MARION, Ind. -- It was a throwback kind of Saturday for Indiana Wesleyan University as it was ‘Remember the Titans Day’ at Luckey Arena.

Indiana Wesleyan donned the retro Marion College Titan uniforms and more than 60 Titan athletic alumni were in attendance. The Marion College Titans put on a show for the alumni with a 79-66 victory against visiting Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio).

“There was a lot of pride from our guys today in that locker room,” said Indiana Wesleyan head coach Greg Tonagel. “We were representing the Titans and the athletes that came before us and started the legacy of what it means to be a Wildcat. It was an exciting atmosphere to have these people back.”

Marion College began intercollegiate athletics in 1968-69 and adopted the name of the Titans. When Marion College became Indiana Wesleyan University in 1988, the Titan name was retired and the Wildcats name began.

The large crowd also witnessed some history at the game as senior guard Jordan Weidner became just the fourth Wildcat/Titan to score 2,000 career points. Weidner hit the first of three free throws with 1:18 left in the first half to reach the milestone.

“Jordan just continues to produce,” said Tonagel. “But at the end of the day he will tell you that the most important stat is winning. He is one of the winningest all-time players we have ever had here and I could not be more proud of him.”

Weidner is a mere two points behind Aaron Brothers for third on the all-time scoring list. Brothers scored 2,013 career points and is the top scorer to ever wear a Wildcats uniform. Perry Frank (1983-86) tops the list with 2,452 points and Durand ‘Speedy’ Walker (1979-82) is second at 2,409 points. Both Frank and Walker were Titans.

The Titans never trailed today after scoring the game’s first five points. The Titans quickly gained a double digit lead at 18-7 on two Bob Peters free throws seven minutes into the game. The Cougars scratched back to trail by five points with five minutes left in the first half when the Titans went to work. The Titans ended the opening frame on a 15-3 run to lead 42-25 at the break.

“I was pleased with how we competed in the first half,” said Tonagel. “We played very well to finish the half and give ourselves a 17 point lead.”

An old-fashion 3-point play by RJ Mahurin to open the second half put Marion College up by 20 points. But Mount Vernon Nazarene systematically cut that deficit down to nine points when Josh Ashwill hit two free throws with 8:42 remaining.

“If we didn’t make mistakes we could have finished this quicker,” added Tonagel. “But we did make mistakes and we were never able to put them away.”

Mount Vernon Nazarene (5-20, 2-12 CL) traded baskets with Marion College and a 3-pointer by Eric Roby with 5:14 left trimmed the lead to 69-61. That MVNU basket spurred a 10-0 run by Marion College to put the game away.

“I thought we got flat in the second half,” continued Tonagel. “We kind of sat back on our heels and let them start attacking us. They hit some shots and got hot.”

Bethel (Ind.) beat Marian (Ind.) 69-55 today so Indiana Wesleyan is now a full game up on the rest of the Crossroads League. Bethel and Huntington (Ind.) sit 1.0 game behind, Marian is 1.5 games back, and Saint Francis (Ind.) is 2.0 games back after losing to Grace (Ind.)

Indiana Wesleyan returns to the court on Tuesday and will play at Grant County rival Taylor (Ind.) in Upland. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.