2002-03 Season
Titans' rally falls short in sectional
Early deficit proves too much to overcome as IWU ends season at 22-6
By Randy Sharer
Pantagraph staff
ASHLAND, Va. -- High on Illinois Wesleyan's checklist of things to do Friday in the NCAA Division III sectional semifinals was handle the basketball.
When it didn't, No. 4-nationally ranked Hampden-Sydney handed the No. 13 Titans a 76-68 setback in front of 1,680 at Randolph-Macon College's Crenshaw Gymnasium.
The Tigers, who came in forcing 20.7 turnovers per game, pestered IWU into 20, all but three of which came as they took a 36-22 halftime lead. Hampden-Sydney grew the gap to 20 points with 12:02 left, but a furious Titan rally cut the deficit to four when the magic finally ran out with 57 seconds remaining.
IWU thus closed the season at 22-6, the 12th team in school history to win at least 22 games.
"We beat a heck of a basketball team tonight," said Hampden-Sydney coach Tony Shaver. "One thing we knew about them, if we got up or not, they would not give up. They are famous for that."
Hampden-Sydney (27-2) advanced to the Elite Eight for the third time where it will face No. 15 Wisconsin-Oshkosh, a 53-47 upset winner over No. 1 Randolph-Macon (28-2) Friday night. Tonight's title game is at 7 o'clock (CST).
"We dug ourselves a hole because of turnovers, plain and simple," said IWU coach Scott Trost. "We knew we had to take care of the ball."
The Titans -- who came back from a 20-point deficit to beat North Park this season -- fell behind 53-33 following a dunk by Jay Patrick, who finished with a game-high 17 points.
"I knew we weren't done," said Seth Hubbard, who led IWU with 15 points and shared the team rebound lead with John Camardella at nine. "I just knew our careers were on the line.
"I thought we put ourselves in a great position in the last few minutes of the game. We didn't get some shots to fall."
Leading the way back were reserves Chris Silagi and Jim Lehan, who finished with 14 and 11 points, respectively.
"They kept us alive," Hubbard said. "We were falling apart."
Lehan scored eight of his season-high tying 11 points within a 2:31 span to pull the Titans within 58-50.
"I think they (Hampden-Syndey) would match up favorably with teams we have played," Lehan said. "I don't think they are spectacular, but they are good and they played a good game."
IWU's comeback was especially noteworthy because IWU co-captains Luke Kasten and Camardella fouled out with 11:41 and 9:08 left, respectively.
"Hampden-Sydney played a physical game," Kasten said. "They played with a lot of class. You have to give them credit for the victory, but at the same time I think it was our worst game of the year."
Kasten finished with a season-low five points, 12 below his average, and Camardella had six points, seven below his usual. The two combined were 4-of-18 from the field as part of .367 team shooting performance.
"I think it's the sign of a really good team when both of our captains can foul out that early and we can still put up a really good fight to the end," Hubbard said.
A Silagi 3-pointer pulled IWU within 69-65 with :57 left. Hampden-Sydney committed one of its 16 turnovers on the next possession, but Marty Eich couldn't capitalize on a shot Trost thought deserved a foul call.
The sequence ended with a David Willson dunk and Trost was called for a technical for protesting the non-call against Eich. Brandon Randall, who finished with 16 points, made one free throw to give the Tigers a 72-65 lead with :39.3 left.
"It was a bad time to get it (a technical), but I can't comment on the officiating," Trost said.
Silagi had one of IWU's four conventional three-point plays and three of its nine (out of 21) 3-pointers.
"I can't remember a stretch like that -- conventional three-point plays and 3-pointers," Shaver said. "I joked to an assistant coach that we should start fouling them so they would only get two points instead of three."
Six early turnovers couldn't prevent IWU from taking a 13-6 lead with 11:20 left in the first half, but it would be another 6:22 before the Titans would score another field goal.
The Tigers mounted a 17-2 surge during that time as their full-court press forced six turnovers and four missed shots by IWU.
"I thought we handled their press pretty effectively overall," Trost said. "Once we broke it is when we didn't do a good job."
After a Lehan 3-pointer made it 72-68 with :36.3 showing, the game ended on a pair of free throws by both Randall and Patrick. The Tigers shot .421 from the field and gained a 43-35 rebounding edge led by Willson's eight boards.
"We believed in ourselves to the end," Silagi said. "The one problem was digging ourselves a big hole in the beginning."
Scouting Hampden-Sydney
Starting Lineup:
#20 G Marcus Gregory (6-0/165, Sr) - 4.2 pts, 5.4 assists
#03 G Jeff Monroe (6-5/205, Jr) - 12.5 pts, 30-84 (.357) 3-pt
#00 G Brandon Randle (6-6/190, Jr) - 9.3 pts, .428 FG%, 19-65 (.292) 3-pt
#44 F Jason Holman (6-4/210, Jr) - 10.5 pts, 5.1 reb, .596 FG% - no 3's
#40 C Lane Brooks (6-8/200, Sr) - 10.6 pts, 7.1 reb, .561 FG% - no 3's
Titans treat fans to a stunner
IWU upsets Washington in playoffs
By Randy Sharer
Pantagraph staff
ST. LOUIS -- Illinois Wesleyan basketball coach Scott Trost claimed his team has the best fans in the country.
Proof disputing that assertion was hard to come by at WU Field House Saturday night where an over-caffeinated crowd of 2,190 was 65 percent green either in dress or affiliation.
The bedlam they generated lifted the Titans to a stunning, 85-73 upset of No. 2-nationally ranked Washington University in the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.
No. 13-ranked IWU improved to 21-6 this season and 32-14 all-time in the playoffs. The Titans advanced to Friday's sectional semifinals, at a site to be determined today, where they will face No. 4 Hampden-Sydney (26-2), a 56-54 buzzer-beating winner over the Savannah College of Art and Design.
