SPRING ARBOR, Mich. – No. 5 Indiana Wesleyan men's basketball opened the 2026-27 season with a 90-66 win over Indiana Tech on Friday in the first game of the CRL/WHAC Challenge. It was a tale of two halves from beyond the arc for the Wildcats, who shot 5-for-17 from three in the first half before knocking down 10 of their 18 attempts after the break. Holding a slim 33-29 lead at halftime, the red and grey used a 14-0 second-half run to pull away and led by as many as 28. Freshman Brady Scholl led all scorers with 24 points, Isaac Andrews added 22 on six 3-pointers, and IWU outrebounded the Warriors 53-36.
THE ESSENTIALS
- Location: Spring Arbor, Mich. | McDonald Athletic Center
- Records: IWU 1-0 | IT 1-1
- NAIA Top 25 Rankings: IWU – #5 | IT – Unranked
FIRST HALF
- IWU opened the season on a 6-0 run and led 11-2 at 14:59 after a Parker Hovey layup.
- The Warriors answered with a 12-0 run, highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers from Trey Yoder, to take a 14-11 lead at 11:26.
- Both teams traded baskets the rest of the half, with four lead changes and four ties.
- Scholl kept the Wildcats in front with 15 first-half points, eight of them on putbacks.
- Andrews hit two 3-pointers in the final 1:06, the first in transition after a Marcus Ankney steal, sending the red and grey into halftime with a 33-29 lead.
SECOND HALF
- Indiana Tech tied the game at 36 at 18:29 behind baskets from Steele Brasfield, Caleb Lehrman and Branden Northern.
- Jake Smith scored seven of IWU's first nine points of the half, including a 3-pointer that made it 41-36.
- Leading 43-40, the Wildcats went on a 14-0 run behind 3-pointers from Ankney, Andrews and Millen McCartney, who hit two, to pull ahead 57-40 at 12:16.
- A Hovey putback at 10:45 gave IWU its first 20-point lead, 62-42.
- Andrews added two more 3-pointers late in the half, and Scholl's three at 5:48 pushed the lead to 75-51.
- Julian Vogt's 3-pointer at 1:15 gave IWU its largest lead of the night, 88-60, on the way to a 90-66 win.
KEY WILDCATS
- Brady Scholl: 24 points, 9-21 FG, 9 rebounds
- Isaac Andrews: 22 points, 6-14 3FG, 5 rebounds
- Millen McCartney: 6 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists
- Kevin Sacas: 6 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists
- Chief Cameron: 3 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals
TEAM COMPARISON
- Field Goals: IWU 31-81 (38.3%) | IT 23-58 (39.7%)
- 3-Pointers: IWU 15-35 (42.9%) | IT 4-26 (15.4%)
- Free Throws: IWU 13-19 (68.4%) | IT 16-21 (76.2%)
- Rebounds: IWU 53 (21 offensive) | IT 36 (5 offensive)
- Assists: IWU 19 | IT 14
- Turnovers: IWU 12 | IT 18
- Points Off Turnovers: IWU 18 | IT 10
- Second-Chance Points: IWU 17 | IT 4
- Points in the Paint: IWU 28 | IT 34
- Bench Points: IWU 25 | IT 27
NEXT TIME OUT
- The Wildcats will be back in action tomorrow against Cornerstone at 4:00 p.m. on the final day of the CRL/WHAC Challenge.
- Links for video and stats can be found on the Tournament Central Page by clicking HERE.
FOLLOW THE WILDCATS
#
