UPLAND, Ind. - No. 22 Indiana Wesleyan men's basketball made the short trip across Grant County on Wednesday night to take on rival Taylor University in another Crossroads League matchup. After trailing by as many as 14 points in the second half, the Wildcats rallied and retook the lead with a minute left. However, Taylor was able to convert at the free-throw line and hold IWU scoreless to steal the win, 79-76.
IWU drops their first game on the road against Taylor since January 10, 2012.
- Location: Upland, Ind. | Odle Arena
- Records: IWU: 11-5 (1-5 CRL) | TU: 10-6 (3-3 CRL)
- NAIA Top-25 Rankings: IWU - #22 | TU – Unranked
- Taylor strung together a 12-0 run in the first ten minutes of play to take a 20-10 lead.
- IWU shot 34.5% from the field in the first half, compared to 56% by TU. The Trojans held a 37-28 lead at halftime.
- The Wildcats cut the deficit to six early in the second half, but Taylor used a 17-9 run to go back up 62-48 at the under 10:00 media timeout.
- The red and gray got hot for an 11-0 run, and a Caedmon Bontrager free-throw with 1:35 left gave them their first lead of the second half.
- Griffin Kliewer hit two more free-throws with 1:03 left to put IWU up 76-75. However, Taylor drew a foul in the post and converted two free-throws to retake the lead.
- A missed layup of the following possession forced the Wildcats to foul to extend the game. The Trojans made both free-throws to go up three, and they secured the win after IWU was unable to knock down a three to tie the game.
- 76: 76 is the lowest amount of points IWU has scored in a loss so far this season.
- 61%: Taylor shot 61.7% from the field; the highest by an IWU opponent this year.
- 18: The Wildcats scored 18 second-chance points off 11 offensive rebounds.
- 1: Griffin Kleiwer tallied his first double-double of the season.
- The Wildcats remain on the road on Saturday when they play to Mount Vernon Nazarene at 3:30PM.
- Links for video and stats will be available at IWUWildcats.com.
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