The other sectional semifinalists are No. 1 Randolph-Macon (28-1) and No. 15 Wisconsin-Oshkosh (24-6). The sectional final is next Saturday.
Washington, which had downed the Titans 88-75 Dec. 8 at Bloomington, fell to 24-2 as its 31-game home winning streak, the second longest Division III streak in the nation, ended.
"The crowd was great," Trost said. "We've got the best fans in the country. If people don't believe that now after seeing what was on display tonight, then I don't know what they are watching."
The fans watched Luke Kasten lead IWU with a season-high 31 points on 12-of-19 shooting from the field and 6-of-8 free throw accuracy. He also had a game-high 13 rebounds and two blocks.
"Some people can doubt Luke, but I've never doubted him," Trost said. "He stepped up huge in a big game. When Luke Kasten plays like that and we play together, then we can beat anybody."
IWU freshman Adam Dauksas added a season-high 21 points while Laban "Mr. March" Cross had nine points and John Camardella had 12 rebounds and nine points. Eric Starkey had a team-high five assists while Seth Hubbard had four assists and eight boards.
"Adam has been playing better than a freshman all year long," Kasten said. "He plays well beyond his age. He just played one great game."
Cross, who had been limited to 18 points all season because of an ankle injury, was 3-of-6 from 3-point range.
"They've been calling him Mr. March and I guess it came true," Trost said. "I give him a lot of credit because he's hung in there through a difficult season. The crowd is pulling for Laban. We're all pulling for Laban because of the experiences he's had."
Chris Jeffries paced the Bears with 20 points, only five of which came in the second half against the double-teaming Titans.
"We made sure Jeffries wasn't going to beat us by himself," said Trost, whose team coaxed the 6-foot-6 All-American into 2-of-10 shooting the second half.
"The second half we worked it out to have Seth guard him and have me come and double him," Kasten said. "As soon as he touches the ball, you've got to get it out of his hands. It worked out really well."
"I thought I had decent looks regardless of their double team," said Jeffries, who three turnovers, six assists and 10 rebounds. "I made a couple bad passes out of the double team. My shots just weren't falling the second half."
As the crowd generated an electric atmosphere, IWU made a decisive, 12-3 surge to take a 62-57 lead with 8:31 showing. The move included a pair of Cross 3-pointers and ended with a conventional three-point play by Camardella.
"I love our fans," Kasten said. "The fact they came down here and packed this place. That's the reason we played so well."
IWU won the battle of the boards, 46-41.
"Down the stretch we rebounded the ball a lot better when we had to," Cross said.
After a Kasten put-back put IWU on top 71-64, Washington found it difficult to rally as the Titans canned 14 of 14 free throws the final 1:35.
"It's tough to climb out of a hole when a team does that," said Bear guard Matt Tabash, who had eight assists.
"I thought Wesleyan played great," said Washington coach Mark Edwards. "I thought they played fearless and I thought we did, too. They found a way to score and we didn't in the middle of the second half. Every single one of their players stepped up to the challenge and hurt us at one time or another."
Only a layup in the final tenth of a second by Barry Bryant prevented IWU from taking the halftime lead as Washington went to the locker room up 38-37.
The Titans played one of their better halves of the year, shooting .516 from the field the first 20 minutes. They finished at .446 while the Bears shot .365 including .221 from 3-point range (7 of 23).
Washington's Joel Parrott, who had his top front teeth broken by Camardella in the first half, finished with 16 points. Jarriot Rook added 13 points and 12 rebounds while Dustin Tylka added 12 points.
"This is not the way I pictured us leaving," Parrott said.
Two fastbreak baskets by Dauksas sandwiched between layups by Kasten and Hubbard earned IWU an 8-2 lead. Jeffries scored 12 points the first 7:30 as the Bears went up 21-15.
"We definitely had motivation from the first game," Dauksas said.
The Titans didn't get the lead again until an 8-0 run capped by back-to-back 3-pointers by Dauksas and Cross made it 37-34 with 49 seconds left before intermission.
"Laban -- it's no surprise to us. We knew it was only a matter of time before he was going to put us on his back," Kasten said. "His 3s couldn't have come at bigger moments. They were worth way more than three points."
IWU's bench outscored its counterpart, 18-6, and the Titans finished 19 of 22 at the line compared to the Bears at 12 of 15.
"Whoever they play next," Edwards said, "I hope they get to see them the way we saw them tonight."
NCAA Division III Tournament - Round Two
3:00pm - Lady Titans (20-8) @ Washington U. (24-1)
7:00pm - Illinois Wesleyan (21-5) @ Washington U. (24-1)
| Radio Coverage (Men):
WJBC, AM-1230 - Bloomington, Listen Live Radio Coverage (Women): WJBC, AM-1230 - Bloomington, Listen Live |
"Titans in Role of Underdog" - Pantagraph
"IWU women adopt can-do attitude" - Pantagraph
Review Notes from 12/8/02 Game
Men's Matchups:
| Illinois Wesleyan | Washington U. | |
| G | Adam Dauksas (6'2/180, Freshman)
9.0 pts, 3.0 reb, 3.2 assists |
Matt Tabash (5'10/160 Senior).
8.3 pts, 5.64 assists, 4.7:1 assist/t.o ratio |
| G | Eric Starkey (6'2/185, Senior)
7.3 pts, 3.0 reb |
Dustin Tylka (6'3/210 Senior)
8.7 pts, 41-118, .347 3-pt% |
| F/G | John Camardella (6'4/210, Senior)
13.7 pts, 7.2 reb, 128-216 FG (.593) |
Joel Parrott (6'4/210 Senior)
11.3 pts, 49-133, .368 3-pt% |
| F | Luke Kasten (6'7/215, Senior)
16.9 pts, 6.8 reb, 168-325 FG (.517) |
Chris Jeffries (6'6/185 Senior)
20.5 pts, 7.0 reb, 198-318, .623 FG% |
| C | Seth Hubbard (6'7/220, Senior)
12.3 pts, 4.2 reb, 112-181 FG ( .619) |
Jarriot Rook (6'8/210 Senior).
