1999-2000 Recaps/Previews/Notes
Also see the Bloomington Pantagraph for game articles (usually update by 11:00am CST)
(Sunday February 27)
Titans Season Ends with Double Overtime Loss at Millikin
By RANDY REINHARDT
Pantagraph staff
DECATUR -- Coming back from a 16-point second-half deficit, a weary Illinois Wesleyan basketball team earned itself an additional 10 minutes of labor Saturday.
The wobbly Titans would eventually fall, but they would not go down easily.
Stubbornly surrendering to a brilliant 40-point effort from Millikin junior forward Brad Skowronski, Wesleyan almost certainly saw its season end in a heartbreaking 106-101 double overtime loss before a vocal Griswold Center crowd of 3,100.
The loss dropped the Titans to 17-8 overall and 9-5 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. Wesleyan's hopes for an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament when pairings are announced tonight were reduced to extremely slim.
"All of us were dead tired, but there was no turning back," said IWU junior guard Adam Osborn, who scored 18 points while playing 45 minutes. "You do what you have to do."
Millikin (15-10, 7-7) broke a 101-101 tie on a Robby Dobbs driving basket with one minute left in the second extra period.
Dobbs added a free throw and Mike Dunn two free throws with five seconds left for the final margin.
The Titans had starters Todd Wente and Mike Pope foul out in regulation and lost Luke Kasten to fouls early in the first overtime.
The Big Blue were red hot when Anthony Figueroa scored with 8:18 remaining in regulation for a 67-51 Millikin advantage.
"We were out of gas physically, but not mentally," Wesleyan coach Dennie Bridges said. "We could have folded. They had the momentum going their way, and we had super foul trouble."
With Kasten scoring seven straight points -- including just his second 3-pointer of the season -- IWU clawed back within 69-67 with 4:50 left.
"Luke was just magnificent in that stretch," said Bridges.
Korey Coon, who played all 50 minutes, and Osborn hit long distance, closely guarded 3-pointers in the final minute as the Titans earned ties at 76-all and 79-all.
Skowronski's two free throws at the 35-second mark were matched by a breathless fullcourt drive and bank shot by Coon with four seconds left.
The Titans led 92-87 after a Coon drive with 44 seconds left in the first overtime.
But Dunn nailed a 3-pointer from the corner, and Coon was then called for an over and back violation while trying to avoid the Millikin pressure defense.
Antione Ford's rebound basket at the five-second mark forced a second extra period.
"The fact is we should have won it in the first overtime," Bridges said. "Korey just stepped over the center line. It was a two-inch thing."
The Wesleyan coach was dismayed by Millikin's 39 to 19 edge in free throws attempted and the Titans' 27 fouls, nine more than the Big Blue.
"Every time they took it to the basket it was a foul," he said.
Netting a career high along with Skowronski for Millikin was Dobbs (9 of 10 from the field) with 19 points.
With just four points at halftime, Coon finished with 27 points. He stands fifth on IWU's career scoring list with 1,782 points.
Kasten added 21 points, Pope 11 and Wente 10. Freshman Seth Hubbard had eight points and a team-high nine rebounds.
"We played as hard as we could and did everything we could," said Osborn.
Wesleyan shot 69 percent from the field in the second half but just 36 percent in overtime to finish at 50 percent (38 of 76).
Millikin also shot 50 percent (37 of 74) and both teams grabbed 41 rebounds.
(Saturday February 26)
IWU Has to Focus on Millikin Before NCAA Possibilities
(For more discussion on the D3 tournament field, see d3hoops.com. Once there, go to "Posting Up", then "Men's Basketball", "Multi-Region Topics", and "DIII Postseason Tourny." The pairings will be announced live on d3hoops.com tomorrow evening.)
By RANDY REINHARDT
Pantagraph staff
Pool A, Pool B, Pool C.
The NCAA Division III Basketball Tournament is swimming in possibilities that will result in a 48-team field announced Sunday evening.
In order to be considered for its seventh consecutive tournament berth, Illinois Wesleyan must defeat Millikin today in a 7:30 p.m. regular-season finale at Griswold Center in Decatur.
Even then there are no guarantees for the Titans, who are 17-7 overall and tied for second with Wheaton at 9-4 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin.
"We have a reasonable chance (with a win today)," said Bridges of his team's NCAA outlook. "But I don't know the workings of the committee this year because of the changes."
Those changes mean 33 Pool A teams will make the tournament as conference champions. Carthage has claimed the CCIW's spot.
Nine more teams -- a number considered too high by many -- will get Pool B berths as independents or teams from conferences without automatic berths.
That leaves Pool C, where Wesleyan hopes to be among a mere six teams nationwide that make the field as second-place teams in automatic qualifier conferences.
Even if the CCIW gets a second bid, it is unsure whether IWU or Wheaton would get the nod. IWU has played a better schedule, owning wins over tournament teams Carthage, Chicago and Roanoke. Wheaton, assuming a win over Augustana today, is finishing the season stronger.
But first, Millikin. The Big Blue are 14-10 and 6-7 in the CCIW, including an 82-76 loss to Wesleyan Feb. 5 at Shirk Center.
"They're a big chore. They've probably lost more close games than any team in the league," Bridges said. "They must be going into the game feeling they have a way to stop our No. 1 weapon."
Averaging 21.8 points and having scored 72 points in his last two games, Titan senior guard Korey Coon was held to four points in the first Millikin game behind a stellar defensive effort from Anthony Figueroa, who leads the CCIW in steals and assists.
"Looking at it from the positive side, Korey only scored four points and we still beat them," Bridges said. "We might try to find a way to get Korey the ball more in the open court, but there will be no drastic changes."
Adam Osborn scored a career-high 29 points to offset Coon's low total, while freshman Luke Kasten was held to nine.
Kasten has gone on to set a Wesleyan freshman scoring record with 388 points while averaging 16.2 points and a team-leading 7.3 rebounds.
"It seems like just yesterday I was coming in for open gym and couldn't wait for practice to get started," Kasten said. "College is so much harder and more physical than high school. I've never been this tired. Overall, I think I've gotten a lot smarter as a player."
Kasten passed such Wesleyan luminaries as Coon, Jack Sikma, Bryan Crabtree and Sheldon Thompson on his way to the freshman scoring record.
"They are just phenomenal players," said Kasten. "When I broke the record it really didn't mean much to me at the time because we had just lost to Wheaton at home so I couldn't really enjoy it. I think after the season is over it will mean a lot to me because of the great players who have played here."
(Wednesday February 23)
Korey Coon Breaks Shirk Center Scoring Record in Final Home Game
In one of the most memorable individual performances in Illinois Wesleyan basketball history, Korey Coon scored 42 points to lead IWU past North Central 99-89. Coon eclipsed the previous Shirk Center scoring record of 40, set by Bryan Crabtree in 1996. At halftime Coon and Jerry Happ were honored in Senior Night festivities.
Coon shot 14-23 from the field, including an amazing 8-12 from beyond the arc. This ties the school record of Mark Edmundson for 3's made in a game.
On a personal note, I would like to say that it's been a privilege to watch Korey play for 4 years. Coon's year-round work ethic, both on and off the court, is something for all future Titans to emulate.
Korey Coon and Jerry Happ - two classy individuals who will be missed.
Wheaton's balance too much for IWU
By RANDY REINHARDT
Pantagraph staff
Posing the question to himself, Korey Coon couldn't even hazard a guess as to the answer.
"I couldn't tell you who their leading scorer was," Coon said.
While Michael Collins with 16 points was the correct answer, Wheaton College simply riddled Illinois Wesleyan with too many offensive alternatives Saturday in Wheaton's 88-83 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin victory before a standing-room-only crowd of 3,500 at Shirk Center.
"It seemed like everybody hit a big shot," said Coon, who hit several of his own while scoring a season-high 30. "That makes them tough to beat."
So tough in fact that the Crusaders snapped a 14-game losing streak in Bloomington and had six players score in double figures while pulling even with Carthage (10-3) in the loss column of the CCIW standings.
Wheaton advanced to 17-5 and 8-3 in the conference. At 16-7 overall, IWU likely dropped out of CCIW title contention at 8-4.
"It's been a long time. We've had some awfully good teams come here and not get it done," Crusaders' coach Bill Harris said. "It was a great team effort. We showed we could do it not relying on our leading scorer (Luke Moo)."
Moo played just 19 minutes because of foul trouble, but still contributed 14 points before fouling out with 4:04 remaining.
"The offense they got from the perimeter was unexpected," said Wesleyan coach Dennie Bridges, who lost for just the third time in 41 CCIW games at Shirk Center. "Collins really hurt us from the outside."
Collins was practically invisible in IWU's win at Wheaton Jan. 15 and was 1 of 8 from the field in the first half Saturday. The Bradley transfer, however, scored 14 second-half points, including two crucial 3-pointers.
"He knocked down some really big shots," Harris said. "He also did a great job at the defensive end."
After a Coon 3-pointer at the 8:25 mark gave the Titans a 71-69 lead, Collins and Nate Collord hit back-to-back 3-pointers for a 75-71 Wheaton edge.
Wesleyan closed within 76-75 on a Todd Wente inside shot. But John Helm scored his only basket of the night on an off-balance baseline shot, Travis Senik hit one free throw and a Nick Otten shot staked the Crusaders to an 81-75 margin with 2:11 remaining.
The Titans, who saw a 15-game home winning streak snapped, got no closer than four points in the final two minutes.
Coon was 5 of 11 from 3-point range and tied Mark Edmundson's school record of 235 career 3-pointers. The senior guard, who had been struggling with his shot, had 19 points at the half.
"I'm glad I finally got out of it, but I would rather still be in a slump and won," he said. "Wheaton played a good ballgame. You have to give them a lot of credit."
IWU freshman forward Luke Kasten scored 16 points and grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds. With 364 points, Kasten broke the Titan freshman scoring record held by Sheldon Thompson (362).
Collord and Otten each scored 15 off the bench as the Wheaton reserves outscored the IWU bench, 32-5. The Crusaders shot 55 percent from the field in the second half and connected on half of their 60 shots overall.
"We lost track of Collord a few times. That and the way Jermaine Ellis played the offensive boards negated a couple of good defensive possessions," Bridges said.
The IWU coach also found fault in his team's offensive execution.
"I was a little disappointed. We really worked hard on being a little crisper with the offense," he said. "Our failure to pass to the post at times hurt us. And sometimes we waited too long to get it to the post and the defender worked his way around (for a steal)."
Wente added 14 points for Wesleyan, while Mike Pope had 12 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
Collins also had 10 rebounds and four blocked shots as Wheaton held a 42-35 rebounding advantage.
IWU wraps up its home schedule Wednesday at Shirk Center against North Central
(Friday February 18)
Illinois Wesleyan and Wheaton Lock Up in Pivotal CCIW Game
Luke Kasten Nears Freshman Scoring Record
Before the CCIW season started, many around the league figured the February 19 meeting of Illinois Wesleyan and Wheaton would be significant. These two teams have combined to win the last 6 CCIW championships.
With both teams just one game behind league leader Carthage in the loss column, Saturday's game will certainly be as big as forecasted. Each team has hopes of finishing 11-3.
Wheaton (7-3, 16-5) has won 5 consecutive games since starting the conference season 2-3. They are led by 1st team all-conference candidate Luke Moo, who is average 20.0 points and 6.9 rebounds on the season. At the forward positions the Crusaders start a pair of Division 1 transfers - Jermaine Ellis (6-4 senior, St. Bonaventure) and Michael Collins (6-7 senior, Bradley). Ellis averages 13.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, and Collins adds 11.3 points and 6.7 rebounds. Wheaton's floor-leader is 6-3 senior point-guard Travis Senik, who leads the team is assists with 71. Shooting guard John Helm rounds out the starting 5 for the Crusaders.
After suffering consecutive losses at Augustana and Carthage last week, Illinois Wesleyan (8-3, 16-6) got back on track with a win over Elmhurst Tuesday. All-American Korey Coon has struggled from the field as of late, but has connected on 137 of 141(.972) free throw attempts this season. Coon has made 69 of 70 from the line in CCIW play, and leads the Titans in scoring on the season at 20.5 per game. 6-7 center Luke Kasten is averaging 15.8 points and 6.9 rebounds. Adam Osborn leads the team in assists (74) and steals (33), while scoring 11.8 points per game. Todd Wente (8.7 points, 5.4 rebounds) and Mike Pope (6.8 points, 5.2 rebounds) start at the forward spots for the Titans.
Luke Kasten has scored 348 points this season and is closing in on IWU's freshman scoring record. Sheldon Thompson scored 362 points during the 1967-68 season. Also ahead of Kasten are Greg Yess, 357 points in 1978-79, and Blaise Bugajski, 350 in 1979-80.
Korey Coon needs 6 3-point field goals during the remainder of the season to eclipse Mark Edmundson's career total of 235.
10-2 Carthage travels to North Park Saturday, before finishing at Wheaton Thursday.
Kasten Scores 25, Titans Survive Elmhurst
By RANDY REINHARDT
Pantagraph staff
ELMHURST -- Illinois Wesleyan basketball coach Dennie Bridges was totally powerless to prevent the pregame serenade of "Happy Birthday" from the Titans cheering section Tuesday.
"That's a hard secret to keep, especially when my Mom is on the (fan) bus," Bridges said.
Bridges similarly had little control over Elmhurst College's barrage of 3-point shooting, feeling himself grow older than his freshly minted 61 years of age as 12 Bluejays' shots from beyond the arc found the mark.
Adam Osborn, however, ensured his coach would indeed enjoy a happy birthday with four clutch free throws in the final 33 seconds that preserved IWU's 84-78 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin victory before a Physical Education Center crowd of 800.
"Everybody wants to be happy on their birthday," said Wesleyan's 35th-year coach. "I wasn't a very happy coach through most of the game, but it was a good birthday present."
It also kept the Titans (16-6 overall) in contention for the CCIW championship at 8-3, one game behind first-place Carthage at 9-2.
"It was a must win, but you wouldn't have thought that by the way we played," Osborn said. "It was one of the ugliest wins I've ever seen."
The Titans traded baskets with last-place Elmhurst (10-12, 2-9 in the CCIW) much of the evening and trailed 69-66 after a Cory Gibson dunk with 6:41 remaining.
"We went into a lull again, but we were able to pull out of it at the end," said Wesleyan freshman Luke Kasten, who led all scorers with 25 points. "I couldn't believe the stretches where they hit one 3 after another."
Kasten gave the Titans, who had difficulty rebounding, a huge emotional lift with a rebound dunk that gave IWU a 76-71 lead with 1:39 left.
"It seemed like we couldn't get any rebounds," said Osborn, who was credited with 17 points and three steals. "When Luke did that it got all of us up, and we realized we were going to win the game."
