GOSHEN, Ind. -- For the seventh straight season the Indiana Wesleyan University men’s basketball team can lay claim to the Crossroads League regular season championship after beating host Goshen (Ind.) 85-64 in Gunden Gymnasium.

Of the seven straight championships which date back to the 2008-09 season, five have been outright titles, including the past three. The streak is tied with Grace (Ind.) for the second longest in league history, behind only former member Tri-State (Ind.) with 19 from 1963-81. Grace followed with seven straight championships from 1982-88.

Indiana Wesleyan (27-2, 15-2 CL) will be the No. 1-seed in the upcoming Crossroads League Tournament that begins on February 25. IWU will hold home court advantage throughout the tournament.

The defending national champions have also clinched the first of two Crossroads League automatic bids to the NAIA National Championship. The second automatic bid will be decided in the league tournament. The National Championship begins March 11 in Point Lookout, Missouri.

The Wildcats left little doubt early in the game on their way to clinching the outright title on Tuesday. IWU scored 9 of the first 11 points and cruised from there. The Wildcats finished the opening half on an 11-1 run to build a 41-24 lead at the break.

Indiana Wesleyan increased the lead to 22 points on a Jacob Johnson (FR/Mooresville, Ind.) 3-pointer in the first five minutes of the second half. Goshen (15-13, 8-8 CL) was able to chip away at the deficit and cut it down to 13 points, but Indiana Wesleyan responded with eight unanswered points for a 69-48 advantage. Three times Indiana Wesleyan led by 23 points before ending the night with the 85-64 victory.

DJ Bettinger (SR/Richfield, Ohio) led all players with a season-best 22 points on 6-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc. The 22 points was 3 off of his career-high 25 points that he set last year. Fellow senior Zac Vandewater (SR/Warsaw, Ind.) added a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Vandewater led all scorers with 14 first half points. Bob Peters (SO/Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) was the third and final Wildcat in double figures with 10 points and 4 assists. The balanced IWU attack saw nine players score five or more points tonight.

The Wildcats shot 50-percent (29 of 58) from the field and 48-percent (13 of 27) from 3-point range. IWU won the battle on the boards by a comfortable 38-27 margin.

Indiana Wesleyan completes the regular season schedule on Saturday with a home date against Marian (Ind.). Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. in Luckey Arena.