9.6 pts, 7.8 reb, 99-217, .456 FG% |
| Bench | Chris Silagi (6'2/190 Senior, G) - 8.6 pts, 2.4 reb
Marty Eich (6'7/215 Senior, F/C) - 3.6 pts, 2.9 reb Jim Lehan (5'11/165, Junior, G) - 2.8 pts, 1.3 assists Laban Cross (6/2, 185 Senior, G) |
Barry Bryant (6'2/180 Junior, G) - 6.1 pts
Anthony Hollins (6'5/195 Soph, F) - 4.5 pts, 3.2 reb Rob Keller (6'4/220 Soph, G) - 3.5 pts, 2.0 reb Nick Geurts (6'8/235 Senior, C) - 3.1 pts |
Team Averages:
| Illinois Wesleyan | Washington U. | |
| Points Scored Per Game | 77.4 |
84.6 |
| Points Allowed Per Game | 67.7 |
62.8 |
| Field Goal % | .506 |
.472 |
| Opponent's Field Goal % | .417 |
.377 |
| 3-point % | .397 |
.336 |
| Opponent's 3-point % | .313 |
.287 |
| Free Throw % | .739 |
.640 |
| Rebounds Per Game | 35.6 |
42.3 |
| Rebounds Allowed Per Game | 31.0 |
38.1 |
Heavy-hearted Titans win
Mourning team rallies around teammate Silagi in playoff victory
By Randy Sharer
Pantagraph staff
BLOOMINGTON -- Chris Silagi has been there for his Illinois Wesleyan basketball teammates through good times and bad for four years.
When it was his turn to face the bad following the Wednesday death of his father, Rich, Silagi wasn't alone.
The senior from Oswego -- buoyed by the support of teammates and a Shirk Center crowd of 2,700 -- helped the Titans get past Blackburn, 79-59, in the first round of the NCAA Division III playoffs Thursday.
In a game that was preceded by a moment of silence for his father, Silagi ignited a deafening roar when his 18-foot jumper beat the halftime buzzer to spot IWU a 38-30 lead. He pointed heavenward as a wave of applause swept him to the locker room.
The No. 13-nationally ranked Titans (21-5) will head to St. Louis for a 7 p.m. game Saturday at No. 2 Washington University (24-1) with grief and joy pulling their hearts in opposite directions.
Silagi, who IWU officials said was unavailable for post-game interviews, will be with the Titans Saturday. His father's visitation is Sunday and the funeral Monday.
"When you have such a traumatic event in your life, it really puts everything in perspective," said Titan co-captain Luke Kasten, who scored a team-high 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds. "There wasn't one single guy on this team thinking about basketball today.
"This game was important to Chris. It showed how important this team is to Chris just by him showing up today. Chris' class showed today. He's a hero of mine."
Silagi's loss was especially poignant for IWU co-captain John Camardella, whose own father died in 1999.
"My mind the whole day was on Mr. Silagi," said Camardella, who scored 10 points. "Having gone through it and knowing what it feels like, my heart goes out to Chris and his family. It's something you can't really talk about unless you've gone through it.
"Chris showed how much he cares for this team in that he drove all the way back (from Oswego) to play this game. Tonight was Chris Silagi's night, and I know his dad was with him the whole night."
Silagi finished with seven points, three rebounds and an assist in 20 minutes. Seth Hubbard added 13 points and Adam Dauksas chipped in 10 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Eric Starkey had nine points and two blocks.
"Chris -- I give him all the credit in the world," said IWU coach Scott Trost. "For him to go through what he has gone through the last 24 hours and then come out here and perform the way he did is a true testament to his character.
"Chris is a very important member of the Illinois Wesleyan community. We'll be there to support him in any fashion we can."
Blackburn (15-10) never led, but it hung tough early, forcing three ties, the last of which was at 18-18 with 8:47 left in the half.
Starkey sparked a 9-0 IWU run with a conventional three-point play that included 3-pointers by Camardella and Dauksas.
The Titans' offense sputtered at times as they committed eight of their 13 turnovers the first 19 minutes.
"We were just not clicking in the first half, but I thought we played a better second half," Trost said.
The Titans opened the second half with an 18-8 surge to go up 56-38 with 12:24 left. Blackburn never got closer.
"We played with a little more urgency, and I thought we did a better job of communicating (the second half)," said Trost, whose team gained a 39-23 advantage on the boards.
IWU shot 56.4 percent from the field with help from 7-of-14 3-point accuracy. The Fightin' Beavers shot 43.9 percent while getting 14 points apiece from Jon Tipton and Doug Sumner. Cory Waters added 11 and Luke Hennings 10.
Blackburn was outscored in the paint, 38-18, during its NCAA Tournament debut.
"I thought the times they could hurt us the most were when they could back their way in deeper than we wanted them to be," said Blackburn coach Joe Ramsey, who battled IWU for 21 years as Millikin's coach. "What that does is make your defensive help have to come further off of the men they are guarding."
Blackburn sixth man Kyle Madix of Clinton, who had one rebound and one assist, thought his team represented itself well.
"We knew it was going to be a real dogfight, and it was for a long time," said Madix, whose team was playing in front of its biggest crowd of the year. "It was just a great atmosphere to play in. We played real hard throughout the game. We never gave up. That's how our season went."
2003 CCIW Chat Awards
(Voted on by the contributors to the "CCIW Chat" message board on D3Hoops.com.)