But it was not easy. Osborn twice went to the free throw line for one-and-bonus opportunities in the final minutes with the Titans clinging to a precarious two-point lead.
"I had to talk the first one in, but then I made the next three," Osborn said.
"They were double teaming Korey (Coon) to keep the ball out of his hands," Bridges said of the nation's leader in free throw shooting at 97 percent. "I felt Adam would make them. He's not Korey, but he's reliable.
"I called a timeout with about seven minutes to go and said our whole season is wrapped up in the next seven minutes. We executed down the stretch and really played good defense."
Elmhurst, which received a team-high 17 points from Eric Cole, finished at 12 of 22 (55 percent) from 3-point territory. Cole scored 12 straight first-half points on four consecutive 3-pointers.
Ryan Knuppel added 15 points, Nelson Grant 13 and Steve Holder and Joel Searby 10 each for Elmhurst, which outrebounded the Titans, 33-26.
"We've been playing really well and that's encouraging, but we're not doing what it takes to win," said Searby, a University High School graduate who has had his top scoring games of the season against Wesleyan. "Wesleyan knows how to win right now and we don't."
Coon continued to struggle with his shooting from the field (3-of-10) but was 8-of-8 from the line and is 137-of-141 for the season. He had 15 points.
John Camardella and Todd Wente added nine points each as the Titans hit 50 percent shooting (52.5) for just the second time in the last eight games.
Wesleyan, which dropped from first to fourth in the Midwest Region and sixth to 16th in the nation after two losses last week, next meet Wheaton in a 7:30 p.m. contest Saturday at Shirk Center.
Carthage Takes Control Of CCIW With Big Win over IWU
By RANDY REINHARDT
Pantagraph staff
KENOSHA, Wis. -- Somehow, word finally leaked out around these parts concerning the Carthage College basketball team.
The Physical Education Center, which had held no more than 650 in any previous game this season, was near capacity Saturday with a vocal crowd of 1,900.
What the folks of the Kenosha area had been missing is a Carthage team that had already established a school record for wins with four regular-season games remaining.
The Redmen welcomed back their prodigal fans with an 80-75 victory over Illinois Wesleyan that could be a huge step toward Carthage's first College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin championship in 36 years.
The Redmen snapped a 22-game losing streak to IWU and moved to 20-2 overall and 9-2 in the CCIW. Wesleyan slipped to 15-6 and 7-3 in league play.
Carthage, however, does not have an easy road to the CCIW title. The Redmen finish the regular season with games at Wheaton and at North Park.
Jason Wiertel scored 13 of his game-high 28 points in the first eight minutes of the second half as Carthage wrested control from the cold-shooting Titans.
"They came out the second half and really stormed the boards. We couldn't keep them off the boards," IWU coach Dennie Bridges said. "At the same time we were not getting very good looks and were missing our shots."
The Redmen quickly erased a seven-point halftime deficit and led 59-51 after a Greg Ktistou fast break basket at the 10:32 mark.
The Titans got back to 61-58 before consecutive 3-pointers from Ktistou and Antoine McDaniel pushed the Redmen advantage back to nine.
IWU got within one point twice in the final 2:30.
After McDaniel missed a 17-footer with 48 seconds left, the Titans could not convert 3-point tries from Korey Coon and Adam Osborn.
"I don't fault those two shots. I applaud them. They are two of the best 3-point shooters in the league," Bridges said. "I just wish they had gone in."
Wiertel hit one free throw with 29 seconds left for a two-point Carthage edge, but Coon missed a driving shot in the lane.
Down 78-75, Wesleyan had one last chance. But Carthage came up with a huge turnover and Ktistou dropped in two free throws to seal the outcome.
"We had been doing a pretty good job at the beginning of the second half, but they tied it right up," said Coon. "We made a run at the end, but we didn't quite get over the hump."
Wesleyan further hindered its cause with 9 of 15 second-half free throw shooting.
Coon topped the Titans, who shot 34.5 percent from the field in the second half and 42.4 percent overall, with 19 points.
Osborn, Luke Kasten and Todd Wente added 15 each. Kasten led the Titans with 10 rebounds.
Ktistou chipped in 19 points, while Rob Garnes had 16 points and a game-high 14 rebounds for Carthage.
The first half was tied at 23-all when Wiertel drew a technical foul. Coon made two of his seven first-half free throws in as many tries and Osborn scored on a back door cut for a 27-23 IWU edge.
A driving Coon shot at the 1:31 mark of the half put the Titans ahead 42-35 and the halftime margin was 44-37.
Osborn was 5-of-5 from the field, including three 3-pointers, for 13 first-half points.
Garnes had 15 points in the first 20 minutes for Carthage.
(Friday 2/11/00)
IWU Travels to Carthage On "Contender Saturday I" in CCIW
Illinois Wesleyan's loss at Augustana Wednesday night has really thrown the CCIW up for grabs. Four teams are bunched at the top of the standings heading into weekend play:
Carthage 8-2
Illinois Wesleyan 7-2
North Park 6-3
Wheaton 5-3
Febuary 12th is the first of two consecutive Saturdays featuring play between the 4 contenders. Illinois Wesleyan travels to Kenosha, Wisconsin to face Carthage. Wheaton plays host to North Park.
On 2/19 Wheaton travels to Illinois Wesleyan, while coach Bosko Djurickovic's Redmen will travel to North Park. Djurickovic led North Park to 2 national championship ('85, '87) during his 9 year coaching career at his alma mater.
IWU @ Carthage
The Titans have defeated Carthage 22 consecutive times over the past 11 seasons. Carthage's last victory over IWU was a 75-73 decision on February 4, 1989. IWU defeated the Redmen 95-84 two weeks ago at the Shirk Center in a very close game. Korey Coon scored 27 points and Luke Kasten added 18 to lead the Titans.
Since opening the season with a shocking loss to North Central in Kenosha, the Redmen are 4-0 at home. They are led by returning 1st team all-CCIW performer Jason Wiertel. The 6-8/210 sophomore from Buffalo Grove H.S. averages 22.3 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. High flying freshman Rob Garnes (Rolling Meadows H.S.) adds 11.0 points and 6.8 rebounds. His numbers in CCIW play only are extremely impressive - 15.0 points and 9.5 rebounds. Division 1 transfer Greg Ktistou (Eastern Illinois, pronounced "thees-two") is a defensive wiz who is also contributing 12.9 points per game in CCIW play. Freshmen guard Antoine McDaniel and senior center Bill Garner round out the starting five for Carthage.
IWU is led by struggling All-American Korey Coon. In his last two games Coon is 7-28 from the field (.250), including 2-14 (.143) from 3-point range. He was held to 4 points by Millikin, and scored 17 in the loss to Augustana. 6-7 freshman Luke Kasten continues to shine for the Titans, averaging 15.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Kasten is on pace to break Sheldon Thompson's freshmen scoring record at IWU. Adam Osborn leads the team in assists (67) and steals (30) while scoring 11.4 points per game. Todd Wente adds 8.3 points and 5.6 rebounds, while Ryan McCreery, Mike Pope, Seth Hubbard, and John Camardella round out IWU's 8-man rotation.
As a contender playing at home, this is clearly a "must-win" game for Carthage. Coach Djurickovic would surely like a lead in the standings heading into the final weeks, as his Redmen finish the season at North Park Feb. 19 and at Wheaton Feb. 24. The Titans would like to get back on track and steal one in Kenosha.
Game time is 7:30.
Augustana Rolls Over IWU
By RANDY REINHARDT
Pantagraph staff
ROCK ISLAND -- Augustana College basketball coach Grey Giovanine maintains his Vikings don't match up particularly well with Illinois Wesleyan.
Five on five, maybe.
Substitutions were allowed Wednesday at Carver Physical Education Center. IWU's 13th victory over the Vikings in the last 14 games, however, was not.
Augustana blindsided the lethargic Titans with a 20-4 second-half spurt and proceeded confidently to an 89-74 upset victory before an estimated crowd of 1,000.
"We play a lot of people," said Giovanine, who gave 10 Vikings at least 11 minutes of playing time. "I think our energy was a factor. We try to wear them down and maybe it happened."
Ranked sixth nationally, Wesleyan slipped to 7-2 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, a half-game behind 8-2 Carthage.
The Titans (15-5 overall) and Redmen meet Saturday in a 7:30 p.m. showdown in Kenosha, Wis.
"It was a sheer lack of hustle. I hate losing and I hate getting outhustled," said IWU freshman forward Luke Kasten, who led all scorers with 25 points. "I think they wanted it more, and that's hard to live with."
Augustana (10-11, 4-6 in the CCIW) got 12 second-half points from John Benedetti. Both Giovanine and IWU coach Dennie Bridges applauded the play of the senior guard.
"It was too much John Benedetti, really. There was a stretch where he just beat us single handedly," Bridges said. "He took it inside and scored in traffic and took it outside and hit the three."
"That's as good a game as John's played this year," Giovanine said. "Everybody looks at his points. But he really played a good floor game and played good defense."
The Titans led 52-49 at the 12:13 mark of the second half after an Adam Osborn basket. Augustana then held Wesleyan to four points over the next six minutes with pesky defensive pressure.
With the Titans running their offense with the crispness of a bowl of oatmeal, a Michael Nee steal and layup put the Vikings up nine en route to a 69-56 advantage.
"They're like little gnats. They're everywhere. You can't get rid of them," Kasten said. "They've got a lot of heart and they hustle.
"Maybe we didn't give them as much respect as we should have. You can be sure that won't happen again."
Bridges said his team was unable to prevent the Vikings from utilizing their edge in quickness.
"They were giving away size but maybe they had us in quickness at every position," he said. "We spent all our time on the perimeter taking care of the ball and not forcing our advantage inside."
Wesleyan pared its deficit to 72-65 on an Osborn 3-pointer and two Kasten free throws. But a Benedetti 3-pointer at the 3:14 mark pushed the Augustana margin back to 10.
IWU senior guard Korey Coon connected on his first four shots but finished just 6 of 18 from the field and scored 17 points. Coon hit his first 3-pointer in three games but was 2 of 11 from beyond the arc.
Todd Wente contributed 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for the Titans, who were outrebounded, 38-30.
Mark Johnson added 16 points and Brian Berndt 12 for Augustana.
"We played about 32 minutes down there," Giovanine said of an 83-75 IWU win Jan. 8 in Bloomington. "We finished the game up here."
The Vikings shot a sizzling 63 percent from the field in the second half and finished at 52.5 percent
Osborn keys Titans by Millikin
By RANDY REINHARDT
Pantagraph staff
The presence of Anthony Figueroa followed Illinois Wesleyan All-American Korey Coon all around Shirk Center Saturday.
Unable to escape the suffocating effect of Figueroa's defensive expertise, Coon was held to four points, his lowest total in 2+ seasons.
But while Coon could not shake Figueroa's shadow, Adam Osborn was stepping confidently out of Coon's.
Osborn destroyed his previous career high of 17 by rolling up 29 points to carry Wesleyan to a ragged 82-76 victory over College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin rival Millikin before a two-deep-on-the-railing crowd of 3,100.
"Figueroa played great defense on Korey. If he was guarding me I don't know if I would even have four. I just ran to the open spot and the guys kept finding me," Osborn said. "Korey told me at halftime he would take zero points as long as we won."
Osborn was 10-of-15 from the field and 4-of-8 from 3-point range as IWU stayed in first place in the CCIW at 7-1. Ranked No. 8 nationally, the Titans are 15-4 overall after their 15th consecutive home victory.
"Adam hits 3s on the run as well as anybody I've ever seen," said Wesleyan coach Dennie Bridges. "He picked up the slack for Korey. When they doubled on Korey, we found him."
Coon was 1-of-10 from the field and saw a string of 41 straight double-figure scoring games snapped.
"There's no question in my mind Anthony is the best defensive player in the league. I don't think you can do a better job on Korey," Millikin coach Tim Littrell said. "But Wesleyan has five offensive people on the floor. If they get the game in the 80s, they don't lose."
The Big Blue (11-8, 3-5 in the CCIW) was on the ropes early in the second half after an Osborn 3-pointer and a driving Todd Wente basket gave Wesleyan a 44-33 advantage.
Revving up its fast break offense and capitalizing on sloppy IWU turnovers, Millikin stormed back with 11 straight points for a tie.
Osborn nailed a 3-pointer at the 2:25 mark for a 73-66 Titan lead. After a Big Blue miss, Bridges called a timeout with 12 seconds left on the shot clock. Mike Pope's backdoor inbounds pass then resulted in an Osborn layup and Millikin would get no closer than the final margin the rest of the way.
"Figueroa himself is a good defender, but whenever Korey put it on the floor he was doubled," said Bridges. "Early in the game, Korey fought the one-on-two. Later he did everything to make that one-on-two hurt them and help us punish them inside."
With second leading scorer Luke Kasten limited to nine points by foul trouble and 3-of-9 shooting, the Titans received strong inside performances from Pope, Wente and Seth Hubbard.
Pope did not start but had 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds in 30 minutes. Wente had 15 points and eight rebounds, while Hubbard contributed nine points and four rebounds in 12 minutes.
The Titans outrebounded Millikin, 25-13, in the second half and 40-29 overall to offset a season-high 21 turnovers.
Reserve guard Mike Dunn paced the Big Blue with 13 points. Figueroa and Brad Skowronski had 12 each. The CCIW's No. 2 rebounder, Skowronski had five boards before fouling out with 8:25 remaining.
"I thought our effort was super," Littrell said. "But we had breakdowns here and there, and they have enough offensive people to make you pay."
Bridges Confirms He'll Coach Next Year
By RANDY REINHARDT
Pantagraph staff
The speculation may cease for another year.
Dennie Bridges confirmed Friday that he will return for at least his 36th season as coach of the Illinois Wesleyan basketball team in 2000-2001.
"I am going to coach next year," said Bridges, who also serves as IWU athletic director and the facilities director of Shirk Center. "Right now I feel like I can still keep up. I still have the fire to win the conference."
Ranked No. 8 nationally and first in the Midwest Region, the Titans have a 14-4 overall record and a 6-1 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin mark despite season-ending injuries to three key players (Mike Rogers, Phil Hurst and Jerry Happ).
"From a coaching standpoint this is as rewarding of a year since the (national) championship," Bridges said of the 1997 Division III national championship. "We've gone through all kinds of troubles and are still headed in the right direction."
The winningest active coach in Division III, Bridges has a career record of 640-308 at his alma mater entering today's 7:30 p.m. home game against Millikin.
Bridges, who will turn 61 this month, has a 408-121 mark in CCIW games. No other coach in CCIW history has even half as many conference victories.
