SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Kyle Mangas drilled a 3-point basket with 2.1 seconds left on the clock to lift No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan University men’s basketball to a wild 87-86 win over No. 16 Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) in the NAIA Division II National Championship Round of 16. The monumental bucket halted the improbable second half run by the Tigers as the Wildcats return to the national quarterfinals for the sixth consecutive season.

SEATBELT FINISH

Ty Hoglund scored and was fouled to give Dakota Wesleyan the 80-79 lead with 1:42 on the clock. It was the first DWU lead all day. Mason Larson scored down low for the Tigers to gain an 85-82 lead with 37.9 to play, their largest lead of the game.

Following a Wildcat timeout, Mangas scored off the inbounds pass for an 85-84 score. IWU fouled Collin Kramer with 19.4 seconds left and he missed both free throws but the Wildcats could not take advantage as they turned the ball over with 10.1 seconds to play. IWU fouled Aaron Ahmadu and he hit 1-of-2 free throws for an 86-84 lead and 7.4 seconds remaining. Mangas brought the ball down the court, looked to drive the lane, stepped back, and calmly sank the game-winner with 2.1 seconds left. DWU had one last chance and Hoglund had a great look from mid-court where his attempt hit the back iron and bounced out.

GREAT OUT OF THE GATE

Indiana Wesleyan raced out to a 12-0 lead before the game was even three minutes old. Dakota Wesleyan hit six 3-pointers during a run that drew the Tigers to within one at 21-20, but Indiana Wesleyan stretched out the lead to 50-37 at halftime.

TEAM WIN

Five Wildcats scored in double figures and Canaan Coffey just missed giving IWU six with nine points. All nine Wildcats that played scored in the first half. Mangas finished with a team-high 18 points and Trevor Waite came off the bench for 11 big points. Seth Maxwell played 13 minutes and contributed four rebounds and three blocked shots.

GETTING DEFENSIVE

Dakota Wesleyan’s Ty Hoglund entered the game fifth in the country with 26.5 points per game. He was limited to just two first half points – which came with 21 seconds left before halftime – before scoring 17 second half points to end with 19 for the game.

MAKING THIS THE NORM

For the sixth straight year, Indiana Wesleyan will play in the national quarterfinals and the 10th time overall – dating back to the 2007 season. IWU is 4-5 in the quarterfinals but have won their last three trips to the Round of 8.

CLARK QUOTES

“Kyle Mangas just hit one of the biggest shots in IWU history. Our players about lost their mind when Kyle hit that shot. Then they had to regather themselves to play defense. That’s hard to do because it’s emotional when you make a big shot. And from our bench, that half-court shot looked good the whole way.”

“There is something special in our locker room with the number of times we have hit big shots in big moments every time. We don’t think it’s a coincidence as we think there is something deeper happening with this team. It is really fun to be a part of.”

MANGAS QUOTES

“He was riding me pretty hard on my side so I knew I could get leverage off him if I do a step back. I have worked on that shot thousands of times so I was ready for it.”

“They are an explosive team. Everyone on their team can hit 3’s. That is what they did to us to get back in the game.”

NEXT FOR THE WILDCATS

Indiana Wesleyan plays in the NAIA National Quarterfinals on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET. IWU plays the winner of No. 2 Oregon Tech and No. 6 IU Kokomo.