FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- For the first time this season No. 6-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University men's basketball will have to deal with a losing streak.

Saint Francis pulled out the 89-73 upset over Indiana Wesleyan on Tuesday night in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The loss drops IWU to 22-5 on the season and 11-4 in the Crossroads League.

Indiana Wesleyan entered play tied for first place with No. 14 Bethel (Ind.) College and No. 20 Taylor (Ind.) University while No. 25 Grace (Ind.) College was just a game back to clog the top of the standings. Despite the loss on Tuesday, the good news is the surprise outcome that all three of the other teams also lost so Indiana Wesleyan does not lose any ground with just three games remaining on the schedule.

So the final week and a half left of the season should be quite exciting around the Crossroads League and especially so for Indiana Wesleyan. IWU hosts co-leader Bethel at 3 p.m. on Saturday and their next game after that will be Tuesday on the road at the other co-leader Taylor. Indiana Wesleyan won the previous meeting against each opponent earlier this season.

But the Wildcats lost a golden opportunity tonight in the 16 point loss, the worst of the season. The Wildcats never led as the Cougars offense steamrolled tonight and shot 54.7-percent (29 of 53) from the field. Four Cougars scored in double figures and three of them scored 18 or more points for a balanced scoring attack. Scott Kohne led the hosts with 22 points and 15 rebounds.

The free throw numbers were not kind to Indiana Wesleyan. Saint Francis took 20 more free throw attempts as they were 25-of-38 (65.8-percent). Indiana Wesleyan got to the line less than half of the times as Saint Francis plus did not shoot well at all when they were there, hitting 8-of-18 (44.4-percent).

Saint Francis dominated play the entire night, opening the contest on a 14-5 run. USF built their largest lead of the first half at 31-16 with a little less than nine minutes to play. Indiana Wesleyan did respond with a 10-0 run to close within five at 31-26. Capping the run were 3-point baskets by junior guard Jordan Weidner on back-to-back possessions.

The Cougars called time out and returned with the next six points to return to a double digit lead. USF would take a 43-34 lead into halftime.

In the second half, the Cougar lead would remain between six to 10 points for nearly the first 10 minutes of play. An old fashion 3-point play by Weidner trimmed the deficit to five at 65-60. But on the very next USF possession the lead went back to seven points with two free throws. Minutes later the Cougars increased the lead to 11 at the eight minute mark and the lead would never be less than nine the rest of the way.

Senior forward Patrick Hopkins led Indiana Wesleyan with game-highs of 23 points and 18 rebounds. The 18 boards is a season high for Hopkins and one shy of his career-high set last season. Weidner added 21 points, three rebounds, and six assists. Hopkins and Weidner were the only Wildcats in double figures.

Indiana Wesleyan plays a pivotal game on Saturday against Bethel with a 3 p.m. tip-off. The game will highlight Marion College as ‘Remember the Titans' day in Luckey Arena. Indiana Wesleyan will sport new retro uniforms to pay homage to the Marion Titans, the school's namesake until 1988. The Alumni Office will host a reception in the Recreation and Wellness Center at 1 p.m. for any Marion Titan athletic alum. Please RSVP at alumni@indwes.edu.