MARION, Ind. - No. 13 Indiana Wesleyan men's basketball returned home in desperate need of a win after falling in their last three games. The Wildcats took the court in Luckey Arena against the Spring Arbor Cougars in a highly-contested Crossroad League match-up. IWU used an 11-6 run in the final 3:30 of the game to pull away late for an 89-83 win. Indiana Wesleyan picks up their first CRL win and give Spring Arbor their first league loss of the early conference season.

 

THE ESSENTIALS

• Location: Marion, Ind. | Luckey Arena
• Records: IWU: 7-3, 1-3 CRL | SAU: 9-2, 3-1 CRL
• NAIA Top-25 Rankings: IWU - #13 | SAU – Unranked

WHAT HAPPENED

• Both teams came out hot offensively and combined for nine three pointers through the first ten minutes of play.
• Griffin Kliewer and Jake Smith reached double-digits in the first half as the Wildcats took a 42-41 lead into the halftime locker room.
• An SAU free-throw with ten minutes left gave the Cougars a 67-63 lead in a back-and-forth physical game.
• IWU used an 11-6 run in the final 3:30 of the game to pull away late for an 89-83 win.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

• 52: IWU's 52% from three is a new season-high.
• 28: Indiana Wesleyan held a +6 advantage inside in the second half with 28 points in the paint.
• 20+: The Wildcats have two players score over 20 points in a game for just the fourth time this year.
• 5: The Wildcat's tallied 5 blocks; tying their second-most in a game this year.

KEY WILDCATS

• Griffin Kliewer: 23 points, 5-11 3FG, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals
• Caedmon Bontrager: 21 points, 8-9 FG, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks, 3 assists
• Jake Smith: 16 points, 6-6 FG, 3 rebounds, 1 assists
• DJ Moore: 10 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals

NEXT TIME OUT

• The Wildcats will play their final game in Luckey Arena of 2024 on Monday night at 6:00 p.m. against East-West University.
• Links for tickets, video, and stats will be available at IWUWildcats.com.

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