MARION, Ind. -- Despite holding a late 14 point lead the No. 1-seed Indiana Wesleyan University men’s basketball team fended off a late charge by No. 5-seed Mount Vernon Nazarene (Oho) in a 64-61 win in the Crossroads League Tournament Semifinals in Luckey Arena.

Indiana Wesleyan had a game-high 15 point lead with eight minutes remaining and then a 14 point cushion on two Bob Peters (SO/Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) free throws with 5:47 left in the game. But Mount Vernon Nazarene rattled off the next 14 points to tie the score 56-56 with three minutes remaining.

“Turnovers played a big part in that,” IWU head coach Greg Tonagel said of the MVNU comeback. “Missed free throws played a big part in that. But you have to give them credit for still fighting and staying in the game.”

IWU responded with a free throw from Peters to regain the lead at 57-56. Following a MVNU turnover, Lane Mahurin (SO/Rockville, Ind.) scored in the paint for a 59-56 lead and 2:14 left to play. MVNU closed the gap back to one point with a basket on their next possession with 1:45 remaining.

Mahurin went back to the line on the next Wildcat possession to give IWU a 61-58 lead. The Cougars rushed the ball back down the court and a missed opportunity by Joey Schmitz led to a Jacob Johnson (FR/Mooresville, Ind.) rebound. He was immediately fouled with 1:00 on the clock. Johnson connected on one free throw for a 62-58 lead.

A Schmitz 3-point attempt was offline and Zac Vandewater (SR/Warsaw, Ind.) was fouled with 40 seconds left. Vandewater hit 1-of-2 for the 63-58 advantage. Mount Vernon Nazarene hit a 3-pointer by Martell Medley to narrow the deficit to 63-61 with just 13 seconds left.

IWU avoided being fouled for five second as Peters was finally sent to the line with eight seconds to go. He also hit 1-of-2 from the line for a 64-61 lead. MVNU quickly moved the ball down the court and Medley rushed a deep 3-point attempt with three seconds to go. His shot was nowhere close as IWU cleared the ball down the court to hang on for the 64-61 victory.

“They were one of the hottest teams in the league at the end of the year,” added Tonagel. “They were really rolling. That’s why defensively I thought we were really good today. At Grace they scored 47 in the first half and today they had 24 points. I thought our defense obviously outshined our offense today.”

Peters scored a game-high 15 points while Mahurin added 11 points and Vandewater had 10 points. Josh Mawhorr (JR/Muncie, Ind.) earned eight points and eight rebounds while Jonny Marlin (JR/Greenwood, Ind.) contributed eight assists.

The Wildcats shot just 40-percent (21 of 52) from the field and 26-percent (4 of 15) from beyond the arc. IWU hit on 66-percent (18 of 27) of their free throws.

“If you told me before the game that is what we were going to shoot I would have told you we were going on to Branson,” stated Tonagel. “You can’t always shoot the ball well but you can take care of things on the other end of the floor.”

Indiana Wesleyan will host the Crossroads League Tournament Championship at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in Luckey Arena. IWU hosts No. 3-seed Bethel (Ind.) who defeated No. 2-seed Saint Francis (Ind.) by a 62-61 margin