MARION, Ind. – No. 5 Indiana Wesleyan Men's Basketball opened its new home in style on Friday night, overwhelming Kuyper, 108-32, in the inaugural game at the new Indiana Wesleyan Basketball Arena, I Am Third Arena. Six Wildcats scored in double figures, led by 15 points apiece from Brady Scholl and Parker Hovey. IWU's defense swarmed all night, racking up 23 steals and forcing 29 turnovers that it turned into 43 points.
Chief Cameron posted a double-double with 11 points and 10 assists as the red and grey shot 60.3 percent, dished out 31 assists and improved to 3-0.
THE ESSENTIALS
- Location: Marion, Ind. | I Am Third Arena
- Records: IWU 3-0 | KC 1-4
- NAIA Top 25 Rankings: IWU – #5 | KC – NR
FIRST HALF
- Jake Smith christened the new floor with a layup on IWU's first possession. Marcus Ankney followed with three free throws and a 3-pointer as the Wildcats jumped out to a 10-0 lead.
- Cameron provided an instant spark off the bench, assisting Hovey on two layups before hitting a 3-pointer and a layup of his own to make it 23-8 at 13:01.
- The IWU press began to take over. Kevin Sacas and Hovey each turned steals into transition baskets, pushing the margin to 31-11 at 10:43.
- Andrew Tiemeyer and Jalen Babcock scored inside for the Cougars to make it 33-17 at 8:39, but Kuyper would not score again in the half.
- The Wildcats closed the half on a 19-0 run. Scholl threw down back-to-back dunks, Millen McCartney drilled two 3-pointers after IWU steals, and Hovey added a dunk off an Isaac Andrews steal.
- McCartney's free throw with 12 seconds left sent IWU to the locker room ahead 52-17. The Wildcats forced 16 first-half turnovers and turned them into 24 points.
SECOND HALF
- IWU stretched its run to 23-0 with two Ankney free throws and a Scholl layup off an Ankney steal. Nic Yorke finally ended a Kuyper scoring drought of more than 11 minutes at 17:09.
- The Wildcats answered with a 14-0 burst. Smith hit a 3-pointer and scored on a putback, and Hovey scored seven straight points, capped by a 3-pointer from Cameron that made it 70-19 at 14:01.
- Andrews found his rhythm with nine second-half points, including a 3-pointer off a McCartney steal that pushed the lead to 84-24 at 8:27.
- Cameron kept setting the table with six second-half assists. Two of them set up Sacas, who scored seven points in the half and capped a 10-0 spurt with a dunk at 7:00 for a 90-24 lead.
- Jaxon Salenbien scored three straight IWU baskets off the bench. The third came at 2:11 and pushed the Wildcats past the century mark at 101-30.
- Julian Vogt knocked down two 3-pointers in the final 1:47. The last one, at 0:52, set the final score of 108-32 and gave IWU its largest lead, 76.
KEY WILDCATS
- Parker Hovey: 15 points, 7-8 FG, 5 steals, 3 blocks
- Brady Scholl: 15 points, 7-12 FG, 3 rebounds, 2 steals
- Millen McCartney: 13 points, 4-7 3FG, 4 rebounds
- Marcus Ankney: 12 points, 5-5 FT, 3 assists
- Chief Cameron: 11 points, 10 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals
- Kevin Sacas: 11 points, 5-5 FG, 5 rebounds, 2 steals
TEAM COMPARISON
- Field Goals: IWU 44-73 (60.3%) | KC 11-43 (25.6%)
- 3-Pointers: IWU 11-28 (39.3%) | KC 1-15 (6.7%)
- Free Throws: IWU 9-13 (69.2%) | KC 9-17 (52.9%)
- Rebounds: IWU 44 (12 offensive) | KC 18 (1 offensive)
- Assists: IWU 31 | KC 1
- Turnovers: IWU 12 | KC 29
- Steals: IWU 23 | KC 7
- Points Off Turnovers: IWU 43 | KC 6
- Second-Chance Points: IWU 17 | KC 2
- Points in the Paint: IWU 66 | KC 18
- Bench Points: IWU 52 | KC 12
LOOKING AHEAD
- The Wildcats return to action on November 9th at University of Northwestern Ohio.
- Links for live video and stats are available at IWUWildcats.com.
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