MARION, Ind. -- No. 2 Indiana Wesleyan University men’s basketball took care of business Saturday afternoon as they defeated Aquinas (Mich.) 84-70 to win both of their games during the Crossroads League/WHAC Challenge in Luckey Arena. Indiana Wesleyan led by as many as 30 points in the second half before settling for the 14 point victory.

Matchup Details

• Score:  Indiana Wesleyan 84   |   Aquinas 70
• Records:  Indiana Wesleyan 2-0   |   Aquinas 1-1
• NAIA DII Top- 25 Rank:  Indiana Wesleyan - No. 2   |   Aquinas - Not ranked
• Location:  Luckey Arena   |   Indiana Wesleyan University   |   Marion, Indiana
• Brief:  No. 2 Indiana Wesleyan University men’s basketball took care of business Saturday afternoon as they defeated Aquinas (Mich.) 84-70 to win both of their games during the Crossroads League/WHAC Challenge in Luckey Arena. Indiana Wesleyan led by as many as 30 points in the second half before settling for the 14 point victory.

What Went Down

• Aquinas came out hot and built a quick 7-2 lead in the opening three minutes of the game.
• The Saints’ lead was short lived as the Wildcats responded with 21 of the next 23 points to lead 23-9 with nine minutes left in the first half.
• Indiana Wesleyan led by as many as 19 points (42-23) in the first half before heading into halftime up 45-29. IWU shot 63.3-percent (19 of 30) during the first 20 minutes and was led by Bob Peters with 12 points.
• The Wildcats went on a 23-9 run to open the second half and extend their lead to a game-high 30 points at 68-38.
• Aquinas outscored Indiana Wesleyan by a 23-10 margin in the final 6:41 of the game. The 27 point (74-47) IWU lead was cut to the final margin of 14 points.
• Six Wildcats scored eight or more points on Saturday. Bob Peters led the team with 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting while Lane Mahurin finished with 15 points and 6 rebounds. Jacob Johnson and Grant Evans each added 10 points while Josh Mawhorr and Grant Zawadzki scored 8 points apiece.
• The Wildcats shot well as they earned a 51.5-percent shooting mark. But the Wildcats failed to get to the line consistently as they were just 5-of-8 from the foul line.
• Indiana Wesleyan took good care of the ball against Aquinas as they totaled 18 assists to just 5 turnovers. Ten Wildcats earned at least one assist and Bob Peters led all players with four.

Coaches Corner

• “We came out a little sluggish but we regained it. This team showed me a lot today. They know how to compete and they are not satisfied. That was a huge game last night. But once we settled in today we played some pretty good basketball.”

          IWU head coach Greg Tonagel on the team’s performance after last night’s win over No. 1 Cornerstone

Extra! Extra!

• The Wildcats improve to 12-4 all-time in the eight years of the Crossroads League/WHAC Challenge. IWU has won six straight during the Challenge with their last loss coming in 2012. The Wildcats are now 7-1 vs. the Saints.
• The 2-0 start to the season marks the eighth consecutive year that Indiana Wesleyan has accomplished that feat. The last time Indiana Wesleyan did not win their first two games of the season was 2007 when they went 1-1 and lost 75-68 to defending national champion and No. 1-ranked MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) in Olathe, Kansas.

Next Time Out

• Indiana Wesleyan returns with another weekend classic on November 6-7 in Luckey Arena. The Caleb Dimmich Memorial Classic will feature Indiana Wesleyan vs. No. 7 Union at 8 p.m. on Friday and Indiana Wesleyan vs. Great Lakes Christian (Mich.) at 3 p.m. on Saturday.