CCIW-leading Titans Ready for Millikin Versatility
By RANDY REINHARDT
Pantagraph staff
Preparing for Millikin is a bit of a problem for Illinois Wesleyan basketball coach Dennie Bridges.
The actual size of that problem will be determined today in a 7:30 p.m. College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin game at Shirk Center.
The Titans sit atop the CCIW at 6-1 and are 14-4 overall while holding down the No. 8 spot in the d3hoops.com national poll. Millikin is 11-7 overall and 3-4 in conference play.
"It's an interesting situation for him (Millikin coach Tim Littrell) in that it appears he's attempting to blend his veterans with his newcomers. They're doing it and winning," Bridges said. "They've been playing really well."
Todd Kelly, an athletic 6-foot-2 junior, leads the Big Blue in scoring at 15.1 points per game. But Kelly saw just 11 minutes of action and scored just two points in Millikin's 78-73 win over Augustana Wednesday.
The Big Blue also boasts the CCIW's leader in assists (6.2) and steals (2.6) in 6-0 defensive whiz Anthony Figueroa and the league's No. 2 rebounder in 6-5 Brad Skowronski (7.4), who adds 13.0 points an outing.
"Their veterans are really quick and create a lot of their offense off defense. They put pressure on the ball and play the passing lanes, but they don't seem to shoot the ball from the perimeter very well," said Bridges. "The newcomers aren't experienced or quick defensively, but they shoot the ball well. It's almost like preparing for two teams."
Among those relative newcomers are sophomore Mike Dunn (four 3-pointers and 16 points against Augustana), freshman Tim Tolle (a teammate of IWU freshman Luke Kasten at Hillsboro) and sophomore Jeff Love (19 of 37 from 3-point range).
Other key players for Millikin, which lists no players taller than 6-5, are 6-4 senior Antoine Ford and 6-3 junior Mike Steers.
The Big Blue snapped Wesleyan's streak of 37 straight home CCIW wins last season with a 65-63 triumph at Shirk Center.
IWU senior guard Korey Coon leads the nation in free throw percentage at 96.7 (117 of 121). He also ranks 15th in scoring at 22.0 per game.
As a team, the Titans are fourth nationally in free throw percentage at 77.6.
IWU Makes NCAA Plans for Redbird Arena
By RANDY REINHARDT
Pantagraph staff
Illinois Wesleyan basketball coach Dennie Bridges doesn't even want to think about what might happen March 10 and 11.
Wesleyan athletic director Dennie Bridges has no choice.
Bridges is being forced to make contingency plans if his Titans make the NCAA Division III Tournament and have the opportunity to host the Midwest-Great Lakes Sectional March 10 and 11. It appears those plans would pave the way for Titan basketball at Illinois State's Redbird Arena.
That is because Shirk Center, IWU's basketball home, will be occupied March 10 and 11 with the Division III National Indoor Track Meet. And, Bridges said, it will not be possible for both events to occur at the same time because of warmup space requirements for the track meet.
"As a coach, I want to be a little superstitious and not put the cart before the horse, but as athletic director I have to have my pegs in line," Bridges said Friday. "I've been in contact with (athletics director) Perk Weisenburger at ISU and he's really willing and I think able to help us.
"The rules say if you can find a college-sized floor in your community with adequate seating you can host. When the NCAA forms come out I plan to ask to host at Redbird Arena. I'm tickled to death it's open and they are willing to help us"
To get to that point, Wesleyan would have to first win the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. If that happens, IWU would get a bye in the first round of the 48-team NCAA tournament and then have to win a second round game March 4.
Should the Titans advance to the Division III Sweet Sixteen as the highest remaining seed in the Midwest Region, IWU would have the chance to play host to the Midwest-Great Lakes Sectional.
When applying for the national indoor track meet two years ago, it appeared that 2000 would be a season that the Midwest would be on the road for the sectional round. Therefore, Bridges went ahead with the process and Wesleyan was awarded the track meet.
"Since we (Midwest) hosted last year I thought it was alternate years," Bridges said. "But because we changed regions we were going against, it looks like we host this year."
Bridges said there was a possibility the two sectional semifinal games could be played at Redbird Arena March 10 with the championship moving back to Shirk Center March 11 after the conclusion of the track meet.
However, Bridges is not sure if the NCAA would approve playing the sectional on two different floors.
Speaking of the NCAA, a new Division III system of filling out the 48-team bracket will make it more difficult for teams like Wesleyan to make the field if they do not win their conference.
The number of conferences whose champion receive an automatic berth to the tournament has risen to 33 and if referred to as Pool A by the NCAA.
Nine more teams will make the tournament from Pool B as independents and teams from conferences lacking an automatic bid. Teams from the Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference such as Benedictine and Aurora fall into this catagory.
That leaves a mere six Pool C bids for every other Division III team in the nation that does not gain it's league automatic bid. Those six teams could be sent anywhere in the nation to fill out regions with less than six automatic bids.
The 33 automatic qualifiers is relatively reasonable to most Division III observers, but few are content with the distribution of the bids between Pool B and Pool C.
"What they did is cut out the opportunity for a lot of deserving teams. The NCAA championship committee's attitude is they pretty much much don't care which 48 teams get that experience," Bridges said. "Knowing that, I've said to myself and the team 'win the conference.' That gets you in the NCAA for sure."
That's no picnic in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, which has three teams ranked in the d3hoops.com national poll in No. 8 IWU, No. 16 Carthage, and No. 25 North Park.
And, while the Titans are currently ranked first in the Midwest Region, that is not as significant as years past.
Six Midwest Region teams will likely receive automatic bids: the representatives of the CCIW, Heartland (formerly Indiana Conference), Midwest, St. Louis Intercollegiate, Lake Michigan, and University Athletic Association (if the champion if University of Chicago or Washington U.).
"It's been taken almost totally out of the basketball committee's hands. It's all being decided by the championship committee," said Bridges. "The basketball committee is doing the best job they can, but they're swimming in unknown waters."
Coon Scores 27, IWU Defeats Carthage
By RANDY REINHARDT
Pantagraph staff
Foul trouble loomed on the horizon like ominous storm clouds for the Illinois Wesleyan basketball team Saturday.
Korey Coon and Adam Osborn, however, ensured no precipitation would fall on the season-best Shirk Center crowd of 2,900 with a combined 44 points as Wesleyan turned away Carthage, 95-84, in an entertaining battle for first place in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin.
"This was a must win. We knew it was possibly a championship game in the conference and everybody played hard," said Osborn after the Titans' 22nd consecutive win over the Redmen.
Ranked fifth nationally, IWU moved into sole possession of first place in the CCIW at 6-1 while moving to 14-4 overall. No. 15 Carthage slipped to 16-2 and 5-2 in league play.
Wesleyan's Mike Pope picked up his fourth foul with 18:31 left in the second half, and Todd Wente did the same at the 14:18 mark and fouled out with 4:57 left. Luke Kasten also survived getting his fourth foul at the 4:26 mark.
The Titans pushed on with Coon riddling Carthage's pressure defense with repeated drives and Osborn ringing up four key 3-pointers. IWU also received important performances from John Camardella and Seth Hubbard (a combined 14 points and 14 rebounds) off the bench.
"Teams are getting all over me around the 3-point line, and I haven't been hitting my 3s very well," said Coon, who led all scorers with 27 points without connecting from beyond the arc. "When they are up in my face pushing me back it's a lot easier to take it to the basket. That's what succeeded tonight."
Wesleyan assumed a 72-60 advantage with 10:54 remaining on a Camardella 3-pointer before Carthage fought back with a 12-2 spurt to cut its deficit to 74-72.
Osborn nailed a huge 3-pointer to reenergize the Titans, and Coon and Pope each followed with two free throws to boost the IWU margin back to nine.
"They played wonderful offense as they always do, and I don't think we defended them as well as we needed to all night," Redmen coach Bosko Djurickovic said. "Had we done that we had a legitimate chance to win the game."
Osborn gave the Titans a 53-47 halftime lead with two big plays in the final 25 seconds. After hitting a 3-pointer, Osborn stripped Antoine McDaniel and found Hubbard on the fast break for a basket just before time expired.
"Korey had a great first half and second half," said Osborn, who finished with 17 points. "I knew if we were going to win he was going to need some help. I stepped up my game and we did (win)."
The Titans shot a sizzling 62 percent in the first half and finished at 55 percent (34 of 62). Despite allowing Carthage 22 offensive rebounds, IWU was outrebounded only 43-42.
"They played the offensive boards so hard that we practically fouled out our whole frontline trying to keep them off the boards," Bridges said. "The good news is when we get Todd Wente, Mike Pope and Luke Kasten in foul trouble we can do some maneuvering there with Seth and John."
Camardella had eight points (including an acrobatic layup on a Coon alley oop pass) and eight rebounds. Hubbard contributed six points and six rebounds.
Kasten had 18 points and nine rebounds despite turning his ankle in pregame warmups when he came down on Hubbard's foot.
Jason Wiertel and Rob Garnes each scored 21 points for Carthage, while Greg Ktistou had 19. A high-flying freshman, Garnes grabbed 15 rebounds.
"This is the first time in my four years at Carthage I'm walking out of here not unhappy," Djurickovic said. "I'm disappointed we lost the game and not happy with the total effort, but the gap has been closed. We're a pretty damn good basketball team."
Carthage, which had a mere three turnovers, connected on its first three 3-point tries, but finished 4 of 14 from long range and shot 31 of 83 (37 percent) overall.
(Saturday January 29)
IWU Looks for 22nd in a Row Over Carthage
Top 15 Teams Meet in Pivotal CCIW Battle
(Note: The 5:15 JV game will pit alums vs alums. Among players expected to participate are Eric Bridges, Mike Thomas, Chad Hutson, John Lipic, Steve Kuehl, Brady Knight, T.J. Posey, Matt Swingler, Jon Litwiller, Scott Peterson, Brent Niebrugge, Bryan Crabtree, Nathan Hubbard, John Baines, Matt Hoder, Matt Mann, Brad Musselman, Brad Gregurich, and Jim Braksick.)
The longest current winning streak in the CCIW will be on the line this evening, as Illinois Wesleyan (13-4, 5-1) hosts Carthage College (16-1, 5-1). IWU has defeated Carthage 21 consecutive times, with the Redmen's last victory coming in February of 1989 at the Fred Young Fieldhouse.
Carthage is loaded with talent this year, however, and comes in as the 15th ranked team in NCAA Division 3. The Redmen are 16-1 on the season, and 5-1 in CCIW play, with their only loss to North Central in the conference opener. IWU is ranked #5 in the country, and also stands at 5-1 in the CCIW.
The Redmen are led by returning all-CCIW 1st teamer Jason Wiertel. The 6'8 sophomore from Buffalo Grove averages 22.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Complimenting Wiertel are a host of new faces. Greg Ktistou played for Division 1 Eastern Illinois last year, and averages 16.9 points. Over 50% of his field goal attempts have come from beyond the arc, where he is 99-259 (.382) on the season. Carthage also starts two outstanding freshman - Rob Garnes and Antoine McDaniel. Garnes, 6-4/190 from Rolling Meadows, is considered to be one of the best athletes in the CCIW. He's averaging 9.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, and is coming off an amazing 25 point, 16 rebound performance in an overtime win versus Millikin. McDaniel (6-2/180, Schaumburg H.S.) is a solid ball handler who has dished out 58 assists on the season, while averaging 9.3 points. The freshman is 60-119 (.504) from beyond the arc. 6-6, 245 Bill Garner starts at center for the Redmen, and pulls down 5.9 boards per game.
The Titans are led by All-American Korey Coon. Coon has now connected on 42 consecutive free throw attempts, and is an unbelievable 110-113 (.973) from the charity stripe this season. Coon averages 21.7 points per contest. 6-7 Luke Kasten, on pace to break IWU's freshman scoring record, averages 15.1 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. Adam Osborn leads the team in assists (55) and steals (27) while scoring 10.2 points per game. Todd Wente and Ryan McCreery round out the starting 5, with Mike Pope, Seth Hubbard, and John Camardella coming off the bench.
The Redmen are coached by Bosko Djurickovic, in his fourth season in Kenosha. Illinois Wesleyan fans know all about Djurickovic, who led North Park to two Division 3 national championships ('85 and '87). With Dennie Bridges and Bosko on the sidelines, tonight's game features two of the most successful coaches in NCAA Division 3 history.
Carthage played in front of it's biggest crowd of the season last weekend. 535 people watched the Redmen defeat Wheaton 66-57 in Kenosha.
3000+ will be awaiting the Redmen tonight at the Shirk Center.
North Park Downs Titans in Thriller
By RANDY REINHARDT
Pantagraph staff
CHICAGO -- The play worked perfectly. The shot did not.
Breaking free on a back door cut, Illinois Wesleyan junior Adam Osborn took an inbounds pass in stride but could not convert the layup with 15 seconds remaining Wednesday.
While the miss was clearly not the only play that doomed the Titans to a 69-67 loss to North Park, it was definitely the most harmful.
Down two points, Wesleyan was forced to foul. And Keith Peterson's two free throws provided the winning margin in a tension-filled College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin game before a spirited crowd of 1,500 at cozy North Park Gym.
"Adam's missed shot would only have tied the game. You can't put losing on that shot," Wesleyan coach Dennie Bridges said.
"The key play from my point of view was when we had (Robert) Berki trapped on the baseline with about two minutes to go. He got out of it with a foul call. That put them on the line and took the ball away from us with a three-point lead."
In a must-win situation, North Park moved to 13-4 overall and 4-2 in the CCIW.
IWU (13-4, 5-1) dropped into a tie atop the league standings with Carthage (16-1, 5-1). The Titans and Redmen meet Saturday in a 7:30 p.m. showdown at Shirk Center.
"We're tickled pink to pull that one out. It's a great win for us," North Park coach Rees Johnson said. "I watched it (Osborn's shot) miss and it shocked me. But I said it's finally our turn to get a break."
The Titans also were hurt by a key turnover with 1:45 remaining. Kerry Pates picked off an IWU pass and sprinted to the other end for a layup that gave the Vikings a 66-65 edge.
"It's never fun to lose, but this one hurts a little harder than the other three this year," said Titan guard Korey Coon. "You can't fault our effort. A couple of bounces didn't go our way at the end.
"What we have to remember is the ultimate test is to win the conference, and we're still in great position to do that."
Wesleyan freshman Luke Kasten scored 10 of his game-high 19 points in a stretch that saw the Titans build the biggest lead either team enjoyed all night -- 52-44 with 10:22 left.
"The time we were at our best was when we got out and ran them midway through the second half," Bridges said. "We had a six- or eight-point lead, but we just couldn't build on it."
The Vikings got back even by the 4:50 mark on two Peterson free throws at 58-58.
