SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The NAIA DII National Championship First Round contest between No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan University men’s basketball and Washington Adventist (Md.) was a physical, grind it out, tightly contested game between two contrasting styles. Indiana Wesleyan pulled out the 87-81 victory despite trailing once again at the half.

SECOND HALF TEAM

Indiana Wesleyan trailed 37-35 at halftime but won their eighth game this year when starting the second half with a deficit. Trailing 41-37 early in the second half, Indiana Wesleyan used a 12-5 spurt to gain a 49-46 advantage and did not trail the rest of the night. Despite leading the final 15 minutes of play, Indiana Wesleyan was unable to put away Washington Adventist as the Shock would get as close as three points with three minutes remaining.

FIRST HALF DROUGHT

Indiana Wesleyan led by a first half high 11 points at 31-20 with 7:46 left before halftime. The rest of the half, Indiana Wesleyan was 1-of-6 from the floor with six turnovers. Washington Adventist took advantage and ended the half on a 17-4 run to take a 37-35 lead into intermission. WAU pulled down eight offensive rebounds in the half and outscored IWU 14-2 in second chance points.

SCORING BARRAGE

Kyle Mangas and Evan Maxwell were the only Wildcats with double digit points as they combined for 52 of the 87 IWU points. Mangas poured in a game-best 29 points which tied Jordan Weidner for the fifth most in program history at the national tournament. The duo shot a combined 16-of-25 from the floor and 17-of-20 from the free throw line.

RARE COMPANY

The Wildcats improve to 30-8 all-time at the NAIA Division II National Championship. IWU is just the fifth program to reach 30 wins at the tournament and join Bethel (32), Cornerstone (39), Northwestern (31), and Oregon Tech (33) to hit that mark.

CLARK QUOTES

“We have been out here a lot of years and they didn’t feel like a No. 8 seed. They are a very good basketball team with good wins on the year. I am very proud of our guys as we grinded through that and found a way to win. It doesn’t feel like we didn’t play well, we felt like we had to earn the win and that is a credit to their team. They are a tough team that is long and athletic and they competed. We played at a high level and found a way to win and that is what it’s about at the tournament.”

“There is a reason that Kyle and Evan are both All-League First Team. Evan came up big in that second half when we needed him to. He put us on his back.”

NEXT FOR THE WILDCATS

Indiana Wesleyan advances to the Round of 16 for the 11th time in program history and for the seventh consecutive year. IWU plays the winner of No. 4 Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) and No. 5 Warner (Fla.) at 1 p.m. ET on Friday in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.