MARION, Ind. – No. 4 Indiana Wesleyan men's basketball began postseason play on Wednesday night in the quarterfinal round of the Crossroads League Tournament. The Wildcats dominated the Cougars in a 97-55 victory with everything going right on both ends of the floor. The red and grey shot a season-high 61.7% from the field and 46.2% from beyond the arc, with its bench contributing 45 points. The team also recorded a season-high 15 steals, forcing 16 turnovers and converting them into 16 points. USF faced a challenging defense, shooting just 37.0% overall and 23.8% from three-point range, and were held to their second lowest point total of the season.
THE ESSENTIALS
- Location: Marion, Ind. | Luckey Arena
- Records: IWU 25-4, 14-4 CRL | USF 12-16, 7-11 CRL
- NAIA Top 25 Rankings: IWU – #4 | USF – Unranked
- CRL Tournament Seeding: IWU - #2 | USF - #7
FIRST HALF
- Indiana Wesleyan responded to an early layup by Saint Francis with a series of scores, beginning with Isaac Andrews tying the game at 18:47.
- Millen McCartney contributed two consecutive 3-pointers at 16:31 and 15:51, giving IWU a six-point lead.
- The Wildcats capitalized on turnovers, with Andrews assisting Caedmon Bontrager on a fast-break layup at 7:19 to maintain their momentum.
- The home team extended its lead to 27 points with a late layup by Bontrager at 0:02, closing the half at 47–20.
SECOND HALF
- IWU opened the second half aggressively with Jake Smith scoring a layup at 19:23, followed by a three-pointer at 18:57, assisted by Andrews, to extend the lead.
- The Cougars responded with a three-pointer from Keshawn McNeill at 18:38, but the red and grey maintained control with Bontrager hitting a three-pointer at 17:42.
- Indiana Wesleyan capitalized on turnovers, with Andrews stealing the ball at 16:42, leading to a sequence of scoring plays and maintaining a strong defensive front.
- The Wildcats outscored the Cougars 50-35 in the second half securing a decisive victory to advance to the semifinal round of the Crossroads League Tournament.
KEY WILDCATS
- Caedmon Bontrager: 17 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals
- Jake Smith: 16 points, 7-8 FG, 5 assists
- Julius Gizzi: 10 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists
- Isaac Andrews: 8 points, 5 assists, 4 steals
- DJ Moore: 6 assists, 4 steals
NEXT TIME OUT
- The Wildcats will host the Crossroads League Tournament Semifinals in Luckey Arena on Saturday against Huntington at 3:00 p.m.
- Links for tickets, video, and stats are available at IWUWildcats.com.
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