Peterson finished with 13 points, while Berki topped North Park with 16 and Rick Alspach added 15 on 5 of 10 3-point shooting.
Coon added 18 for IWU, sinking 9 of 9 free throws to run his streak of consecutive free throws made to 42. He is an amazing 110 of 113 from the line this season.
"They're a street ball team, talking trash. I could say a lot more, but this is a newspaper," said Coon. "You hate to lose a game like this. It was such a war."
"Wesleyan is a helluva team. You have to play like hell to beat Wesleyan," Johnson said. "We played well and they played well. We happened to come out on top."
Mike Pope had 10 rebounds off the bench to help the Titans to a 37-33 margin on the boards.
A tight first half saw North Park lead by as many as six, the final time at 29-23 with 4:37 remaining.
An Osborn 3-pointer from the key produced a 30-29 IWU edge at the 3:06 mark. Osborn finished with 10 points.
But Osborn lost track of Alspach at an inopportune time as Alspach nailed his fourth 3-pointer of the half with three seconds left for a 37-33 Vikings' halftime lead.
(Tuesday January 25)
Titans Head Into Hostile Territory, North Park is Back
Trivia Question: Who has won the most national championships in NCAA Division III history? Platteville? Wittenberg? Whitewater? Scranton?
All great programs, but for the answer look no further than IWU's Wednesday night opponent - North Park. With championships in '78, '79, '80, '85, and '87 North Park University has more banners in their little gym than any school in the nation.
Illinois Wesleyan and North Park maintained a heated rivalry from the start of the Vikings championship run through the early 1990s. IWU, which competed in the NAIA until 1983, held it's ground, going 4-6 against the Vikings in the 5 national championship years. The home team won every game, except 1980 when North Park won both contests.
The teams continued to split games through 1994...but then things changed. North Park fired coach Bosko Djurickovic (NP '73 grad, head coach of '85 and '87 national champs) after the '94 season, replaced him with Keith Peterson, and started losing. From 1995 to 1998 the Vikings went 5-9, 4-10, 0-14, and 1-13 respectively in the CCIW. IWU won all 8 games against the Vikes during the Peterson era.
At the end of the 1998 season, North Park ended the misery and fired Keith Peterson. At about the same time Division 1 Northeastern Illinois University (just down the street) decided to disband it's men's basketball program. With NPU looking for a coach, and NIU's Rees Johnson looking for a job, it was a perfect match.
In his first season at North Park, Johnson guided the team to a 5 game improvement in the CCIW, 6-8 (12-13 overall). In the off-season he went to work, and found a number of impact transfers to add to his solid returning nucleus of Kerry Pates and Rick Alspach:
* Micah Watkins (6'5, 215) - started his career with as a walk-on at Division 1 Minnesota
* Brandon Donaldson (6'10, 215) - 2 time letter winner at Division 1 Drake
* Rob Berki (6'7, 245) - from NAIA Doane College in Nebraska
The new-look Vikes are 12-4 on the season, and 3-2 in the CCIW. Their only two league losses are on the road to the leaders, Illinois Wesleyan and Carthage. North Park is rated 6th in the Jan. 23 Midwest Region poll.
Illinois Wesleyan enters the contest 13-3, and 5-0 in the CCIW. The Titans are rated 5th in the nation by both D3hoops.com and Columbus Multimedia. IWU has won 11 consecutive game against North Park, including 5 in a row in Chicago.
When the good times are rolling, the little crackerbox at Foster & Kedzie is one of the hardest places in the CCIW to win a game....and it appears the good times are rolling once again. The intensity level should be high for this pivotal College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin contest.
Game time is 7:30.
Titans Pound North Central, Remain Unbeaten in CCIW
By RANDY SHARER
Pantagraph staff
NAPERVILLE -- Statistics -- such as the one showing Illinois Wesleyan's basketball team gives up more points than any other College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin squad -- can be deceiving.
It implies the Titans are weak defensively, but that would be hard to prove based on Saturday night's 85-62 victory over North Central in front of a Gregory Arena crowd of 700.
"If we play defense like that and rebound like that, we are going to win a lot of games," said IWU coach Dennie Bridges, whose No. 8 nationally ranked squad improved to 13-3 overall and 5-0 in the CCIW.
"Tonight we moved and switched and helped."
That tactic contributed to North Central's 31.8 percent field goal shooting.
North Central coach Bob Bray said his team should get plenty of blame for its shooting.
"We missed a lot of easy shots the first half," said Bray, whose team slipped to 7-10 and 3-3. "We got good shots. I was kind of flabbergasted with the shots we were getting that we weren't making."
Meanwhile, IWU was shooting 40.8 percent with 6-foot-7 freshman Luke Kasten scoring a game-high 24 points. Four of those points came on poster caliber backdoor moves on which he jumped high for passes from Mike Pope and Seth Hubbard, respectively, and layed the ball in before coming down.
"We're pretty good at taking advantage of overaggressive play on me," said Kasten, who was 10 of 18 from the field. "The team was great at getting the ball to me."
Kasten's willingness to give the ball up is what impressed Bridges.
"Luke is getting so much better inside at making decisions," Bridges said. "When he first got here, when he got the ball he tried to do something with it. Now he kicks it back out, repositions and gets it back when he's in better position."
Kasten scored six points as IWU got out to an 11-5 lead. That run included a 3-pointer by Adam Osborn to make it 7-5 with 17:44 left in the half. The Titans never trailed again.
"We came out executing right away," said Bridges, whose team led 44-30 at intermission.
All-American guard Corey Koon added 18 points for IWU. When North Central attempted to keep him from shooting outside, he simply drove and was fouled. He made all eight of his free throw attempts, giving him 33 in a row.
"It's a good plan to try to stop Corey, but it's a hard plan," Bridges said.
Osborn and freshman John Camardella added 13 and 12 points, respectively, for IWU. Camardella logged a season-high 21 minutes en route to sharing team rebounding honors at eight with Pope.
"I thought John Camardella did a great job," Bridges said. "He is just scratching the surface of what he can be."
"We've known from the beginning that John was a real tough player," Kasten said. "Every game he is improving."
North Central clawed to within 48-35 early in the second half, but IWU answered with a 6-0 run as Kasten sank a layup and made two free throws before Pope popped in a short jumper.
The Titans, who finished with a 54-39 rebound advantage, went on to lead by as many as 28 points on two occasions. Bridges started subbing in earnest with 6:00 left, eventually getting all 15 players in.
"Since I've been here we've never had an answer for them," said North Central senior Eric Phillips, a Normal West High School graduate who had six points, three rebounds and two steals. "They have so many weapons inside and outside."
Yulander Wells led North Central with 16 points.
"It was really pleasing to me that this young team recognized North Central's mindset and really came out and played hard," Bridges said.
(Friday January 21)
Familiar Face Helps North Central Prepare for IWU
North Central assistant coach David Kunka knows all about Illinois Wesleyan. As the Titan's captain for 3 years, and a starter since his freshman year, Kunka ('93) helped lead IWU to 2 CCIW championships (1991, 1992) and 3 trips to the NCAA Division III playoffs. His 1159 career points is good for 27th place on the all-time IWU scoring list and his .505 career field goal percentage is the highest of any guard ever to play at Illinois Wesleyan. Kunka earned 1st team All-CCIW honors as a junior in 1991 before an ACL tear in the season opener at Northwestern in '92.
As Kunka helps head coach Bob Bray and the North Central Cardinals (3-2 CCIW, 7-9) prepare for the Titans (4-0, 12-3) he points out that not much has changed with the system he played in. "They run 5 main offensive sets. 4 of them are identical to what we used when I was there…and the 5th is just a modified version of another we used." But David also knows that stopping the Wesleyan offense is not an easy task. "It's what he (Bridges) spends most of his time on in practice. They do the same things over and over and over again. Through all that repetition, when games come they usually execute perfectly."
Containing Illinois Wesleyan All-American guard Korey Coon is the primary concern for the Cardinals. Coon enters the game averaging 22.2 points per game. Coon leads the nation in free throw percentage with an amazing 93 made in 96 attempts (.969). Coon has made 42 of 97 (.433) 3-point attempts on the season. 6-2 senior Eric Phillips (Normal West) will get the assignment on Coon. "We have to find a way to contain Korey, but we can't worry about it so much we let everyone else beat us" explained Kunka.
"We also have to pressure some of the passers. Osborn is too good a passer to give a lot of space." Coon's backcourt mate Adam Osborn leads the supporting cast, averaging 10 points a game, while leading the team in assists (51) and steals (22). Osborn is regarded as one of the best defenders in the CCIW. 6'7 freshman Luke Kasten provides a solid inside presence for the Titans with 14.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per contest. 6-6 forward Todd Wente is coming off a 13 rebound performance in IWU's win at Wheaton last week. 6-4 Ryan McCreery rounds out the starting five, but 6-6 Mike Pope and 6-7 Seth Hubbard average more minutes per game. 6-4 freshman John Camardella scored 9 points in 11 minutes at Wheaton.
Kunka does see the Wesleyan youth and inexperience as a factor. "As good as they are, freshman just don't see the floor like, say, Korey and Adam do. And they have lost a lot of strength with Happ and Hurst out."
North Central features one of the up and coming players in the CCIW in 6-0 junior Yulander Wells (Chicago St. Rita H.S.). Wells averages 18.8 points per game, and has connected on 18-45 (.400) 3-pointers. "Yulander can create his own shots, but he's much more effective when we establish an inside game" said Kunka. That's where the Cardinals look to an assortment of players - 6-5/210 Brian Lee (8.5 ppg), 6-5/200 Andy Bohn (8.6 ppg), 6-7/190 Bill Stang (6.4 ppg) and 6-8/200 Dan Rolfing (3.5 ppg). Eric Phillips is the Cardinal's second leading scorer at 9.1 per game.
When asked if his familiarity with the IWU system gives North Central an advantage in preparing for IWU, Kunka responded, "Well it helps me I guess, but I'm not the one who has to play. I can tell Brian (Lee) not to get beat backdoor 100 times, but ultimately when Kasten makes that cut it's up to him to recognize. We just need to play our game and find a way to get good looks."
After going 1-13 in CCIW last season, North Central opened the 2000 campaign by beating one of the conference favorites, Carthage, on the road. This remains the Redmens' only loss. North Central dropped a close one at home last week to Wheaton, before drilling Millikin 81-63. Wednesday they fell to 3-2, after losing at Augustana 71-63. Kunka sees the Wesleyan game as a "must-win" if North Central is to contend for a CCIW Championship. "This is a real big game for us and for the conference race. We're just trying get in position to put ourselves in position."
Titans Steal One at Wheaton, Move to 4-0
Wheaton website report + boxscore
By RANDY REINHARDT
Pantagraph staff
WHEATON -- Todd Wente's first free throw was short, barely drawing rim. The second was woefully short, making contact only with the Centennial Gymnasium hardwood.
"Air ball, air ball," chanted a vocal Wheaton College contingent eager to hone in on an Illinois Wesleyan target.
Air ball, however, soon became Air Wente.
Wente attacked the boards with a soaring ferocity that produced a career-high 13 rebounds -- an effort that typified a gritty Illinois Wesleyan performance in a convincing 70-53 victory over Wheaton Saturday.
"I knew after my first couple shots I was struggling offensively," Wente said. "The only thing left to do is pick it up in other areas. I got my hands on some balls and everybody hustled so well."
Despite 39 percent shooting from the field, Wesleyan moved to 12-3 overall and 4-0 in the CCIW while handling the preseason league favorites before a crowd of 3,100.
Wheaton slipped to 10-3 and 1-1 in the CCIW.
"All of us on the bus had the feeling we were going to win, but we didn't think it would be 17 points," said IWU senior guard Korey Coon. "This is a big win. I hope we made a statement in the conference and can continue the run we're on."
The Titans' most impressive run came midway through the second half.
Nursing a 48-44 lead, Wesleyan got a 3-pointer from Adam Osborn and a free throw from Wente. After an IWU timeout, Osborn connected again from long range, and Coon did the same the next time down the court for a 14-point advantage.
A Mike Pope 3-pointer two minutes later gave the Titans a 63-48 margin at the 4:01 mark.
"Once we got the eight-point lead we really did a lot of good things. We kept doing the things that got us there," said Wesleyan coach Dennie Bridges. "This is not the conference championship by any means. But this is the biggest step anybody has taken so far."
Wheaton managed just 26 percent second-half shooting (8 of 31) and finished at 33 percent (19 of 58).
"That's just terrible. When that's what you shoot you're not going to beat anybody," Crusaders' coach Bill Harris said.
"They were better prepared and better focused. We did a horrible job getting to any loose balls."
Wesleyan battled to a 44-37 rebounding edge as Pope and Luke Kasten each hauled down seven.
"The second half we had a hand up on every shot. We not only made them miss, we really dominated the defensive boards," said Bridges. "Todd and Luke and Mike were up above the rim getting defensive boards."
Coon topped the Titans with 15 points with Osborn adding 14. The starting guards hit 5 of 9 from 3-point range in the second half.
Seth Hubbard chipped in 10 in 17 minutes and fellow freshman John Camardella had a career-high nine.
"I don't think our freshmen realize how big that win was," said Bridges. "They haven't been up here and lived through the overtimes and double overtimes."
Jermain Ellis paced Wheaton with 13 points. Luke Moo contributed 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Bradley transfer Michael Collins was held to eight points, six coming on two banked 3-pointers in the first half.
(Saturday January 15)
Best Rivalry in CCIW Heats Up Once Again, IWU Travels to Wheaton
IWU vs CCIW Opponents, Last 5 Years:
| School | IWU Record |
| Wheaton | 6-4 |
| Elmhurst | 8-2 |
| Augustana | 9-1 |
| Millikin | 9-1 |
| North Central | 9-1 |
| Carthage | 10-0 |
| North Park | 10-0 |
Illinois Wesleyan and Wheaton have accounted for the last 6 CCIW Championships - IWU in '94, '95, '97, and '98 and Wheaton in '96 and '99. That's why it's probably no surprise that both were neck-and-neck in the CCIW preseason coaches poll, with the defending champion Crusaders holding a slight edge.
Last last 3 meetings between these strong Division 3 programs have produced a total of 3 overtimes and a cumulative margin of points in regulation of 2:
1997 IWU 94, Wheaton 90 (2 OT)
1998 Wheaton 88-55 (OT)
1999 Wheaton 83-31
Tonight should be more of the same.
IWU (11-3, 3-0) and Wheaton (10-2, 1-0) sit atop the CCIW standings. The Titans won 3 conference home games in 5 days last week, defeating Augustana, North Park, and Elmhurst. The Crusaders edged North Central 71-64 in their opener Wednesday. IWU is rated 11th in the country by d3hoops.com and Wheaton is 26th.
