MARION, Ind. -- It was a historic evening in a packed Luckey Arena as No. 5 Indiana Wesleyan University men’s basketball defeated Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) 90-72 in the first NAIA regular season game on ESPN3. Adding to the Luckey atmosphere was the appearance of the Indiana Pacers mascot Boomer who dazzled the crowd at halftime with a high-flying dunk show.

Game Vitals

• Score:  Indiana Wesleyan - 90   |   Mount Vernon Nazarene - 72
• Records:  Indiana Wesleyan 18-3, 6-3 Crossroads League   |   Mount Vernon Nazarene 10-11, 2-7 Crossroads League
• NAIA Top- 25 Rank:  Indiana Wesleyan - No. 5   |   Mount Vernon Nazarene - Not ranked
• Location:   Luckey Arena   |   Indiana Wesleyan University   |   Marion, Indiana 
• Brief:  It was a historic evening in a packed Luckey Arena as No. 5 Indiana Wesleyan University men’s basketball defeated Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) 90-72 in the first NAIA regular season game on ESPN3. Adding to the Luckey atmosphere was the appearance of the Indiana Pacers mascot Boomer who dazzled the crowd at halftime with a high-flying dunk show.
   

What Went Down

• Indiana Wesleyan opened the night with seven straight points. IWU would not trail during the game.
• The Wildcats held their largest lead of 18 points during the opening 20 minutes on a Bob Peters (JR/Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) bucket with 11:42 on the clock for a 24-6 advantage.
• Nate Bubash (JR/Munster, Ind.) closed out the opening half with a basket for an Indiana Wesleyan lead of 43-33 at halftime.
• First half play witnessed 26 combined fouls called and 30 combined free throw attempts.
• IWU started the second half on a 16-6 spurt to gain their first 20 point lead at 59-39.
• A Kylan Dubbels (SR/Kokomo, Ind.) 3-pointer with 3:30 left gave the Wildcats their largest lead of the evening at 86-58.
• Indiana Wesleyan shot 51.6-percent on 32-of-62 shooting.
• Bob Peters tallied a game-high 22 points while Lane Mahurin (JR/Rockville, Ind.) ended with 21 points.
• Nate Bubash collected a season-high 14 points. He was 5-of-8 from the floor and 4-of-6 from the foul line.
  
   

Coach’s Corner

•  “It’s a step in the right direction. We played better defensively and better offensively. We had some stretches of really good basketball. We executed. We played collectively. It was a step in the right direction.”    -- IWU head coach Greg Tonagel
   

Extra! Extra!

• The game was the first ever regular season game on ESPN3 for Indiana Wesleyan. IWU was on ESPN3 one other time as their 2014 NAIA Division II national championship game victory was nationally broadcast on ESPN3. The rest of the IWU men’s basketball home games this season will be broadcast on ESPN3.
• Indiana Pacer mascot Boomer made his first trip to Luckey Arena. Boomer dazzled the packed out arena with a high-flying dunk show during halftime. He also entertained the crowd during the game.
• Indiana Wesleyan is 10-0 all-time against Mount Vernon Nazarene since MVNU joined the Crossroads League in 2011-12.
  
   

Next Time Out

• Indiana Wesleyan next plays on Saturday in a Crossroads League battle at Huntington (Ind.). Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. in Huntington, Indiana.