MARION, Ind. -- The last time the Indiana Wesleyan University men’s basketball team was ranked No. 1 and played IU East was 2011 and the Red Wolves pulled off the upset. Tonight the Wildcats avenged their loss from three years ago as they defeated the Red Wolves 97-80 inside Luckey Arena.

“I think our guys battled through a lot of adversity,” said IWU head coach Greg Tonagel. “We had foul trouble and struggled to find a rhythm offensively. Our guys just battled and we continued to build leads but give them credit for cutting into those leads.”

Jonny Marlin (JR/Greenwood, Ind.) connected on a 3-pointer with 5:46 left in the first half to push the Indiana Wesleyan advantage up to 42-26. But over the next 14 minutes IU East methodically cut into the Indiana Wesleyan lead and closed to within two points at 60-58 with 11:18 remaining on the second half clock.

The Wildcats (3-0) pushed the lead back to eight points before the Red Wolves (2-1) made another run. The Red Wolves closed the game to 74-70 on a big 3-point basket with 6:07 to play. The Wildcats quickly brought the ball up the court and Zac Vandewater (SR/Warsaw, Ind.) answered with a 3-pointer of his own 11 seconds later. The Vandewater bucket ignited a 23-10 run in the game’s final six minutes.

“I think one of the plays of the game was Zac Vandewater’s 3-pointer,” said Tonagel. “They hit a 3 and the place is going nuts and he calmly comes down and hits a 3. He is a very unheralded part of this team.”

Indiana Wesleyan received big production from the bench as Bob Peters (SO/Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) led all players with 22 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Nate Bubash added 15 points and six rebounds off the bench.

“They are both good players,” added Tonagel. “Nate is a throwback kind of player and Bob can score in a lot of different positions and a lot of difference places on the court. We put them in some tough matchups tonight.”

The Indiana Wesleyan depth played a key role as IWU pulled away late in the second half. Indiana Wesleyan shot 57.1-percent (16 of 28) in the second half while #RV IU East struggled at 34.2-percent (13 of 38).

“We were subbing two big guys in and two guys out while they were just keeping their guys in,” stated Tonagel. “I think that showed at the end of the game. Look what we shot in the second half and look at what they shot in the second half. That’s fatigue right there. That’s being able to work and get fresh bodies in there.”

Lane Mahurin (SO/Rockville, Ind.) finished with 19 points and nine rebounds, Marlin earned a double-double with 13 points and 11 assists, and Vandewater contributed 10 points and six boards.

Indiana Wesleyan will next play in the Crossroads League/WHAC Challenge in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Indiana Wesleyan plays host Aquinas (Mich.) at 8 p.m. on Friday and then play No. 11 Cornerstone (Mich.) at 12 p.m. on Saturday.