The very talented Crusaders are led by hard-nosed point guard Travis Senik (6-3, 195). The El Toro, California native averages 10.8 points per game, and leads the team in assists with 48. Senik will get the defensive assigned on Illinois Wesleyan's All-American point guard Korey Coon. The Crusaders have a very strong inside presence with 6-6/235 junior Luke Moo. Moo is the team's leading scorer (17.8/game) and also averages 6 rebounds. At the two forward positions are a pair of Division 1 transfers - 6'7 Michael Collins (Bradley) and 6'4 Jermaine Ellis (St. Bonaventure). Ellis averages 14.2 points and 6.3 rebounds, while Collins adds 12.1 points in addition to leading the team in rebouding with 7.1/game. Both are extremely athletic and dangerous players. Wheaton's 2-guard is the steady 6-3 sophomore John Helm. Freshman Nate Collard and senior Nick Otten are the first two players off the bench for Bill Harris.
IWU is led by returning CCIW co-Player of the Year Korey Coon. The 6'0 senior guard is 7th on the all-time Illinois Wesleyan scoring list with 1550. He needs 24 more points to pass two tied at 5th, Jeff Kuehl ('86-'90) and Sheldon Thompson ('67-'71). Coon has connected on 91-94 free throws this season, good for 96.8 percent. IWU's second leading scorer was playing for Hillsboro High School at this time last year. Freshman sensation Luke Kasten (6-7/195) has stormed onto the scene, average 14.8 points and 6.8 rebounds through 14 games. He needs to average 14.5 points per game this season to break Sheldon Thompson's freshman scoring record of 362 in '67-68. Kasten is averaging 20 pts and 8 rebounds through 3 CCIW games thus far. Off-guard Adam Osborn has been outstanding in IWU's CCIW start. Osborn leads the team in assists (50) and steals (21) in addition to scoring 9.7 per game. 6-6 Todd Wente adds 8.2 points and 4.6 rebounds. Ryan McCreery rounds out the starting 5, with Seth Hubbard and Mike Pope being key reserves for the Titans.
Projected Matchups:
Korey Coon (Sr, 6-0/178) vs Travis Senik (Sr, 6-3/195)
Adam Osborn (Jr, 6-2/190) vs Jermaine Ellis (Sr, 6-4/203)
Ryan McCreery (So, 6-4/210) vs John Helm (So, 6-3/180)
Todd Wente (Jr, 6-6/205) vs Michael Collins (Sr, 6-7/295)
Luke Kasten (Fr, 6-7/195) vs Luke Moo (Jr, 6-6/235)
Game time is 7:30 at Centennial Gymnasium in Wheaton. Live radio coverage on the internet will be provided by WETN radio.
(Friday January 14)
Freshman Cross Leaves Wesleyan (1/14/00)
By RANDY REINHARDT
Pantagraph staff
Dennie Bridges enjoyed Wednesday's College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin victory over Elmhurst for about 20 minutes.
Then, the Illinois Wesleyan basketball coach lost yet another key player.
Freshman Laban Cross, IWU's first guard off the bench, informed Bridges he was leaving school.
"There's a simple word for it. He was homesick," Bridges said. "He was not unhappy with basketball and he's doing well in the classroom. He just wanted to be back in McLeansboro."
Cross has seen action in every game this season for the 11-3 Titans, who lead the CCIW at 3-0. The 6-foot-2 Cross was averaging 3.9 points and 2.1 rebounds in 15 minutes of action.
"We parted as friends. There was no animosity," said Bridges. "The question was asked if he went to a junior college and decided after that experience he would like to come back, would I take him? I said 'you bet, I would.' "
The loss of Cross is another blow to a youthful Wesleyan team that is already playing without full or part-time starters Mike Rogers, Phil Hurst and Jerry Happ because of injuries.
"It's been an unprecedented year of adjustments. But through it all, we're still headed in the right direction," Bridges said. "The team's reaction is not anger at Laban. They're just sorry he's not here for us and him."
IWU senior guard and captain Korey Coon said the Titans knew Cross had been homesick since first coming to school. Cross was considered the heir apparent to Coon's starting guard position.
"It was going real well for him for awhile, but there were times we could tell how homesick he was," Coon said. "It's more than just basketball. Laban was a great kid. It's tough to lose him as a basketball player, but more importantly as a friend."
Cross' departure leaves IWU with an uncommonly small roster of 15 players for varsity and junior varsity games.
Ryan McCreery could continue to start at small forward and also serve as the first backup to guards Coon and Adam Osborn.
"I really like how well Mike Pope has been playing off the bench," Bridges said. "I don't necessarily want to replace Ryan in the lineup just to have a backup guard."
Freshman forward John Camardella moves up from ninth man to eighth man, while freshman guard Eric Starkey also could be in line for additional playing time.
"Basketball-wise we have to continue business as usual. We're getting used to this. This team has shown a lot of character how it's reacted to those things," Coon said. "To be 3-0 in the conference with such an inexperienced team is amazing. Hopefully, we can keep it up."
The Titans will try Saturday in a 7:30 p.m. game against preseason CCIW favorite Wheaton (10-2, 1-0) at Wheaton.
Weary IWU puts clamps on Elmhurst
Titans complete tough stretch with standout defensive effort
By RANDY REINHARDT
Pantagraph staff
Playing tireless defense seems unlikely at best for a tired basketball team.
Because Illinois Wesleyan found a way Wednesday, the Titans have found their way to the top of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin standings.
"We were physically tired coming in. We just had to step it up for 40 more minutes defensively," said junior forward Todd Wente after the Titans capped a three-games-in-five-days stretch with a convincing 72-59 victory over Elmhurst before a Shirk Center crowd of 2,500.
Holding Elmhurst to 22 first-half points, Wesleyan moved to 11-3 overall and 3-0 in the CCIW with its 13th straight home triumph.
"Wow, we made it through that three-game stretch," IWU coach Dennie Bridges said. "Coming right after two tough Division II teams in Florida (Jan. 3 and 5) was just terrible scheduling. I'm glad it's behind us."
The Titans limited Elmhurst leading scorer Ryan Knuppel to 3 of 14 shooting and nine points, seven below his average. And, 6-foot-9 Cory Gibson scored only four, eight below his norm.
"Defense, which has kind of been our biggest problem all year, was the best thing we had going for us," said junior forward Mike Pope, who paced Wesleyan with a career-high 15 points off the bench.
The Bluejays' 59 points and 32.8 percent shooting from the field are season lows for IWU opponents.
"It was an outstanding job of help defense all around the team tonight. That's what we were going to need being tired," said Wente, whose 13 points were one off his season high. "We're improving every game with our post defense."
An expected contender for the CCIW title, Elmhurst slipped to 8-6 overall and 0-3 in league play.
"I'm proud of how our guys played," Bluejays' coach Mark Scherer said. "We've been struggling a little bit and turning the ball over. Tonight we stayed disciplined and defended well. We just didn't knock down some shots. Wesleyan played extremely well and I'm sure they had a big part in why we didn't make shots."
Wesleyan closed the opening half on an 11-4 run. Pope's 3-pointer from the key with 25 seconds left sent the Titans into halftime with a 30-22 lead.
A Luke Kasten basket in transition off one of Adam Osborn's career-high nine assists gave IWU a 42-29 cushion. With reserve Nelson Grant scoring five of his team-high 14 points, Elmhurst responded with a 10-2 spurt that pulled the Bluejays within 44-39.
Wesleyan came right back, however. Another Pope 3-pointer capped a 13-3 streak that produced a 57-42 advantage.
"I'm getting more comfortable shooting the ball outside," said Pope, who was 5 of 6 from the field. "I'm feeling really comfortable in the offense now."
Any Elmhurst hopes of a comeback were dashed when Wente swished his first 3-pointer of the season from the corner with one second left on the shot clock for a 64-47 margin at the 3:41 mark.
"Elmhurst seems to be going through kind of a tough time right now," Bridges said. "They hung in there, but they didn't really have the passion."
Wesleyan guard Korey Coon was held to 14 points, nine below his average. Kasten added 10.
Joel Searby, a freshman from University High, had a career-high 12 points for Elmhurst.
"We executed OK, but we didn't hit the shots we're capable of hitting," said Searby. "A lot of it probably has to do with the Shirk Center. It's just a tough place to play."
Searby, Grant and Wente each had game-high totals of seven rebounds.
Freshman Kasten Scores 20 in the Second Half in IWU Comeback Win
By RANDY REINHARDT
Pantagraph staff
There are free throws, and then there are free throws.
Giving Illinois Wesleyan senior guard Korey Coon any of the former is inadvisable but sometimes unavoidable. Giving Coon any of the latter is begging for trouble.
A 96-plus percent free throw shooter, Coon turned three North Park technicals into six key points as the Titans rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit to silence the talkative Vikings, 85-78, Monday before a Shirk Center crowd of 2,400.
"I'm really disappointed how the game went," North Park coach Rees Johnson said. "I just don't like seeing the other team at the free throw line all night. It's pretty hard to beat that many free throws."
Wesleyan's 12th straight home victory moved its record to 10-3 overall and 2-0 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin ahead of Wednesday's 7:30 p.m. home game against Elmhurst.
While Johnson and senior guard Rick Alspach were whistled for first-half technicals, the most decisive breach of etiquette came after IWU freshman Luke Kasten drove in for a basket that gave the Titans a 72-67 lead.
Viking sophomore center Mark Allen shoved Kasten as the teams headed to the other end of the floor and was called for a foul. Allen ripped off his protective mask and his expression of displeasure earned a technical.
Kasten hit one of two free throws for the foul, Coon buried both for the technical and Coon nailed a driving shot on the ensuing possession to give Wesleyan seven points without North Park touching the ball and a 77-67 advantage.
"They just hurt themselves. The night I scouted them they had two or three technicals," said IWU coach Dennie Bridges. "Part of the game is poise in adversity. It might be good for your soul to vent, but what it's doing is it's burying your team."
North Park (10-3, 1-1) got within 82-78 on a Keith Peterson 3-pointer with 19 seconds left, but Coon scored the final two of his 28 points from the line at the 16-second mark.
Wesleyan started fast -- sinking 10 of its first 11 shots -- but led only 22-17 because of three Kerry Pates 3-pointers. The Vikings held a 39-36 edge before the Titans scored the final nine points of the opening half.
A 18-2 North Park surge early in the second half put Wesleyan down 62-51 with 11:50 remaining.
"When a team makes a run at you the first half and gets up a dozen, you figure you have time to get your poise back, reorganize, rest at half and catch up," Bridges said. "It is really hard at that time to have the kind of patience and poise to pull yourself out of that spin. You don't have time to pull yourself out of that spin."
Kasten had the time. The 6-foot-7 forward scored all 13 of Wesleyan's points in a stretch that saw the Titans move within 66-62.
"I just felt we needed to win. When we get down like that I want to do whatever I can to get our team over the hump to win," said Kasten, who matched a career high with 27 points and led all rebounders with 10. "I think I had all the turnovers that put us 11 down. I figured I needed to make up for it."
Coon then drained a 3-pointer off a Todd Wente pick, and Coon fed Mike Pope for an open 3-pointer from the key that propelled Wesleyan into 68-66 edge.
"We tried to come out with emotion and I think we did. I wore myself out trying to get everybody pumped up today," said Coon, who is 85 of 88 from the line this season. "We make a lot of young mistakes that get us down 11. But we've got a lot of heart to fight real hard to get back in the game."
Wesleyan converted 24 of 30 free throws (80 percent), while North Park was 8 of 11 for 73 percent.
Wente added 12 points for the Titans, who shot 55 percent from the floor (28 of 51).
Pates topped North Park with 19 points. Alspach had 15 and Jason Collins 11.
Osborn, Wesleyan Rally Past Augustana
Game Article courtesy of the Bloomington Pantagraph
By RANDY REINHARDT
Pantagraph staff
Illinois Wesleyan junior guard Adam Osborn did not want the burden of being the only one on his team playing poorly.
For much of Saturday's College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin basketball game against Augustana, Osborn had absolutely nothing to worry about.
"I knew I was playing bad," Osborn said. "The farther the game went I knew I had to do something to help us win this game. I told myself I have to start hitting my shots and playing defense."
Heeding that voice in his head, Osborn ignited a second-half Wesleyan surge with two 3-pointers, two blocked shots and two steals as the Titans escaped with an 83-75 victory in their CCIW opener before a Shirk Center crowd of 2,700.
"Adam had struggled at the defensive end, losing track of his man," said Wesleyan coach Dennie Bridges. "I think he was making up for it. He made up for it in a big way."
Ryan McCreery, another Titan who endured a forgettable opening half, nailed a crucial 3-pointer on his only shot of the game with 2:31 remaining as Wesleyan improved to 9-3 overall.
"What we've got to do is get into our players' heads that until we've proven something we're underdogs," Bridges said. "When they came out of the locker room I thought they were going to tear the door off. We just walked single file out. They just took it right to us as if to say 'we'll just see how good you are.' But we don't know how good we are."
The answer was not good at all early on. Augustana (5-7, 0-2 in the CCIW) pressured IWU into 12 first-half turnovers and led 38-22 after a Mark Johnson 3-pointer with 6:17 remaining.
"We missed five free throws in a row in the first half or it's a blowout," Vikings' coach Grey Giovanine said. "Then they got a little confidence and got back into it."
The Titans, who received 24 points from Korey Coon and 23 from Luke Kasten, trimmed their deficit to 43-35 by halftime, but still trailed 58-50 with 11:35 left.
Osborn nailed a 3-pointer and Kasten scored two straight baskets as IWU pulled within 64-61. Coon scored after a steal and two Kasten free throws gave the Titans their first lead since 19-18.
"There's no question we were the aggressor a good part of the game," said Giovanine. "But eventually you've got to be able to make some plays and put it in the basket. That's where we're lacking and that's certainly a strength of theirs."
Wesleyan led 74-69 and was beginning to take time off the clock when McCreery swished a 3-pointer to extend the margin to eight.
"Ryan must have been very nervous because he had a really tough first half. But I've got to give him credit for a lot of courage," Bridges said. "As a tactician coach, I didn't want that shot. But as a coach trying to find out what some of his players are made of, I liked it."
"I didn't really think about the time. I thought about the situation," said McCreery, who started for the first time. "The defender had to commit one way or the other. He went down on Luke. I put it up and had no conscience about it. It's great if it goes in, but if it doesn't I think I'm sitting back down next to Coach again."
The Titans warmed up with 52 percent second-half shooting and finished at 44 percent. Kasten's eight rebounds helped Wesleyan to a 41-36 edge on the boards.
