OLATHE, Kan. - No. 3 Indiana Wesleyan men's basketball traveled to Kansas this weekend to compete in the Uphaus Classic, hosted by MidAmerica Nazarene University. The Wildcats played in the thrilling nightcap on Friday night against the host school. IWU improved to 4-0 for the first time since fall of 2020 with the hard-fought 78-74 road victory.

 

THE ESSENTIALS

• Location: Olathe, Kan. | Cook Center
• Records: IWU: 4-0 | MNU: 0-2
• NAIA Top-25 Rankings: IWU - #3 | MNU – Unranked

WHAT HAPPENED

• The Wildcat offense came out cold, shooting 44% and committing six turnovers to trail 20-21 through the first 10 minutes.
• IWU shot 4-16 from deep and gave away 11 turnovers in the first half, but still managed to hold a 39-36 lead at halftime.
• Griffin Kliewer led the way with 14 points in the first period.
• MNU regained the lead, 56-54, after a +5 scoring margin after the opening ten minutes of the second half.
• A 7-2 run capped off by a Luke Brown corner three gave IWU a 61-58 lead with 6:30 left.
• Griffin Kliewer nailed a deep three with the shot clock expiring to give IWU their largest lead of the game, 75-69.
• The Wildcats held on for the 78-74 win to improve to 4-0.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

• 44: The Wildcats won the battle on the glass with a season-high 44 rebounds.
• 41%: MidAmerica Nazarene shot 41% from the field, a season-low for a Wildcat opponent so far this year.
• 17: IWU had 17 turnovers compared to just nine for MNU.
• 7: The red and gray tallied a season-high 7 blocks.
• 4: Indiana Wesleyan starts their season at 4-0 for the first time since fall of 2020.

KEY WILDCATS

• Luke Brown: 22 points, 5-11 3FG, 2 assists, 2 rebounds
• Griffin Kliewer: 21 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 block
• Caedmon Bontrager: 14 points, 6-10 FG, 11 rebounds, 4 blocks, 1 steal
• DJ Moore: 10 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 steal

NEXT TIME OUT

• The Wildcats will play their second game of the Uphaus Classic tomorrow against Grand View at 7:00PM ET.
• Links for video and stats will be available at IWUWildcats.com.

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