1st Team
Joel Kolmodin (Jr - Wheaton)
Luke Kasten (Sr - Illinois Wesleyan)
Drew Carstens (Jr - Augustana)
Antoine McDaniel (Sr - Carthage)
Rob Garnes (Sr - Carthage)
2nd team
John Camardella (Sr - Illinois Wesleyan)
Wayne Bosworth (Jr - Elmhurst)
Sneed Deaderick (Sr - North Park)
Nate Collord (Sr - Wheaton)
Theo Powell (Jr - Carthage)
3rd Team
Seth Hubbard (Sr - Illinois Wesleyan)
Steven Holder (Sr - Elmhurst)
Mike Wilson (So - North Central)
Shaun Clements (Jr - Augustana)
Jon Nielson (So - Wheaton)
Coach of the Year: Scott Trost, Illinois Wesleyan
Freshman of the Year: Adam Dauksas, Illinois Wesleyan
Newcomer of the Year: Mike Wilson, North Central
Best Defensive Player: Bart Fabian, Carthage
Most Improved Player: Wayne Bosworth, Elmhurst
Most Outstanding Player: Joel Kolmodin, Wheaton
Titans earn title share
Victory qualifies Titans for NCAA Division III playoffs
By Randy Sharer
Pantagraph staff
BLOOMINGTON -- Senior Nights in the basketball world are by definition memorable for the participants.
Saturday night's overflow crowd of 3,000 at Shirk Center saw a Senior Night that was the definition of meaningful.
No. 14 nationally ranked Illinois Wesleyan clinched a conference title share as well as an NCAA playoff berth with a 73-65 win over Elmhurst in the final regular season game for both teams.
IWU, which earned its 15th NCAA Division III playoff berth since 1984, improved to 20-5 overall and 11-3 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin.
Augustana and Carthage also shared the title, but lost the playoff tie-breaker criteria. Playoff pairings will be announced at 8 o'clock tonight on the "NCAASports.com" Web site.
The title was IWU's first in five years and 25th since the league was formed in 1946-47. The 20-win campaign was the Titans' 15th in the last 38 years.
"This is unexplainable," said Titan senior Chris Silagi, voicing a recurring theme in the post-game jubilation. "We seven seniors got together before the season for dinner and talked this over that we were going to do it -- no excuses. We had the talent. We had to put trust in ourselves and go out and do it and here is the end result."
Elmhurst, which had beaten the Titans 74-72 Feb. 5, ended the season 11-14 and 6-8.
"I'm extremely excited," said IWU coach Scott Trost. "I'm proud of the guys. They fought hard all year in a great league. To be champion of this league is special. I couldn't be happier for the seven seniors."
Senior John Camardella led the way with 19 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in 34 acrobatic minutes.
Fellow seniors Seth Hubbard and Luke Kasten added 14 and 11 points, respectively, to go with 11 points from freshman Adam Dauksas.
"I thought Camardella played an outstanding game," said Elmhurst coach Mark Scherer. "We feel he's the engine of their team. When he's getting to the offensive glass, they're a team that can play with anybody. I thought Seth Hubbard had a good game as well. He's an unsung hero of their team. He's an outstanding team player and passer."
Among the biggest keys to the game was the ability of Silagi and Eric Starkey to hold Elmhurst star Wayne Bosworth to seven points. He scored 26 points in the first meeting and came in averaging 17.7. His 3-point field goal percentage of .528 ranks second nationally.
"Eric and Chris busted through screens all night," said Camardella, who watched Bosworth go 3 of 9 from the field and 1 of 7 from 3-point range. "That's a testament to their defense."
"We weren't going to give any help off of him," added Trost. "I thought Silagi and Starkey gave him no space. We didn't want to give him any good looks."
Adam Ackerman and Steven Holder led Elmhurst with 14 and 13 points, respectively.
A Hubbard hook shot broke a 13-13 tie and put IWU in the lead for good with 9:50 left in the first half. He scored eight points as the Titans took a 39-32 halftime lead.
The last of Camardella's 10 first-half points came on an offensive rebound at the buzzer after he fell hard trying to retrieve a miss moments earlier. He kept the crowd buzzing when his dunk gave IWU a 45-35 lead with 16:41 left to play.
A Camardella rebound basket and a Dauksas layup later pushed the gap to 52-37. Elmhurst closed to within 57-52 with 7:20 remaining, but a 7-0 surge earned IWU a 64-52 lead and some breathing room.
"I thought we executed better," Trost said. "John played huge. He's been there all year. What can you say? John's a winner."
Another 7-0 run capped by a Kasten 3-pointer gave IWU its biggest lead at 71-54 with 2:35 left. That gap gave Trost a chance to take out the seniors to thunderous applause down the stretch.
"I couldn't be happier," said Hubbard, who was 7 of 10 from the field and had six rebounds. "It was hard to focus after the Senior Night ceremony. We are coming together well for a good tournament run."
The Titans shot .452 from the field the first half and finished at .519 while Elmhurst shot .429.
"I wish Wayne Bosworth had made a few shots in the first half," said Scherer, whose star didn't score until 12:46 was left. "I think that would have helped us mentally. They double-teamed him coming off all the screens.
"I have to give them all the credit. They are a senior-laden team and those are the type of teams that win these games. When they needed a bucket they got one."
Titans set tone for season with early success
by Bryan Bloodworth, Pantagraph, 3/2/03
(Bryan Bloodworth is the sports editor of The Pantagraph. He can be reached via e-mail at bbloodworth@pantagraph.com)
The defining moment for this year's Illinois Wesleyan men's basketball team came in the season-opening tournament at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Ind.
The Titans defeated DePauw, 77-64, then turned back the host school, 78-64, in the championship contest.
