UPLAND, Ind. – No. 5 Indiana Wesleyan University men’s basketball dominated second half play to come from behind and win 87-72 at Taylor (Ind.) in Odle Area. Trevor Waite scored a career-high 21 points and Kyle Mangas added 17 second half points to lead the Wildcats to their 16th consecutive win vs. their Grant County rivals.

SECOND HALF BARRAGE

Indiana Wesleyan scored the first 10 points of the second half to grab their first lead of the game and erase a 48-43 halftime deficit. Waite hit a 3-pointer to close out the first half which vaulted Indiana Wesleyan to a 41-14 run that last until four minutes remained in the game. By that time, IWU led 81-62.

WORTH THE WAITE

Trevor Waite finished with a career-best 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting and he connected on 5-of-7 from 3-point range. Waite was a huge factor in the opening half with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting which allowed the Wildcats to weather the big Taylor opening half.

DOMINATING THE COUNTY RIVAL

Indiana Wesleyan has won 16 straight games in the series with Taylor. The last Trojan win came on February 14, 2012. The win streak is the longest active win streak for Indiana Wesleyan vs. any opponent.

TONAGEL THOUGHTS

“Our guys just settled down in the second half. You have to give Taylor credit as they came out ready to play and they blitzed us and hit shot after shot. We were very fortunate to weather that storm. Halftime couldn’t come fast enough as long as we could stay close. That shows the maturity of our seniors. At halftime they weren’t rattled and they were regrouping. We came out in the second half as a really unified group.”

“Trevor Waite kept us in it in the first half. His brother played here at Taylor so I think it was a little extra special for Trevor to be on this court and play so well.”

NEXT FOR THE WILDCATS

Indiana Wesleyan hosts Huntington (Ind.) on Saturday in a doubleheader. The women’s game starts at 1 p.m. and the men follow at 3 p.m.