Box Score MARION, Ind. -- It was a day of celebration for No. 6 Indiana Wesleyan University men's basketball on Saturday afternoon in Luckey Arena. Indiana Wesleyan celebrated Senior Day with a 92-80 victory over Goshen (Ind.) College to secure the outright Crossroads League regular season championship.
The regular season championship is the fifth straight for Indiana Wesleyan and sixth in seven years. All six league championships for the men's basketball program have come since 2007. IWU had already clinched the No. 1-seed in the upcoming Crossroads League Tournament and the league's first NAIA National Tournament bid.
"The championship means a lot to these guys because they put in a lot of work," said Indiana Wesleyan head coach Greg Tonagel. "They commit to more than they think at times so to see them reap the benefits of it sure makes me proud of them."
Starring on Saturday for Indiana Wesleyan was the six-man senior class. They combined for 73 points on the afternoon and shot a combined 70.0-percent (28 of 40).
"That was 73 points today," said Tonagel. "This senior class has done a lot of winning and they've done it a lot of different ways. They are high character kids off the court so there is a lot to be proud about."
George Jones IV produced his best game as a Wildcat on Senior Day. Jones IV scored a career-high 26 points on 11-of-13 shooting. He pulled down eight rebounds and totaled four assists. He scored his previous career high of 21 points last season.
"George saved his best for last and I think there is more to come," stated Tonagel. "He's getting healthy and I think you saw the George that we saw right before the injury last year."
Patrick Hopkins tallied 25 points and eight rebounds before fouling out late in the second half. Hopkins scored 15 first half points. Aaron Martin added 12 points, including 10 in the second half, while Taylor Schoen shot 4-of-5 today for eight points. Darrian Mikell added two points on two free throws and Zach Arington received a standing ovation when he entered the game.
Indiana Wesleyan (25-5, 14-4 CL) shot 54.1-percent (33 of 61) and 82.1-percent (23 of 28) from the foul line. IWU won the battle on the boards with a 38-26 advantage in rebounds.
Goshen (8-21, 1-17 CL) finished the day shooting 51.7-percent (30 of 58) but committed 20 turnovers. Jerron Jamerson came off the bench to lead the Maple Leafs with 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting.
Indiana Wesleyan will host No. 8-seed Huntington (Ind.) University in the Crossroads League Tournament First Round. That game tips-off at 7 p.m. on Wednesday night in Luckey Arena.