"That was a big weekend for us," said second-year coach Scott Trost. "It got us all on the same page and it showed everybody we could trust and believe in each other. Trust is such a big issue and I'm not sure we had that last year."
Trost will be the first to admit that his first year at the helm wasn't the easiest. He inherited a veteran team that enjoyed success under legendary coach Dennie Bridges. That team finished with a very disappointing 12-12 record.
"It took me awhile to get to know the players and it took the players time to get to know me," added Trost. "I'm not sure we ever felt comfortable with each other last year. But I think last year prepared us for this year."
With virtually the same players, the Titans rebounded for a 20-5 record and earned the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin championship and an automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Comfort zone
"I feel much more comfortable this year," said Trost. "I feel I know the players. I know what motivates them and makes them tick. And they know where I'm coming from. When I came here, I tried to conform a little bit to the way they had done things.
"But ultimately I had to go home and look at myself and say 'is this me.' This year I've been myself. I'm much more at ease with myself and I'm much happier. It's a much better feeling than it was a year ago."
Probably the biggest change Trost made this year was at the offensive end of the court.
"The year before I got here they were so successful on offense, so I thought why should I change things," Trost continued. "That offense didn't work for me because I didn't have a knowledge of it. I could look at it on paper, but I couldn't teach it.
"I'm more of a motion offense guy. I like to have my guys coming off staggered screens and rely on more dribble penetration. There are a lot of ways to play basketball and I had to do something I felt comfortable in."
Trost knew it would be difficult to replace Bridges.
"When I took the job I said the hardest part would be replacing him," Trost continued. "I don't think you can ever be prepared for something like that until you go through it.
"It takes time for adjustment and I think we've weathered it and I look forward to many years here. It's a great job with a lot of positives. It's what I thought and more."
Trost has also seen a number of underclassmen, whom he didn't recruit, leave the program. This year's junior class, the last one recruited by Bridges, is down to Jim Lehan and John O'Brien.
"The guys who left the program did so because they wanted to play," said Trost. "I think they saw the handwriting on the wall, that they weren't going to play as much as they wanted to play.
'Good kids'
"That's fine. I harbor no ill feelings toward them. They are all good kids. We have a really good freshman class this year that's going to play. And they are going to play, not because they are my players, but because they are good."
Trost, who served as an assistant coach at the University of Michigan, said the biggest difference between Division I and III players is size and athleticism.
"From a coaching standpoint, the difference is you coach more here and you teach more here," added Trost. "From a skill standpoint, the guys can shoot the ball at this level as well as guys at the Division I level. They are just a half-step slower or might not be as big.
"We've got post players here who are just as skilled, if not more skilled, than we had at Michigan. They're just not 6-10 or 6-11. That's the biggest difference."
7:30pm - Illinois Wesleyan (19-5, 10-3) vs Elmhurst (11-13, 6-7)
2:00pm - Lady Titans (18-8, 11-3) vs Wheaton (19-6, 9-5)
| Radio Coverage (Men):
WJBC, AM-1230 - Bloomington, Listen Live (pregame, 7:05pm) Radio Coverage (Women): WESN, FM-88.1 - Bloomington, Illinois WETN, FM-88.1 - Wheaton, Illinois Listen Live on Net |
Pantagraph - "Titans Take Title Shot on Senior Night"
Pantagraph - "IWU to Meet Wheaton For Crown"
Men's Matchups:
| Illinois Wesleyan | Elmhurst | |
| Guard | Adam Dauksas (6'2/180, Freshman)
8.9 pts, 2.8 reb, 3.1 assists |
Garnett Kohler (5'10/155, Junior)
4.3 pts, 2.1 reb, 2.0 assists |
| Guard | Eric Starkey (6'2/185, Senior)
7.4 pts, 3.1 reb |
Wayne Bosworth (6'1/185, Junior)
17.7 pts, 4.3 reb, 74-143 3-pt (.517) |
| Forward | John Camardella (6'4/210, Senior)
13.6 pts, 7.2 reb, 116-196 FG (.592) |
Steven Holder (6'3/175,
Senior)
13.4 pts, 9.0 reb, 98-198 FG (.495) |
| Forward | Luke Kasten (6'7/215, Senior)
17.3 pts, 6.9 reb, 160-305 FG (.525) |
Gabe Kirstein (6'6/200, Junior)
6.3 pts, 2.8 reb, 13-31 3-pt (.419) |
| C/F | Seth Hubbard (6'7/220, Senior)
12.2 pts, 4.1 reb, 101-162 FG (.623) |
Adam Ackerman (6'3/195, Senior)
7.0 pts, 3.7 reb, 18-39 3-pt FG (.462) |
| Bench | Chris Silagi (6'2/190 Senior, G) - 8.6 pts, 2.4 reb
Marty Eich (6'7/215 Senior, F/C) - 3.6 pts, 2.9 reb Jim Lehan (5'11/165, Junior, G) - 2.8 pts, 1.3 assists Laban Cross (6/2, 185 Senior, G) |
Reuben Slock (6'6/200 Soph, F) - 10.1 pts, 3.8 reb
D.J. Cooper (6'0/160 Jr., G) - 2.7 pts, 2.2 assists Evan Arnold (6'3/180 Soph, F) - 3.7 pts, 2.7 reb |
Team Averages:
| Illinois Wesleyan | Elmhurst | |
| Points Scored Per Game | 77.5 |
70.0 |
| Points Allowed Per Game | 68.1 |
70.6 |
| Field Goal % | .503 |
.420 |
| Opponent's Field Goal % | .416 |
.340 |
| 3-point % | .389 |
.420 |
| Opponent's 3-point % | .316 |
.340 |
| Free Throw % | .739 |
.686 |
| Rebounds Per Game | 35.7 |
35.6 |
| Rebounds Allowed Per Game | 31.3 |
34.5 |
Women's Probable Starting Lineups:
| Illinois Wesleyan | Wheaton | |
| Guard | Elisa Ettner (5'7 Senior, Marengo
H.S.)