Adam Talbot paced Augustana with 19 points. John Benedetti added 12, while Aaron Splear and Brian Berndt each had 10 off the bench.
The Titans are right back at it Monday with a 7:30 p.m. home game against North Park
(Saturday January 8)
Titans Prepare to Make Another Run
Old Foe Augustana in Town for CCIW Opener
Illinois Wesleyan opens it's 54th season in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin tonight at 7:30 in Bloomington. Through the '99 season, IWU is 551-192 (.742) in all-time CCIW play, with 24 championships and 12 second place finishes. The team with the second most victories in CCIW history will also be at the Shirk Center Saturday night. The Augustana Vikings are 428-314 (.577) since the inaugural season in 1946. (Besides IWU and Augustana, the other 2 remaining charter members are Millikin, 410-333, and North Central, 290-453.)
In the 1990s, Illinois Wesleyan enjoyed incredible success in the CCIW. The Titans were 124-22 (.849) in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, good for 6 championships and 4 second place finishes. 12 different Titans made the 1st team all CCIW in the decade - Jeff Kuehl, Dave Caldwell, David Kunka, Steve Kuehl, Steve Czirjak, John Lipic, Chris Simich, Bryan Crabtree, Brent Niebrugge, and Korey Coon.
The Titans begin conference play in the new decade with more questions to answer than anytime in recent memory. Already this season, IWU has lost 3 starters to injury. 6-5 Mike Rogers, the teams leading rebounder last season, to a foot injury…6-7 Jerry Happ, IWU's leading rebounder through 8 games this year, to a torn ACL…and 6-7, 235 pound Phil Hurst also to an ACL tear. All 3 were expected to fill very important roles this season and their absence will be felt.
But as long as Korey Coon is wearing green, don't count the Titans out of the 2000 CCIW race. Coon, the CCIW's co-Most Outstanding Player in 1999, is regarded as one of the finest guards in all of Division 3. Through 11 games of his senior season, the 6-0 East Peoria native ranks 7th on the Illinois Wesleyan all-time scoring list with 1484 points. With 14 regular season games to play in his career, only Jack Sikma (2272), Blaise Bugajski (2062), Bryan Crabtree (1871), Greg Yess (1833), Jeff Kuehl (1573), and Sheldon Thompson (1573) have scored more points. With 31 more free throws made he will overtake 6-11 Jack Sikma (390) for 3rd place all-time. (Bryan Crabtree #1, 518 - Blaise Bugajski #2, 434). And with 20 more 3-point field goals Coon will be the school's all-time leader, surpassing Mark Edmundson's career total of 235.
Another reason for optimism in Bloomington is IWU's outstanding freshmen class. Three members in particular will see significant minutes this season. 6-7 Luke Kasten (Coffeen, Hillsboro H.S.) is on pace to be the most successful IWU freshman since 7-time NBA all-star Jack Sikma in 1973. Kasten has started all 11 games this season, averaging 13.4 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. He scored 27 points against Roanoke in his IWU debut, and 25 in a double overtime win against Aurora. 6-7 Seth Hubbard (Normal U- High, brother of '99 IWU MVP Nathan) will be the first big-man off the bench, and 6-2 Laban Cross (McLeansboro H.S.) is the Titan's 3rd guard.
6-2 guard Adam Osborn has started every game this season for the Titans, averaging 10.4 points. Osborn is a solid defender and a 3-point shooting threat. The junior from Lincoln has connected on 25 of 57 attempts (.439) this season. 6-6 forward Todd Wente will start his 5th consecutive game in place of Phil Hurst. The junior has played well so far, averaging 7.4 points and 4.3 rebounds a game.
Dennie Bridges has decided to give 6-5 sophomore Ryan McCreery the nod in the final starting spot. Mike Pope started both games in Florida in place of Jerry Happ. Bridges looks to McCreery for some of the things Happ gave the Titans - rebounding, defense, and hustle. (See today's Pantagraph feature).
Augustana (5-6, 0-1) dropped their CCIW opener Tuesday night, losing 73-71 to North Central. The Vikings are led by 6-0 senior guard John Benedetti, a hard-nosed player and good floor leader. Benedetti is averaging 13.1 pts per game. Freshman guard Mark Johnson is off to a nice start, adding 12 pts per contest. Grey Giovanine is the new Augustana head coach, replacing Steve Yount. Giovanine has spent the last 6 years at Division 1 Lamar, where he led the Cardinals to a 17-11 record last season beating the likes of Baylor, LSU, and Ole Miss.
The JV game starts at 5:15.
Article courtesy of the Bloomington Pantagraph
Division II Eckerd holds off feisty Titans
By RANDY REINHARDT
Pantagraph staff
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Eckerd College shot free throws Wednesday as if the sun from the Sunshine State Conference logo on the McArthur Center wall was directly in its eyes.
Illinois Wesleyan quite nearly made that sun burn the Division II Tritons.
Jeff Kliewer nailed a crucial 3-pointer with 1:28 remaining and Eckerd hung on for a 77-70 victory over the Division III Titans despite wretched 11 of 32 free throw shooting.
"The last time they came down here we were ninth in the country and they beat the stew out of us. I hope they don't come back for a couple of years," Eckerd coach Tom Ryan said. "With that kind of talent they could compete in our league."
The Titans (8-3) were extremely competitive after dropping a 33-point decision to Florida Southern on Monday in Lakeland. Korey Coon's 3-pointer with 2:53 left gave Wesleyan its first tie (67-67) since 5-5.
"Against a team like this, you hope you can take the game into the last three minutes with a chance to win," said IWU coach Dennie Bridges. "We can get on the plane (this morning) knowing there were things we could have done right at the end to win. But sometimes that's hard to do on the road."
Three possessions that could have put Wesleyan ahead or tied the score late in the second half resulted in two turnovers and a Laban Cross 3-point try that rimmed out.
"I like the way the team fought. All the guys off the bench played hard," said Coon, who led all scorers with 26 points. "A few more breaks and that's a win for us. We just couldn't get over the hump."
After Coon made one of two free throws -- and missed for just the third time in 79 attempts this season -- Kliewer's 3-pointer put Eckerd (10-2) ahead, 72-68.
The Titans could manage only a Ryan McCreery basket in the final 1:58 as Eckerd continued to launch bricks from the free throw line (3 of 10 in the final minute).
In his fifth game back from a stress fracture in a foot, Kliewer connected on 4 of 5 from 3-point range as did Kenya Bogins. The Tritons hit a sizzling 10 of 14 (71 percent) from beyond the arc.
"There's no such thing as moral victories, but we came back a lot stronger than the other night," said Titan guard Adam Osborn, who had 13 points. "The effort was definitely there. We had them right where we wanted them, but we let it go."
A second lopsided loss in three days was a distinct possibility in the first half as Eckerd assumed an 18-5 lead on the strength of 13 straight points.
But with Coon scoring eight points, Wesleyan climbed back to a one-point deficit with a 16-4 spurt.
The Titans also rallied from a 15-point deficit (58-43) in the second half. With a defender in his face, Coon drained a 3-pointer at the 6:15 mark to bring IWU within 62-60.
"They've got a nice team. Coon is hard-nosed and rugged. He's as good of a player as we'll face all year," said Ryan. "That 34 (freshman Luke Kasten) is going to be unbelievable."
Kasten contributed 10 points, nine rebounds and three blocks.
"We did a much better job (than against Florida Southern) executing the offense, playing the boards and defending the post," Bridges said. "Todd (Wente) did an excellent job of team defense, and Luke had two or three offensive rebounds I haven't really seen him do since preseason practice."
Trinidad native Lester Chang Fong paced Eckerd with 15 points. Kliewer added 13 and Bogins 12.
Clevon Dunbar, the Tritons' top scorer entering the game, amazingly came up empty on all eight of his free throws. He had eight points.
The Titans made 10 of 12 free throws and were 28 of 31 from the line on the two-game trip.
"It feels good playing as hard as we did even though we lost," Osborn said. "I think we're ready for the conference season."
Wesleyan opens the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin schedule Saturday in a 7:30 p.m. contest against Augustana at Shirk Center.
Florida Southern Crushes IWU, Titans Fall to 8-2
Playing the #4 ranked team in NCAA Division 2, IWU wasn't supposed to win Monday night. Florida Southern made sure there would be no upset. The Moccasins moved to 13-0 on the season with a 93-60 thrashing of Division 3 #9 ranked Illinois Wesleyan. The Titans are now 8-2 on the season. The 33 point margin of defeat was the largest for an Illinois Wesleyan team since a 99-39 whipping at the hands of Division 1 University of Iowa during the 1984-85 season.
Florida Southern dominated the first 14 minutes of the game, forcing turnover after turnover with full-court pressure defense - at one point Adam Osborn turned the ball over 5 times in a 3 minute stretch. Behind an assortment of offensive rebounds and put-backs, the Moccasins jumped out to a 35-11 lead at the 6:00 mark.
But the Titans did not quit. After a timeout at the 5:51 mark, IWU coach Dennie Bridges employed a zone defense. Florida Southern could not convert from the perimeter, and the Titans reeled of 17 consecutive points to finish the half . IWU trailed 35-28 at the intermission. Korey Coon paced the Titans with 15 points in the first half, including 6-6 from the free throw line. The Titans shot a very cold 7-22 (.318) from the field in the half to FSC's 16-33 (.485). The Moccasins pressure defense forced 11 IWU turnovers in the opening stanza. IWU stayed in the game with solid free throw shooting - 11-12.
The Titans cut the lead to 5, 37-32, in the opening minutes of the second half before the Moccasins put on a dunking exhibition. Florida Southern dunked on 5 of 7 trips down the floor in route to an 11-0 run and 48-32 lead. The Moccasins continued to pound the ball inside, scoring on layups and dunks and held a 60-41 lead at the 12:00 mark. FSC then went on the attack from beyond the arc, hitting 3-point shots on 5 of 7 trips down the floor, burrying the Titans with a 77-46 lead at the 7:00 mark.
Freshman Luke Kasten paced the Titans in the second half with 9 points for 13 total. Korey Coon finished with 20 points. Freshman John Camardella added 8 for IWU.
The Titans travel to St. Petersburg to face another NCAA Division 2 school, Eckerd, Wednesday.
(Thursday December 30)
Pope Gets Starting Nod -Titans Head to Florida to Face Division 2 Competition
Seven games after losing starting forward Mike Rogers for the season to injury, and two games after starting center Phil Hurst's career was cut short due to an ACL tear, IWU will play it's first full game without starting forward Jerry Happ. The versatile Happ was IWU's leading rebounder (6.9 per game) and was second in assists (27) before tearing the ACL in his left knee against UC-Santa Cruz. Rogers was IWU's leading rebounder last season, and Hurst was 3rd on the team in that category before going down. The Titans will need to regroup in a hurry, as two good NCAA Division 2 teams await them in Florida.
IWU's toughest test will come against Florida Southern College (Lakeland, Fl.) on Monday 1/3. After making the Division 2 Final Four last season and losing to eventual champion Kentucky Wesleyan, the Moccasins are off to an 11-0 start and ranked #4 in NCAA D2. They are led by returning All-American Innocent Kere, a 6-9 junior center who is averaging 14.6 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. Through 11 games, Florida Southern has an average winning margin of 21 points per contest. They have outrebounded their Division 2 foes 398 to 279. The Mocs have shot .518 from the field while holding opponents to just .370. IWU's only advantage appears to be from beyond the arc, where the Titans have connected on 73-172 (.424) this season. Florida Southern is 37 of 101 (.366) from 3 point range.
On Wednesday January 5 the Titans travel to St. Petersburg to face 7-2 Eckerd College, also of NCAA Division 2. On November 23 the Tritons defeated 1999 Division 3 playoff squad Franklin College (Indiana) 72-62. Both of Eckerd's losses this season have been to Nova Southeastern. Realistically, the Division 3 Titans will have a much better shot to steal a game against Eckerd.
The Titans are led by 6-0 point guard Korey Coon, who is averaging 22.9 points per game. Coon has connected on 29 of 64 (.463) 3 point attempts and 53 of 55 (.964) free throws so far this season. 6-7 freshman Luke Kasten is averaging 13.8 points and 6.6 rebounds on the season, and has led the Titans in scoring the last 2 games with 25 points against Aurora and 17 against UC-Santa Cruz. Coon's backcourt mate Adam Osborn has played well so far this season, scoring 10.8 points per game and leading the team in assists with 33. Osborn is 22-44 from beyond the arc in the early going.
With the rash of injuries, the final two starting spots are still an experiment for the most part. It appears 6-6 Todd Wente will continue to get the nod at one of the forward positions. The junior from Effingham St. Anthony H.S. has been solid so far, averaging 8.3 points and 4.7 rebounds in just 21 minutes per game. Wente is shooting 23-41 (.561) from the field. The final starting spot will go to 6-5 junior Mike Pope, who brings experience and versatility. Freshmen Laban Cross (6-2 guard) and Seth Hubbard (6-7 forward/center) will be the 6th and 7th men respectively. 6-4 sophomore Ryan McCreery and 6-4 freshman John Camardella will see increased playing time as well.
IWU Starting Lineup in Florida:
G Korey Coon, 6-0/180 Sr
G Adam Osborn, 6-2/190 Jr
F Mike Pope, 6-5/200 Jr
F Todd Wente, 6-6/205 Jr
C Luke Kasten, 6-7/195 Fr
The Florida trip will be IWU's final tune-up before the CCIW season opener on January 8 against Augustana.
Titans Win, But Lose Happ for Season
Game article courtesy of The Pantagraph
By RANDY REINHARDT
Pantagraph staff
Eight wins, one loss and two season-ending knee injuries.
Hardly a Merry Christmas for the Illinois Wesleyan basketball team.
A first-half knee injury to starting senior forward Jerry Happ sapped any enjoyment the Titans may have received from a 72-61 victory over California-Santa Cruz Saturday before an estimated Shirk Center crowd of 1,700.
"It's bad news on Jerry," Wesleyan coach Dennie Bridges said of the anterior cruciate knee ligament injury that has ended Happ's career.
The Titans lost center Phil Hurst to a career-ending knee injury earlier this month. Wesleyan is also playing without Mike Rogers, a starter last season who opted for surgery to remove a bone spur from his foot after playing two games.
"It's almost unbelievable to think you could lose Jerry Happ, Phil Hurst and Mike Rogers before Christmas," said Bridges. "In Jerry's case it's personally sad because he's had so many injuries. This year he seemed to be healthy and having more fun than he's ever had in his life. He really liked this young team."
IWU (8-1) had the Banana Slugs (4-8) on the brink of extinction several times but numerous short-range misses kept the Titans from a blowout victory.
"We played real good in some stretches and not so hot in other ones," Wesleyan guard Adam Osborn said. "We need to learn to build on our lead. It wasn't a very smooth win, I know that."
