MARION, Ind. -- No. 7-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University men’s basketball heated up Odle Arena Tuesday night with a great defensive effort as IWU dominated Taylor (Ind.) by a 71-46 margin in Crossroads League action.

Taylor (10-16, 4-11 CL) entered action tonight averaging 71.4 points per game. Their lowest point total of the season was 52 points in a 71-52 loss at Indiana Wesleyan on January 14.

“Defensively I thought we were locked in tonight,” said Indiana Wesleyan head coach Greg Tonagel. “I was surprised we held them to 46 points after what they’ve done recently in here. I don’t know if it’s matchups or if we were just locked in. I just know we were really locked in tonight.”

The Trojans also are known to do a lot of damage from beyond the arc. TU averages more than 6 3-pointers per game and are 30th in NAIA Division II as they shoot 36.7-percent from deep. Taylor made just one 3-point attempt in the first meeting and was limited to one more tonight.

“We held them to one 3-pointer in the first game and I thought we couldn’t do that again,” continued Tonagel. “They got that first 3-pointer in transition in the first two minutes of the game but they didn’t hit one after that.”

The Trojans led the first six minutes of the game and led by as many as four points. But the Wildcats scored 10 unanswered points to lead 17-11 and did not trail the rest of the night.

“I thought we raised our level after those first three minutes,” said Tonagel. “Our guys started playing very well. They are really clicking right now as guys are fitting in and they are not forcing.”

Nine Wildcats scored tonight and all 13 saw the court. IWU shot 53.2-percent (25 of 47) from the floor and won the battle of the boards 36-25. And defensively, the Wildcats held the Trojans to 35.3-percent (18 of 51) shooting and 7.1-percent (1 of 14) from 3-point range.

“Probably the most complete effort we had across the board from 1 through 13,” stated Tonagel. “Everybody got in and everybody contributed and we really spread the wealth tonight.”

RJ Mahurin led all players with 13 points while Lane Mahurin added 12 and Bob Peters scored 11. Jordan Weidner scored eight points and moved into third place on the all-time scoring list at Indiana Wesleyan. Zac Vandewater contributed seven points and seven boards while Nate Bubash and Tyler Greathouse each added six points.

Indiana Wesleyan (22-5, 12-3 CL) remains on the road Saturday with a matchup at Spring Arbor (Mich.). Tip-off will be at 3 p.m. in Spring Arbor, Michigan.