12.1 pts, 4.1 reb, 2.5 assists |
Sarah Clark (5'5 Junior, Madison,
Miss.)
7.8 pts, 3.6 reb, 4.0 assists |
| Guard | Hannah Meharry (5'5 Sophomore,
Tolono-Unity)
5.6 pts, 2.8 reb |
Claire Bennett (5'7 Junior, Harrison,
Ark.)
7.5 pts, 4.6 reb, 74-143 3-pt (.517) |
| Forward | Katie Cantrell (5'10 Senior, Normal
H.S.)
17.1 pts, 4.7 reb, 75-211 3-pt (.355) |
Jennifer Clum (5'10 Senior, Wheaton
Academy)
9.4 pts, 4.2 reb |
| Forward | Brooke Bailey (5'11 Junior, Byron
H.S.)
10.7 pts, 7.2 reb |
Caroline Nelson (6'0 Fresh, Fort Wayne, In.)
4.6 pts, 3.8 reb |
| Forward | Jessie Freiburg (5'11 Junior,
Quincy-N.D.)
6.3 pts, 5.5 reb, 58-114 FG (.509) |
Erin Wingerter (6'0 Soph, Avon, In.)
11.6 pts, 5.3 reb |
Titans survive Millikin
By Randy Sharer
Pantagraph staff
DECATUR -- The Illinois Wesleyan basketball team has discovered playing arch rival Millikin is like gazing into a cracked mirror -- it's hard to look pretty.
The Big Blue gave IWU, ranked 14th nationally by "D3hoops.com," fits before bowing to the Titans, 70-62, Wednesday night in front of 754 at Griswold Center Gymnasium.
IWU overcame a 58-52 deficit with 5:08 left to take a step closer to its first College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin title since 1997-98.
"I was embarrassed for awhile," said Titan forward Seth Hubbard, who scored a game-high 20 points. "We've got to improve a lot to get where we want to be. A championship team doesn't come out and play like that."
"We keep saying a win is a win, but at some point we've got to stop saying that," said Titan co-captain Luke Kasten, who scored 15 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.
Eric Starkey's 16 points and John Camardella's 10 helped the Titans improve to 19-5 overall and 10-3 in the league heading into Saturday's 7:30 p.m. regular-season finale against Elmhurst at home. A win Saturday will guarantee IWU an NCAA Division III playoff berth.
Millikin dropped its eighth straight game to fall to 7-17 and 2-11.
"We didn't execute very well, but when we did execute, we got some good looks," said IWU coach Scott Trost, whose team outshot Millikin from the field, .481 to .412. "We took too many threes. We settled for the three."
IWU was 4 of 20 from 3-point range (.200), well below its .398 season accuracy mark.
The ulcer-producing second half featured eight lead changes, the last of which saw a Hubbard layup off a Camardella assist put IWU on top, 61-60, with 1:42 left.
Hubbard, who was 7 of 9 from the field, kept the 9-0 run going with an inside hoop before Adam Dauksas added a free throw, Camardella two free throws and Hubbard two more charity tosses to make it 68-60 with 12 seconds left.
"Somehow we saved ourselves tonight," said Hubbard, whose 6-of-6 free throw accuracy was part of a 16-of-19 team effort. "I don't know what our problem was. We lost our minds and didn't get them back, but somehow found a way to win.
"We wanted to use this as a springboard into the playoffs and get some momentum. I thought we could have played a lot better."
IWU led at halftime, 29-28, despite committing 13 of its 16 turnovers.
"That's inexcusable," Trost said. "It's like a hot potato. When teams try to speed you up, you've got to slow down."
"It was a big game, obviously, and I think everyone had some nerves coming in," said Starkey, whose team was called for charging four times. "In the CCIW when you're on the road, it's hard to win no matter who you play."
Millikin could have done more with IWU's miscues. The Titans took a 20-12 lead into one three-minute, five-turnover stretch and came out the other end with a 24-17 advantage.
IWU won the battle of the boards, 35-27, with 15 rebounds coming on the offensive end.
"We played well on our initial defense, but we just couldn't finish the possession," said Millikin coach Tim Littrell.
Among the biggest offensive rebounds came when Kasten corralled a wayward Dauksas shot, put it back in and was fouled. His free throw pulled IWU within 58-55 with 4:45 left.
After two Hubbard free throws made it 58-57, Starkey hoisted an air ball which Camardella turned into an alley oop layup and a 59-58 IWU lead.
"I think I'd like to count that as a pass," quipped Starkey, who finished 7 of 11 from the field for his second highest scoring night of the year. "John was right there to pick it up. He made a great play."
During IWU's 18-4 surge to end the game, Millikin was 1 of 7 from the field. The six misses included two air balls and one Camardella blocked shot. The Big Blue also committed two of their 13 turnovers in the final 2:48.
"We've had trouble finishing games," said Littrell, whose team also forced IWU into an "ugly" 69-54 win Jan. 15. "I thought our kids played with a lot of heart and a lot of determination."
Jason Fisher led Millikin with 18 points and Phil Schneider added 13.
"(Senior Night) Saturday is going to be a great atmosphere," Starkey summarized. "We're playing for a CCIW championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. What more could you ask for in your last game?"
Carthage cools off Titans
By Randy Sharer
Pantagraph staff
KENOSHA, Wis. -- The bounces and breaks which had gone Illinois Wesleyan's way during a three-game basketball winning streak were kidnapped by Carthage Saturday night in front of 2,665 witnesses.
