LIMA, Ohio – No. 5 Indiana Wesleyan Men's Basketball never trailed in its first true road test of the season, opening with a 10-0 run and cruising past Northwestern Ohio, 81-66, on Monday night. A 15-0 first-half surge broke the game open, and the Wildcats' defense held the Racers to 32.4 percent shooting. Isaac Andrews led five IWU players in double figures with 18 points on five 3-pointers. Jaxson Gould provided a lift off the bench with 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting, and Brady Scholl posted a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds as the red and grey moved to 4-0.
THE ESSENTIALS
- Location: Lima, Ohio | The Garage
- Records: IWU 4-0 | UNOH 2-3
- NAIA Top 25 Rankings: IWU – #5 | UNOH – Unranked
FIRST HALF
- The Wildcats came out firing and scored the game's first 10 points. Andrews and Marcus Ankney hit 3-pointers, and Ankney finished a fast break after a Scholl block, forcing an early UNOH timeout at 17:31.
- Andrews buried a transition three for a 13-2 lead, but the Racers answered with seven straight points to get within 13-9 at 14:17.
- IWU responded with a 15-0 run. Parker Hovey scored eight points in the stretch on a pair of three-point plays and two free throws. Ankney and Hovey also turned steals by Scholl and Andrews into layups for a 28-9 lead at 8:50.
- Gould gave the Wildcats a boost off the bench with nine first-half points. His 3-pointer and a jumper off a Millen McCartney steal pushed the lead to 40-17 at 2:43, IWU's largest of the night.
- Northwestern Ohio closed the half on a 9-1 spurt, sparked by Denaj Kimber after he was hit with a technical foul. Taj Kimber's layup in the final seconds cut the deficit to 41-26 at the break.
SECOND HALF
- Taj Kimber opened the half with a three-point play. Andrews answered right back with a 3-pointer, and Kevin Sacas threw down a dunk from Scholl to make it 46-29.
- Jake Smith scored back-to-back baskets, the first in transition, and Hovey added a layup to push the margin to 55-36 at 14:37.
- The Racers made a push behind EJ Bowman, who hit a 3-pointer and scored on a putback, but Gould and McCartney each drilled threes to keep IWU comfortably ahead at 63-45.
- Andrews made two free throws after a steal to give IWU its first 20-point lead of the half at 67-47. He later hit his fifth 3-pointer of the night for a 72-53 cushion at 4:21.
- Scholl took over late with three baskets in the final 3:31, two of them set up by Ankney, to help seal the 81-66 win.
KEY WILDCATS
- Isaac Andrews: 18 points, 5-12 3FG, 3 steals
- Jaxson Gould: 14 points, 5-6 FG, 2-3 3FG, 4 rebounds
- Brady Scholl: 10 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks, 3 steals
- Parker Hovey: 10 points, 3-3 FG, 4-4 FT, 3 rebounds
- Marcus Ankney: 10 points, 3-4 FG, 6 assists
TEAM COMPARISON
- Field Goals: IWU 28-63 (44.4%) | UNOH 22-68 (32.4%)
- 3-Pointers: IWU 10-28 (35.7%) | UNOH 8-27 (29.6%)
- Free Throws: IWU 15-19 (78.9%) | UNOH 14-18 (77.8%)
- Rebounds: IWU 46 (10 offensive) | UNOH 40 (13 offensive)
- Assists: IWU 18 | UNOH 11
- Turnovers: IWU 19 | UNOH 16
- Steals: IWU 11 | UNOH 8
- Points Off Turnovers: IWU 12 | UNOH 25
- Second-Chance Points: IWU 5 | UNOH 17
- Points in the Paint: IWU 26 | UNOH 24
- Bench Points: IWU 30 | UNOH 14
NEXT TIME OUT
- The Wildcats will travel to Upland, Ind. on Thursday and Friday for two neutral-site games against Indiana University East and Washington Adventist University.
- IWU will play IU East on Thursday at 5:00PM and Washington Adventist on Friday at 2:30PM.
- Links for live video and stats are available at IWUWildcats.com.
FOLLOW THE WILDCATS
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