MARION, Ind. - No. 3 Indiana Wesleyan men's basketball put on a defensive performance Wednesday, topping Taylor by 65 points for a 20th straight victory over the Trojans. IWU held Taylor to just 18 points in the first half, their best defensive effort of the season, topping Taylor 109-44. It's the largest victory in the history of the series.


WILDCATS STAT TRACKER

• Dylan Alderson - 16 first-half points, 6-of-8 from the field, 4-for-4 from deep, finished with 22 points
• Kyle Mangas - 10 points at the break, including a team-best 5 boards, he finished with 16 points and 9 rebounds
• Tayson Parker - 11 points, six steals, 3 assists
• Michael Thompson III - 14 points
• Seth Maxwell - 10 points, 9 blocks, 5 rebounds
• Noah Smith - 10 points, 7 Assists, 4-for-4 from the field

WHAT WENT DOWN

• The Wildcats jumped out to a quick 10-0 run to start the contest forcing a TU timeout.
• The Wildcats continued to pour it on, forcing another TU timeout at the 7:41 mark, with IWU leading 31-5. In the contest, Taylor had coughed the ball up eight times while shooting 2-of-17 from the floor for 11.8%.
• If it was not enough, the Wildcats turned it up another notch scoring six straight points out of the timeout, forcing another TU timeout and leading 37-5 with 6:25 left. The red and gray defense held Taylor to just 10% from the field through 24 minutes of action.
• IWU shot 80% from the field in the second half, finishing the game 44-of-44 for 66%. IWU was hot from deep, finishing 16-of-33 for a season-best 53%.
• Taylor finished the game with 24 turnovers and just four assists. IWU finished with 22 assists and just ten turnovers.
• The Wildcat bench was tremendous in the game scoring 37 points, led by Tayson Parker with 11. Taylor mustered nearly half their total points from their bench, collecting 19.
• The red and gray finished with 19 made shots in the first half, one more than the purple did in the entire game.
• Indiana Wesleyan collected 18 steals in the contest, led by Tayson Parker, who finished with six.

NEXT TIME OUT

• IWU hosts Huntington University on Saturday at 1 p.m.