The No. 25-nationally ranked Redmen downed No. 13 IWU, 75-64, by outscoring their guests from 3-point range by 12 points at the Carthage P.E. Center.
Carthage kept its College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin title hopes alive while improving to 10-3 in the league and 18-6 overall. The Redmen, 10-1 at home this year, avenged a 64-62 loss at IWU Jan. 22.
IWU, which fell to 9-3 and 18-5, can still earn the league's automatic NCAA playoff berth by winning at Millikin Wednesday and at home against Elmhurst March 1.
It didn't take Titan coach Scott Trost long to cite the differences between this game and the earlier meeting with Carthage.
"We gave up second-chance points and missed free throws at critical times," he said after the Redmen collected 11 offensive rebounds to win the battle of the boards, 35-32. IWU was 11 of 16 at the line following its national record 35-of-36 performance Wednesday at North Park.
The Titans were led by Luke Kasten's 20 points, 11 of which came in the first half as IWU shot .467 from the field. It finished at .472 compared to Carthage at .423. Kasten fouled out with 4:10 left and his team trailing, 64-57.
"It was a big turning point when Kasten went out," said Carthage coach Bosko Djurickovic.
Kasten felt the home court advantage played a big part in tipping the statistical chart in Carthage's favor.
"Every team plays better at home with your fans behind you," he said. "We had a lot of great, loyal fans here to support us. They made some plays and knocked down their shots."
Reigning CCIW Fred Young Most Outstanding Player Antoine McDaniel and three-time first team all-star Rob Garnes each scored 25 points. In Bloomington they combined for 31.
McDaniel was 12 of 12 at the line and Garnes 9 of 13 as Carthage outscored IWU at the charity stripe, 24-11. Garnes had a game-high 15 rebounds including six offensive.
"McDaniel is probably the best player we've played against along with Joel Kolmodin of Wheaton," said IWU forward John Camardella, who had 10 points, a team-high nine rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block.
IWU's Seth Hubbard scored eight of his 16 points during a 3:23 span to give the Titans a 55-54 lead with 6:27 remaining. Tim Shorts followed with a 3-pointer to put Carthage ahead to stay.
"If these teams played 10 times, there might not be 10 points difference between them at the end," said Djurickovic, whose team has won six straight games. "There is a lot of parity there."
The Titans led most of the first half after Kasten's conventional three-point play put them ahead 9-7. Kasten's spin move in the paint gave IWU its biggest lead of the half at 21-15.
In the eight minutes before intermission, Carthage sank three 3-pointers, and the last by McDaniel gave the Redmen a 35-31 halftime edge. McDaniel scored 14 points the first 20 minutes.
"We tried to limit their touches," said IWU guard Eric Starkey of McDaniel and Garnes. "They can get their shots up."
Carthage stretched its advantage to 49-38 with help from two McDaniel free throws at the 16:47 mark after a technical foul was called against Trost while IWU had the ball. The Titans bounced back with a 7-0 run.
IWU played a zone defense, which gave Trost most of what he hoped for.
"It made them shoot shots they aren't comfortable shooting," he said. "I thought it was effective for us, but you've got to rebound out of it."
"We were trying to get the game moving faster and they were trying to get the game going slower," said Djurickovic, whose team was 7-of-22 from 3-point range compared to IWU at 3-of-16. "They did a good job of slowing us down. We've been a pretty good zone team.
Illinois Wesleyan (18-4, 9-2) @ Carthage (17-6, 9-3)
Saturday, February 22 - Kenosha, Wisconsin - 7:30pm
(Lady Titans vs Lady Reds, 5:15pm - playing for CCIW regular season championship)
| Radio Coverage (Men):
WJBC, AM-1230 - Bloomington, Listen Live (pregame, 7:05pm) WRJN, AM-1400 - Racine, Wi., Listen Live Radio Coverage (Women): WGTD, FM-91.1 - Kenosha, Wi., Listen Live |
Pantagraph - "IWU in CCIW driver's seat"
Pantagraph - "IWU women in CCIW title showdown"
Matchups:
| Illinois Wesleyan | Carthage | |
| Guard | Adam Dauksas (6'2/180, Freshman)
9.3 pts, 3.0 reb, 3.3 assists |
Antoine McDaniel (6'2/179, Senior)
17.8 pts, 2.9 reb, 2.7 assists |
| Guard | Eric Starkey (6'2/185, Senior)
7.1 pts, 3.2 reb |
Bart Fabian (6'2/182, Senior)
6.9 pts, 2.8 reb |
| Forward | John Camardella (6'4/210, Senior)
14.0 pts, 7.2 reb, 110-185 (.595) FG |
Rob Garnes (6'4/205, Senior)
16.3 pts, 7.6 reb, 152-278 (.547) FG |
| Forward | Luke Kasten (6'7/215, Senior)
17.3 pts, 7.0 reb, 147-27985-171 (.527) FG |
Kevin Menard (6'6/210, Sophomore)
7.4 pts, 3.4 reb, 24-60 (.400) 3-pt |
| Center | Seth Hubbard (6'7/220, Senior)
11.7 pts, 4.2 reb, 87-144 (.604) FG |
Theo Powell (6'7/225, Junior)
13.5 pts, 7.4 reb, 117-190 (.616) FG |
| Bench | Chris Silagi (6'2/190 Senior, G) - 9.3 pts, 2.4 reb
Marty Eich (6'7/215 Senior, F/C) - 3.7 pts, 2.9 reb Jim Lehan (5'11/165, Junior, G) - 2.7 pts, 1.3 assists Laban Cross (6/2, 185 Senior, G) |
Ryan Hargesheimer (6'7/195 Jr, F)- 3.7 pts, 1.8 reb
Johnny Meier (5'11/175 Soph, G) - 1.7 pts Mark Morrison (6'6/205 Fr, F) - 2.7 pts, 1.3 reb Tim Shorts (6'1/160 Sr, G) - 2.1 pts |
Team Averages:
| Illinois Wesleyan | Carthage | |
| Points Scored Per Game | 78.5 |
74.8 |
| Points Allowed Per Game | 68.1 |
62.1 |
| Field Goal % | .505 |
.503 |
| Opponent's Field Goal % | .416 |
.437 |
| 3-point % | .406 |
.397 |
| Opponent's 3-point % | .312 |
.358 |
| Free Throw % | .737 |
.645 |
| Rebounds Per Game | 35.9 |
33.5 |
| Rebounds Allowed Per Game | 31.3 |
29.0 |
Titans Pull Off Miracle Comeback at North Park, Set New Division III Free Throw Record
by Bob Quillman
Boxscore with full play-by-play
CHICAGO — Behind a record setting free throw performance, No. 13 Illinois Wesleyan rallied from 20 back with 8:33 to play to defeat North Park in double overtime. The Titans maintained their slim half-game lead in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin race, improving to 9-2 (18-4 overall) in the league. IWU is two wins away from clinching the CCIW’s automatic bid to the tournament. North Park fell to 2-9, and 12-10 overall.
