MARION, Ind. -- For at least 24 hours the No. 7-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University men’s basketball team will stand all alone atop the Crossroads League standings following an 82-71 victory over No. 14-ranked Huntington (Ind.) on Tuesday night in Luckey Arena.

Indiana Wesleyan beat Huntington (20-5, 9-4 CL) and the ‘snowpocalypse’ tonight as the big showdown in Luckey was the only Crossroads League game played this evening. The other four games scheduled were moved to either Wednesday or Thursday because of the massive snow storm hitting central Indiana.

Heading into the game tonight, the Crossroads League featured a very muddled standings at the top. Four teams were tied for first place with Bethel lurking a single game back. Indiana Wesleyan is now the only team in first place following the victory tonight.

“There were so many implications for this game,” IWU head coach Greg Tonagel stated. “My biggest concern coming in was if we would rise to the level of Huntington’s hunger. They were the underdog and I’m sure they were a bit bitter after the game we played there. Can we rise above that and can we meet those expectations. I thought our guys did that tonight and I am proud of them.”

The Wildcats (20-5, 10-3 CL) pulled out the win with a balanced scoring effort. Four Wildcats scored between 15-to-19 points tonight and that came from two freshmen and two seniors. Senior RJ Mahurin scored a team-high 19 points while senior Jordan Weidner and freshman Lane Mahurin each finished with 17 points. Nate Bubash came off the bench to tally 15 points.

“Look at what Nate and Lane did,” Tonagel said about his two freshmen. “They scored 32 points combined on 13 shots. If you can get that kind of efficiency out of your freshmen you are going to do good things. They made a lot happen with little tonight.”

Lane added a team-best 7 rebounds and was 5-of-7 from the floor. Bubash was 5-of-6 from the field with 5 rebounds. He led the team with 11 first half points and was 1 point from his career high.

“Nate was awesome tonight,” beamed Tonagel. “He was active and played with a high motor. He made things happen. I am proud of Nate because he has been in the gym every single day when he wasn’t playing. He found a way to get in the gym and now he’s back in the rotation.”

The pair of seniors, meanwhile, scored just 12 points combined in the first half as the freshmen found many open looks. But the seniors stepped it up in the second half with 24 points in clutch time.

“No one is forcing things,” said Tonagel. “Jordan doesn’t come into a game looking to get his. He takes what the defense gives him. Tonight they wanted to keep the ball out of his hand so he spread the basketball. And he found Nate quite a bit because they were doubling RJ. In the second half they didn’t sag off of him and look what happened, RJ went off. This team is learning to take advantage of the mismatch and play how the other teams are playing us. We are not forcing right now.”

Indiana Wesleyan shot over 50-percent for the second straight game against a top-25 team. IWU finished at 56.8-percent (25 of 44) and also at an 84.4-percent (27 of 32) clip from the foul line. Indiana Wesleyan shied away from the 3-point line tonight and continually attacked the basket. The aggressive approach led to 32 free throw attempts and two Forester forwards fouling out with more than 10 minutes to play.

Despite the terrible weather outside, Luckey Arena had a large crowd on ‘Black Out Night.’ The many IWU fans were dressed in black to support the Wildcats and it paid off tonight.

Tonagel said, “The Sixth Man was awesome tonight. They are an extension of what we do. They give us energy and we are proud to play in front of them and represent them. I am thankful for that energy they brought tonight.”

Indiana Wesleyan remains home for their next game against Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio). That game will be held at 3 p.m. on Saturday. It will be ‘Remember the Titans Day’ in Luckey as Indiana Wesleyan remembers its roots as the Marion College Titans from 1968-87. To honor the past, fans are encouraged to wear 1970’s and 80’s attire to the game.