A sluggish start saw Santa Cruz make just one of its first 13 shots and fall behind 23-11 after a Mike Pope 3-pointer at the 11:03 mark of the first half. The Titans led, 31-15, when Happ went down after a scramble for a loose ball near midcourt with 5:21 remaining.
He was helped off the court and a rush magnetic resonance imaging test revealed the torn ligament. The 6-foot-4 Happ entered the game with averages of 8.3 points and a team-leading 7.4 rebounds.
It is too far into the season for Happ to take a medical redshirt and return next season. Regardless, Happ is on pace to graduate in the spring with a business administration major.
The Titans saw a 39-29 halftime lead sliced to six at 42-36 on an inside basket from Banana Slug senior Chad Wells. The son of former Normal Community High School and University of Illinois football standout Mike Wells paced Santa Cruz with 17 points and nine rebounds.
Wesleyan responded with a 17-2 surge as Korey Coon scored five of his season-low 12 points.
Santa Cruz started a four-guard lineup with the 6-5 Wells as the only player over 6-1. The Titans tried to take advantage but made just 26 of 64 shots (40.6 percent) and 10 of 30 in the second half.
"The guys did a real good job getting me the ball. It just seemed like there was a lid on the bucket," said 6-7 Titan freshman Luke Kasten. "We did a really good job staying with it and following up on our misses."
Along with three blocks and two steals, Kasten led Wesleyan with 17 points and his 13 rebounds are a season high for an IWU player. The Titans established season bests with 55 rebounds and 18 offensive rebounds.
Pope contributed nine points and nine rebounds off the bench for Wesleyan, while Osborn and Todd Wente also had nine points.
"All of our post people had some little bitty shots they didn't quite get in, but they were active," Bridges said. "We got ahead 31-13 so easily it seemed like we went home for Christmas. As a coach, I was never afraid we were going to lose, but I wanted us to be crisper. We got kind of impatient at the offensive end and took the first shot that came along."
Jake Stuebbe and Jason Semanisin added 12 points each for the Banana Slugs, who shot just 34.8 percent (23 of 66) from the field and connected on only 5 of 13 free throws.
Santa Cruz scored nearly half of its points from 3-point range, hitting 10 of 26 from beyond the arc
Freshmen Lead IWU Past Aurora in Double Overtime
By RANDY KINDRED
Pantagraph staff
AURORA -- Officially, it wasn't a rebound. Nor was it an assist.
So just what was Laban Cross' athletic play Saturday at the close of the second overtime?
The difference.
The Illinois Wesleyan freshman guard leaped high in the lane to get his hand on a missed shot, tipping the ball toward the basket. It fell right into the arms of IWU junior forward Todd Wente, who banked in a layup with one second remaining to give the Titans a wild 115-113 nonconference victory over Aurora University.
"I just went up and happened to hit it," said the 6-foot-2 Cross, who was among three freshmen to figure prominently in the win. "The guys inside normally can get up higher than I can. Usually, I can't get both of my hands on it, so I was just hoping to make something good happen by getting one hand on it."
The beneficiary was the 6-6 Wente, who said Cross "went up with three players from Aurora and he was about a foot higher than all of them. I had the easy part, just catching it and laying it off the square."
Following a timeout, Aurora's inbound pass for Dan DeBruycker was broken up at midcourt, boosting the Titans' record to 7-1 after trailing by 14 points early in the second half.
"It was such a great game. It just drains you," IWU coach Dennie Bridges said of a contest that set a school record for most combined points (228). "I feel like I've been beat up with a wet towel."
The Titans would have been left high and dry if not for 50 points, 13 rebounds and five assists from freshmen Luke Kasten, Seth Hubbard and Cross.
The 6-7 Kasten had 25 points, seven rebounds and three assists, the 6-7 Hubbard added 14 points -- all in the second half -- and three rebounds, while Cross finished with 11 points, three rebounds and two assists.
Trailing 53-43 at the half and 59-45 three minutes into the second half, IWU had closed to within 61-52 when Hubbard entered the game. The University High School product scored 11 points over the next five minutes, capped by a steal near midcourt and a layup.
Hubbard (11), Kasten (4) and Cross (5) combined for 20 points in a 28-15 run that put the Titans ahead 80-76.
Aurora (4-3) fought back, and the game was tied at 95-all in the final seconds of regulation. IWU called a timeout with 17 seconds left, but its designed play broke down and Adam Osborn had to launch a desperation 3-pointer that was no good.
"I thought we had a good play, but somebody forgot to make the break to set it up and it threw our timing off," Bridges said. "I was kicking myself for that.
"But I'll say this about my team. We've played eight straight quality opponents and found a way to win seven of them."
The Titans dodged a bullet at the end of the first overtime. Aurora had the ball, but DeBruycker's 16-footer and Brent Gooden's follow-up were no good as time expired.
Kasten scored IWU's first eight points of the second overtime for a 113-109 lead, but Aurora tied it at 113-all. Titan star guard Korey Coon, who scored 23 points, then missed a shot that led to Cross' tip and Wente's basket.
"It was just the bounce of the ball and that's what college basketball is all about," Aurora coach James Lancaster said. "Both teams were laying it on the line and playing with blood and guts. They happened to come out on top, but it could have gone either way."
Gooden, a sophomore forward, led Aurora with 29 points and 16 rebounds. DeBruycker added 26 points and Kory McFarland 21 for the Spartans, who shot 52 percent from the field to 51 percent for IWU.
The Titans had seven players score in double figures, with Osborn and Wente contributing 14 each and Jerry Happ 12.
But the key man was Hubbard, who came in averaging nine minutes and 1.9 points per game. With 6-6 junior Phil Hurst lost to a knee injury Tuesday, Hubbard played a season-high 17 minutes, making 6 of 8 from the field and 1 of 2 free throws.
"It felt good to contribute," Hubbard said. "I felt confident when I had the ball today and I was looking to score."
"Seth came in and gave us a great lift," Bridges said. "He hit a 3 when (7-foot Bryan) Schwerdtmann couldn't come out and guard him. He also had a couple of big rebounds.
"Aurora can beat anybody because of how well they shoot and how quick they are. This has to make us better to be able to come out with a win here."
(Saturday December 11)
Wente to Start Today at Aurora
After losing 6-6, 230 pound center Phil Hurst to a career ending knee injury Tuesday, IWU coach Dennie Bridges will experiment with junior Todd Wente in the starting lineup. The 6-6 Effingham St. Anthony product has averaged 7.0 points and 4.2 rebounds off the bench in the early going. Wente has connected on 61 percent of his shots from the field.
Aurora University is currently 4-2 with losses to Webster and Loras. Among their 4 victories is an impressive 72-70 win at Millikin, IWU's downstate CCIW rival. The fast breaking Spartans feature guards Jeff Beetham and Kory McFarland. Aurora has one of the biggest players in all of Division III basketball in 7-0, 300 pound Bryan Schwerdtmann
(Thursday December 9)
ACL Injury Ends Basketball Career of Phil Hurst
The Titans were dealt a big blow yesterday, as an MRI on starting center Phil Hurst's left knee revealed a torn anterior cruciate ligament. The 6-6, 230 pound center suffered the injury during IWU's 90-74 win over Olivet Nazerene Tuesday night.
Phil Hurst is no stranger to knee injuries. As a standout prep player at Windsor High School, Hurst tore the ACL in the same (left) knee - it required 2 operations. In September of 1997 Hurst enrolled at Illinois Wesleyan with the understanding his basketball career was over. But after intense rehabilitation his freshman year, he was cleared to play as a sophomore.
By mid-season '98-99 Hurst earned his way in the Titan's starting lineup. IWU won 7 consecutive CCIW games with Hurst in the lineup, but during practice in late February he tore ligaments in his right knee necessitating operation #3. Hurst missed IWU's final conference game against Millikin and playoff loss at Ripon.
Just two months after his April '99 operation, Phil was on his feet. He entered the 1999-2000 season feeling healthy for the first time in 4 years. After inconsistent performances to start the season, Hurst began to make an impact. In a 75-71 victory over University of Chicago he made 4 consecutive baskets during a key second half stretch on his way to 16 points. Through IWU's first 7 games Phil averaged 9 points and 3.4 rebounds.
As Hurst prepares for knee operation #4, IWU prepares to fill the void. 6-6 forward Mike Pope will most likely get the starting nod, with Todd Wente and freshman Seth Hubbard seeing more time.
To all of the "regulars", sorry for the late update. Let's just say the post-game festivities went a bit longer than expected last night. Here's the Pantagraph article...
Happ, Wesleyan Take Control of Boards in Victory
By RANDY REINHARDT
Pantagraph staff
The Illinois Wesleyan basketball team won five of its first six games in spite of its rebounding.
The Titans moved to 6-1 Tuesday at Shirk Center largely because of their rebounding.
IWU controlled the boards against the bigger Tigers and captured an impressive 90-74 nonconference victory before an estimated crowd of 1,800.
"We know one of the big keys playing a bigger team like that is to rebound," Wesleyan forward Jerry Happ said. "So we really hit the boards."
Happ matched career highs with 18 points and nine rebounds as the Titans outrebounded an opponent for the first time all season (48-34).
"To outrebound a team like that is really a good sign," said Wesleyan coach Dennie Bridges after his 632nd career victory. "That's really what we need."
IWU recorded season highs of 12 3-pointers and 15 offensive rebounds while tying a season high with 20 assists.
Olivet, which is ranked 24th in the national NAIA Division I poll, fell to 8-4 despite 23 points and eight rebounds from 6-foot-9 sophomore Zach Freeman.
"We didn't do what we had to do. We had to really go inside and play off the inside," Tigers coach Ralph Hodge said. "We went away from the inside and took too many perimeter shots."
Reeling off 12 straight points to turn a 9-3 deficit into a 15-9 lead, IWU led 30-20 after a Happ 3-pointer and an inside basket from Seth Hubbard.
The Titans led 44-34 at the half on the strength of a Korey Coon assist to Todd Wente with five seconds left.
"Maybe we had better patience tonight. We ran our offense further through many times," said Bridges. "We reversed the ball side-to-side and didn't force shots. It was just a better overall performance."
Wente scored 12 points off the bench, connecting on 5 of 6 shots. Like Happ, reserve guard Laban Cross was 3 of 3 from 3-point range as the Titans bench outscored its Olivet counterparts, 35-19.
"The bench played well. We're trying to get in there and give them a spark, get a couple rebounds," Wente said. "We really did a good job beating their big guys down the floor. We were getting the ball inside, they collapsed in and it seemed like Korey was wide open all night shooting threes. We'll take that any night."
Coon was 5 of 12 from 3-point range and led the Titans with 22 points. The senior guard hit all five of his free throws and is 47 of 48 from the line this season.
Coon's final 3-pointer boosted the Wesleyan lead to 57-41 early in the second half. A Cross 3-pointer at the 11:34 mark gave the Titans a comfortable 70-50 margin.
"Korey is a good player, but this is more than a one-man team," Hodge said. "Wesleyan got more contributions from all their players than we got."
Cross chipped in nine points, Luke Kasten eight and Mike Pope seven points and eight rebounds. Adam Osborn was credited with eight assists and seven rebounds in an off (1 of 7) shooting night.
"Our 10-man performance was really good," said Bridges. "We had three freshmen (Hubbard, Cross and Kasten) playing against one of the better teams on our schedule and they were all contributing."
IWU junior center Phil Hurst suffered a knee injury and was helped off the court after scoring on a driving layup with 2:07 remaining. Hurst has had considerable past knee problems, but Bridges was "cautiously optimistic" the injury was not serious.
Drew Neal added 10 points for Olivet. Lee Coomler, who scored 38 points in the Tigers' last game, was 2 of 17 from the field and scored five points, 14 below his average.
Coon Scores 30, Titans Defeat Benedictine
FT Streak Ends at 70
Korey Coon exploded for 26 points in the second half to help lead Illinois Wesleyan to a hard fought 93-87 victory over Benedictine University. Coon finished with 30 points, matching the very impressive performance of Terry Frigo (6-6 225 Jr) who also tallied 30. After making his first 10 free throws in the contest, Coon missed the front end of a double bonus with 30 seconds remaining. His 70 consecutive free throws are a new NCAA Division III record. He also surpassed the Division 1 record of Joe Dykstra (Western Illinois) who made 64 consecutive in 1981-82. Paul Kluxton of Northern Kentucky holds the all-division record with 94 during the 1996-97 season.
The Eagles jumped out to a quick 6-1 lead, but a Luke Kasten 2 handed dunk and an Adam Osborn three point field goal tied the score. The Titans held a 21-12 lead midway through the half. Benedictine battled back to within 4 at the 5:00 mark, but IWU pushed the lead back up to 8 at halftime, 46-38. Todd Wente led the way for the Titans with 11 first half points. Adam Osborn added 8 and Jerry Happ 7. Terry Frigo paced the Eagles with 16 points.
Benedictine hung around, and at the 12:30 mark in the second half tied the game at 57. Both teams traded baskets over the next 2 minutes. With the score 64-64, Korey Coon took over. At the 9:00 mark Coon pulled up and drained a long 3. Benedictine answered with a 3 on the other end making it 67-67, before Coon drilled another long three point field goal. After an Eagle miss and Titan rebound, IWU's All-American pushed the ball up the floor and drove to the basket, scoring with his left hand while getting fouled. With the Shirk Center as loud as it's been all season, BU coach Keith Bunkenburg called timeout. Coon finished the three point play to make it 73-67 with 8:15 to play.
The Titans controlled the game the rest of the way, and an Adam Osborn 3 at the 2:25 mark made it 90-81. Korey Coon made 10 of 11 free throws in the second half, most coming down the stretch. With 26 points in the second half, Coon finished with 30. Adam Osborn added 15, Phil Hurst 13, and Todd Wente 11 (all in the first half). In a very impressive performance, Terry Frigo paced Benedictine with 30 points.
IWU improves to 5-1, while Benedictine drops to 2-2. The Titans host NAIA nationally ranked Olivet Nazarene Tuesday at 7:30.
Titans Survive Chicago at Shirk, Coon Sets D3 Record
All-American Korey Coon scored 11 points in the final 4 minutes, leading Illinois Wesleyan to a 75-71 victory over University of Chicago. IWU improves to 4-1 on the season and Chicago falls to 3-2, with both losses coming at the hands of the CCIW. Wheaton defeated the Maroons 75-68 last week.
The Titans controlled the first half, leading by as many as 12 points, but could never break the game open. Chicago hung around, and by halftime had the IWU lead down to 6, 38-32. Coon paced the Titans with 10 points, while Luke Kasten and Phil Hurst added 6. Jerry Happ scored 4 points and pulled down 6 rebounds in the first period.
