2 run to turn a two point lead into a 34-22 advantage. Four Wildcats scored in the stretch, led by a pair of Bettinger 3-pointers. Bettinger would collect one more from deep at the midway point of the half to stretch out the Indiana Wesleyan lead to 14 at 45-31. Bettinger finished with nine points and the 14 point cushion was the largest of the game.

Mount Vernon Nazarene (10-14, 2-10 CL) ran off a 12-2 run of their own to close the gap to 47-43 with just under seven minutes remaining on the clock.

Hopkins answered on the next Wildcat possession with a basket from the elbow which opened a 9-1 IWU run. Senior forward Taylor Schoen scored the final points in the run off an assist from Weidner for the 56-44 lead with less than two to play. Schoen ended the afternoon with 10 points and five rebounds.

The Cougars would not threaten over the final two minutes as the Wildcats earned the season sweep.

Weidner scored a game-high 15 points, including 11 in the second half. He also contributed six rebounds and four assists. Hopkins just missed a double-double with 12 points and nine boards while sophomore guard Zac Vandewater added seven points, all in the first half.

The Indiana Wesleyan victory coupled with the Taylor (Ind.) University 85-79 victory over Bethel (Ind.) College places Indiana Wesleyan in a first place tie with Bethel in the Crossroads League. Both teams are now 10-2 in the league.

Indiana Wesleyan returns to Luckey Arena for their next contest which will be against Huntington (Ind.) University. The game will be at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.