BOURBONNAIS, Ill. - No. 11 Indiana Wesleyan men's basketball secured their third consecutive victory of the season against No. 15 Olivet Nazarene with a 75-71 score. The first half had multiple lead changes, but the Wildcats' managed to establish an eight-point lead to finish the half at 39-31. In the second half, the game remained close with IWU leading for about 7 minutes before Olivet Nazarene took the lead. After an intense back-and-forth, Indiana Wesleyan finished victorious, with the lead changing four times in five minutes before the final buzzer. Junior Griffin Kliewer was the top scorer for IWU, contributing 22 points on an efficient 9/16 shooting, along with 6 rebounds and 2 assists.
- Location: Bourbonnais, Ill. | McHie Arena
- Records: IWU: 3-1 | ONU: 2-1
- NAIA Top-25 Rankings: IWU - #11 | ONU - #15
- The entirety of the first half was close before IWU found an eight-point lead with a minute to go before entering the second half.
- After leading for almost ten minutes in the second half, the lead switched 4 times.
- Tied at 71-71 with 1:11 remaining, a layup from Noah Smith and clutch free throws from Kliewer and Nathan Childress secured the victory.
- 5: The Wildcat defense was strong with five blocks on the day, compared to ONU's two blocks.
- 38: IWU stayed tight on the boards with 38 rebounds to ONU's 34.
- Griffin Kliewer: 22 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
- Javan Buchanan: 14 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks
- Noah Smith: 13 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 steal
- "Olivet Nazarene is well coached team and this is a tough place to play," said Head Coach Greg Tonagel. "We had to fight for every possession in order to come out of here with a win. Battles like these really grow your team."
- IWU will be back in Luckey Arena to face the University of Rio Grande on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.
- Links for tickets, video, and stats will be available at IWUWildcats.com
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