Illinois Wesleyan jumped out to a 10 point lead early in the second half, but the Maroons battled back. At the 6:00 minute mark they took their first lead at 60-58. Phil Hurst tied the game at 60 on the ensuing possession, but fouled out on the other end of the floor with 5:15 to play. With Chicago leading 62-60 Korey Coon was fouled while shooting a 3 point field goal. He made all 3 free throws for a 1 point Titan advantage at the 4:00 mark.
The Titans led 67-66 with 2:05 to play when Coon found Jerry Happ cutting to the basket, giving IWU a 3 point lead. After a Chicago timeout, the Maroons went to the post but IWU freshman Luke Kasten batted the shot down. After running time off the clock, Coon drove to the basket, scoring with his left hand to give the Titans a 71-66 edge with 1:42 to play. The Maroons hit a 3 point field goal on the next possession to cut the lead to 2. Chicago once again fouled Coon, who made both free throws at the :58 mark. After a Maroons jump shot to cut the lead to 73-71 with :44 to play and ensuing Chicago timeout, Korey Coon penetrated once again. His layup sealed the victory for Illinois Wesleyan.
All 11 of Coon's second half points were during the final 4 minutes. He made all 7 of his free throws during that stretch and has now connected on 31 consecutive on the season. The 6-0 point guard made his final 29 charity tosses last season and his 60 consecutive are a new NCAA Division III record. The old record was 59 by Mike Michaelson of the Coast Guard in 1990. The records for Divisions II and I are 94 by Paul Kluxton of Northern Kentucky in 1997 and 64 by Joe Dykstra of Western Illinois in 1982.
Phil Hurst scored 16 points before fouling out with 5:15 to play, and made 4 consecutive baskets to keep IWU in the game between the 7:00 and 5:00 marks. Luke Kasten finished with 10, Jerry Happ 8, and Adam Osborn 6. Happ continued his impressive all-around play, with 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. Jon Poyer led the Maroons with 22 points. Brad Henderson scored 14, and Kurt Reimer 11. Chicago outrebounded the Titans 44-33. The Maroons were 10-24 from beyond the arc, while IWU hit just 2 of 7 attempts (both by Coon).
The Titans host Benedictine University Saturday at 3:00pm. The Eagles defeated IWU 73-70 last season, ending IWU's 46 game winning streak at the Shirk Center.
Titan Comeback Falls Short, NWU Wins at Buzzer
In a game that saw Illinois Wesleyan battle back from 17 down, Nebraska Wesleyan earned their first victory over the Titans in 6 tries behind a Ryan Means tip-in at the buzzer for a 72-70 final margin. An estimated crowd of 2000 saw the rematch of the 1997 NCAA Division III national championship game.
The first half was all Plainsmen. After starting the game with back-to-back 3 point field goals, Nebraska Wesleyan pounded the ball inside to 6-8 250 pound center Ryan Means. Means dominated the paint, scoring 14 points in the opening period. The Plainsmen led 35-18 at the 4:00 mark before IWU fought back from beyond the arc. Korey Coon and Adam Osborn each hit a three point field goal to cut the Titan deficit to single digits, 37-28, at the half. Luke Kasten, Korey Coon, and Adam Osborn all had 6 for the Titans in the first half. The Plainsmen defense limited Coon to just 4 attempts from the field in the opening stanza.
After Nebraska Wesleyan scored the first 5 points of the second half, IWU went on a 20-6 run to tie the game at 48. The Plainsmen took control again however, and had a 63-56 lead at the 6:00 mark. The Titans stormed back yet again and at the 1:42 mark Korey Coon gave IWU it's first lead at 67-66 with a NBA range 3. The Plainsmen realed off 2 consecutive baskets to take a 70-67 lead at the :36 mark before Adam Osborn drained a 25 foot 3 to tie the score at 70 with :30 to play. After a timeout Nebraska Wesleyan inbounded the ball, looking to take the final shot. Chris Muller's jump shot with 4 seconds missed, but Ryan Means tipped the ball through at the buzzer for a 72-70 Plainsmen victory.
IWU's starting guards Korey Coon and Adam Osborn each had 15 points to lead the Titans. Freshman Luke Kasten added 13 and Phil Hurst 10. Jerry Happ and Mike Pope had 7 and 6 points respectively. Ryan Means led the way for Nebraska Wesleyan, scoring 25 points.
Illinois Wesleyan and Nebraska Wesleyan are both 3-1 on the season. In the 6:00pm game Hastings College defeated Blackburn 81-69.
(Saturday November 27)
Division III Powers Meet Tonight in Nebraska
Perennial conference championship contenders, regular NCAA Division III playoff entrants, top ten programs in Division 3 home attendance.
Not many small college programs have been as consistent over a long period of time as Illinois Wesleyan and Nebraska Wesleyan. IWU ranks 2nd in total wins among all current Division III programs, and NWU is not far behind at #5. It was only fitting when the two schools met in the 1997 Division III national championship game. The Titans held off a ferocious Plainsman rally for a 89-86 victory in that contest, good for IWU's first ever national championship.
Illinois Wesleyan holds a 5-0 edge against NWU, but none of those games were played in Lincoln. This evening at 8:00pm the Plainsmen will begin to attempt chipping away at that Titan series lead as the two school meet in the Nebraska Wesleyan Snyder Classic. IWU defeated Hastings 75-71 and NWU easily handled Blackburn 92-73 in first round action.
IWU (3-0) is led by All-American point guard Korey Coon. Through 3 games this season Coon is averaging 27.6 points. He has made all 24 of his free throw attempts on the season. The Plainsmen (2-1) are led in scoring by 6-5 sophomore Chris Muller, who averaged 18.5 points at the Wisconsin Eau Claire tournament. 6-8, 250 pound center Ryan Means provides an intimidating presence inside for the Plainsmen. The junior scored 23 points and pulled down 8 rebounds last night against Blackburn.
NWU lost an overtime decision in the opener of the Eau Claire tournament to Mount Senario, the #5 rated team in NAIA Division 2, before rebounding to crush Northland College 98-78. IWU defeated Roanoke (D3 South Region) 93-85 and Wittenberg (D3 Great Lakes Region) 77-60 to claim the Titan Tip-Off Tournament championship at the Shirk Center last weekend.
Live coverage of tonight's game can by heard on the internet on WJBC, AM-1230.
(Nebraska Wesleyan notes from Lincoln Journal Star)
The Series at a glance...
| Season | Score | Location |
| 1998-99 | IWU 89 NWU 85 (OT) | Shirk Center (IWU) |
| 1996-97 | IWU 89 NWU 86 | Salem Civic Center (D III National Championship) |
| 1995-96 | IWU 80 NWU 65 | Shirk Center (Tip-Off Tournament) |
| 1992-93 | IWU 93 NWU 81 | Fred Young Fieldhouse (Tip-Off Tournament) |
| 1989-90 | IWU 85 NWU 63 | St. Thomas, Minn. (NCAA Regional Semifinal) |
Coon Shoots IWU Past Hastings, Titans Move to 3-0
Korey Coon scored 29 points, including 11-11 from the free throw line and 4-7 from beyond th arc, as Illinois Wesleyan hung on to defeat Hastings College 75-71 in the Nebraska Wesleyan Snyder Classic. The senior All-American has now made all 24 of his free throw attempts this season.
Hastings jumped out to an early 8-6 lead, before the Titans exploded with a 22-5 run. IWU hit 4 three point field goals during that stretch, 2 each by Jerry Happ and Adam Osborn. The Titans led by as many as 14 points (35-21) during the first period, but the Broncos rallied to cut the deficit to just six at the half, 39-33. Korey Coon paced the Titans with 9 points, Luke Kasten and Adam Osborn each added 8, and Jerry Happ 6. The Titans connected on 5 of 9 3-point attempts in the opening stanza. Hastings kept it close with solid free throw shooting - 10 of 12 - while the Titans only had 2 attempts at the charity stripe during the half.
In an effort to protect IWU big men Luke Kasten and Phil Hurst, who both committed 3 personal fouls during the first half, Dennie Bridges employed a 2-3 zone to start the second period. Hastings made the Titans pay with 3 quick 3's and quickly took the lead 48-44. Kasten, who fouled out of IWU's first 2 games, picked up his 4th personal foul at the 14:04 mark.
After Hastings grabbed a 6 point lead at 50-44, IWU All-American Korey Coon exploded. The senior guard scored 11 points, including 3-3 from beyond the arc, in a 4 minute stretch to give IWU a 57-54 lead. The Broncos fought back however, and went up 63-60 at the 4:00 mark. After 2 Phil Hurst free throws, Hastings fouled Coon while shooting a 3. He connected on all 3 for a 65-63 IWU lead with 3:40 to play.
With IWU up 69-66, senior Jerry Happ stole the ball with 23 seconds and Hastings fouled Korey Coon.Coon connected on 6 of 6 free throw attempts in the final 20 seconds to seal a 75-71 victory. Coon made all 11 of his free throw attempts in the game and led the Titans in scoring with 29 points. Adam Oborn had 10, Luke Kasten and Mike Pope had 9, and Jerry Happ, and Phil Hurst added 8. IWU freshman Luke Kasten has now fouled out of all 3 games this season, after picking up his fifth at the 4:00 mark.
Korey Coon is averaging 27.6 points through 3 games.
IWU faces the host Nebraska Wesleyan Plainsmen tomorrow evening at 8:00pm in a rematch of the 1997 Division III national championship game. Live coverage can by heard on the internet on WJBC, AM-1230.
(Nebraska Wesleyan notes from Lincoln Journal Star)
(Thursday November 25)
Titans Head West for Difficult Early Season Test
While most players in the CCIW are enjoying a traditional Thanksgiving meal Thursday, the Illinois Wesleyan Titans (2-0) will be traveling 8 hours west to Lincoln, Nebraska. IWU will take part in the 4 team Nebraska Wesleyan Snyder Classic this weekend, also featuring Blackburn, Hastings, and the host Plainsmen. IWU will face Hastings at 6:00pm Friday and then Nebraska Wesleyan at 8:00pm Saturday.
IWU's first round opponent is ranked 21st in the NAIA Division 2 preseason poll. The Hastings Broncos were 13-18 last season and currently stand .500 at 3-3. Yet to play a home game, their victories were over Graceland, East West University, and Lincoln Christian while losing to Peru State, College of the Ozarks, and Mt. Marty.
Saturday night will feature a rematch of the 1997 Division III national championship game. In that contest IWU won the battle of the Wesleyans, defeating the Plainsman 89-86 to secure the school's first ever national championship. IWU's Korey Coon, then a freshman, had 17 points in the game.
Nebraska Wesleyan is 1-1 on the season, after splitting games at the Wisconsin-Eau Claire Tip-Off Tournament. The Plainsmen dropped an overtime decision to Mount Senario College (#5 in NAIA Division 2) Friday, and defeated Northland College 98-78 Saturday behind Ryan Mean's 31 points and 15 rebounds. Means is a 6-8 Jr from Lincoln, Nebraska. IWU escaped Nebraska Wesleyan last season at the Shirk Center, prevailing 89-85 in overtime on December 4th. The Plainsmen were 19-7 last season, and won the NIAC with a 10-2 record. Junior guard B.J. Nannen finished 4th in the country last season in 3-point field goals made per game, averaging 4.2.
IWU Dominates Wittenberg, Takes Tip-Off Championship
All-American guard Korey Coon followed up his 28 point performance against Roanoke with 26 more to lead Illinois Wesleyan to a 77-60 victory over Wittenberg. Roanoke defeated Washington University 97-95 in overtime in the consolation game.
IWU came out firing, scoring 20 points in the first 4:50 of the game behind red-hot 3 point shooting from Korey Coon, Adam Osborn, and Laban Cross. At the 15:10 mark Wittenberg called timeout, down 20-5. The Titan lead was 8-12 points most of the first half, and IWU led 44-30 at halftime. Coon paced the Titans in the first half with 16 points, including 4-5 from beyond the arc. Luke Kasten, Phil Hurst, Adam Osborn, and Laban Cross all added 6 points.
Coming off a 27 point performance in his college debut, Luke Kasten got in early foul trouble picking up his 3rd before halftime. He was whisteled for #4 quickly in the second half and after sitting 8 minutes he returned, only to pick up his fifth at the 9:00 mark.
The Titans were forced to counter Wittenberg's physical play and tenacious rebounding with a number of different players. Kasten, Mike Rogers, and Seth Hubbard all played very well while on the court.
The Titans continued to execute their offense very effectively in the second half. IWU led by 14-16 points most of the way, and held off a Wittenberg run that saw the lead cut to 9. Coon's 26 points included 6 of 9 from three point range. In a very solid all-around performance Phil Hurst scored 12 for the Titans. Adam Osborn added 9, Kasten 8, and Laban Cross and Mike Pope finished with 6 a piece.
The Illinois Wesleyan-Wittenberg matchup featured the two winningest programs in Division III basketball.
2-0 IWU heads to Lincoln, Nebraska next weekend to play in the Nebraska Wesleyan Classic.
Coon, Kasten Lead Titans in Season Opener
Freshman Luke Kasten scored 27 points and pulled down 10 rebounds in his collegiate debut as Illinois Wesleyan defeated Roanoke 93-85. Senior point guard Korey Coon led the Titans in scoring with 28 points on 8 of 15 from the field (including 1 of 4 from 3 point range) and 11 of 11 from the free throw line. Junior guard Adam Osborn added 15 points - 4 of 6 from the field (3-4 from beyond the arc) and 3-4 from the free throw line. Jason Strickland lead the Maroons with 34 points.
The Titans came out extremely sluggish and trailed 30-15 with 5:00 to play in the first half. IWU coach Dennie Bridges experimented with a number of lineups, but the one that led the comeback included three freshmen on the floor - Luke Kasten, Laban Cross, and Seth Hubbard. Cross and Hubbard played 16 and 14 minutes respectively. At halftime the Titans led 47-45 behind Kasten's 18 points and 7 rebounds.
The Titans coasted through the second half, going up 18 at the 7:09 mark on a Phil Hurst reverse layup. The Maroons cut the IWU lead to 87-80 with 1:28 left before Mike Rogers hit a 10 foot jump shot to push the lead back to 9. Solid free throw shooting down the stretch by All-American Korey Coon and Adam Osborn sealed the victory.
The Titans were 28-58 from the field (.483) and 31-38 (.850) from the free throw line. They were outrebounded 41-40.
The Titans face Wittenberg tomorrow at 3:00pm in the tournament championship game. The Tigers crushed Washington University 83-60 behind Chris Fillmore's 17 points and 10 rebounds. Roanoke and Washington University play in the consolation game at 1:00pm.