Illinois Wesleyan set a Division III record for free throw percentage in a game (minimum 30 made), by connecting on 35 of 36 attempts from the charity stripe, 97.2%. The previous mark was 97.1% by Rochester Tech (34 of 35), in a Feb. 16, 1980, contest versus RPI.
North Park, which started the season 9-1 before losing their first seven CCIW games, dominated the first half. The Vikings led 23-9 at the 10:17 mark in the opening stanza, and held a commanding 48-26 advantage at halftime. Seniors Sneed Deaderick and Irving Richardson paced North Park, each scoring 11 points in the half. Illinois Wesleyan was held to 25.8% from the field, as the Titans connected on just 6 of 24 attempts. North Park was 17-for-31 (54.8%) in the first half. IWU senior Chris Silagi led the Titans with eight points.
It was more of the same for the first 11 minutes of the second half. The Titans were able to cut it to 16 at the 17:15 and 16:04 marks, but two Richardson free throws pushed the Viking lead back up to 20 points, 65-45, with 8:33 to play in the game.
That’s when Illinois Wesleyan began its furious charge.
A Jim Lehan 3-pointer cut the lead to 12 with 6:49 on the clock, and Adam Dauksas pulled the Titans to within single digits, 71-62, with a long one at 4:50. Illinois Wesleyan then went on a 10-2 run -- 8 points coming from senior John Camardella -- to pull within a point, 73-72, with 2:01 to play.
After missed shots on both ends, Titan senior Luke Kasten was fouled, and made two free throws to give IWU its first lead of the game, 74-73, with 39 seconds remaining. Camardella nudged the Titan lead to two with a free throw at the 0:20 mark, but missed the second offering –- IWU’s only missed free throw of the evening. On the ensuing possession, North Park went to Deaderick, who was fouled with 16 seconds to play. He made both free throws to knot it at 75. IWU missed a shot at the buzzer, sending the game into overtime.
There was just as much drama in overtime, as Illinois Wesleyan erased an 86-82 North Park lead with 1:17 to play and tied it at 86 at the :54 mark. Richardson was fouled with 13 seconds to play, and calmly made both free throws to put North Park up two. Dauksas, a freshman, went coast to coast for the Titans and laid it in, however, sending the game to double overtime at 88 apiece.
North Park gained a 95-90 advantage in the second overtime, but the Titans still wouldn’t go away. Dauksas made a 3-pointer, and after a Deaderick bucket put the Vikings back up four, he scored again. IWU trailed 97-95 with 58 seconds left. Deaderick then lost the ball out of bounds near halfcourt, giving the ball to the Titans.
After a timeout, Kasten found fellow senior Eric Starkey on the right baseline, 17 feet from the basket. Starkey penetrated and scored, and was fouled. The free throw put IWU up 98-97 with just five seconds left. Deaderick missed a long 3-point shot at the buzzer.
Illinois Wesleyan shot 21-for-33 (63.6%) from the field in the second half and overtime combined, finishing at 47.4% for the game. North Park shot 13-for-32 (40.6%) after the first half to finish 47.6% from the field.
Irving Richardson scored 31 points and pulled down nine rebounds for the Vikings. Sneed Deaderick tallied 26 points, three rebounds, and four assists. Javier Sanchez also had a strong game for North Park, with 13 points and seven rebounds.
Four seniors scored 15 or more points for Illinois Wesleyan -- Chris Silagi (19), John Camardella (19), Seth Hubbard (15), and Luke Kasten (15). Adam Dauksas finished with 17 points in his first game at North Park. Camardella pulled down 10 rebounds for the Titans, and Eric Starkey dished out six assists. Hubbard (9-for-9) and Kasten (7-for-7) led the way at the foul line.
IWU travels to Kenosha, Wis., on Saturday to face No. 25 Carthage (9-3, 17-6) in a pivotal CCIW contest. The Titans’ final two games are a road contest versus Millikin (2-9, 7-15) Wednesday, and a home date with Elmhurst (5-6, 10-12) on Saturday, March 1. North Park travels to North Central (2-9, 6-16) and Elmhurst before wrapping up the season by hosting Augustana (9-3, 18-5).
Titan fans, below are two posts I made in CCIW Chat today. An absolutely amazing and courageous performance by the Titans last night!
- Bob
By Titan Q (chcgil2-ar7-4-42-041-111.chcgil2.dsl-verizon.net - 4.42.41.111) on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 01:24 pm:
"I am honestly not sure what to say. That was simply one of the most amazing college basketball game I’ve ever seen. The Titans had to pull off about 3 near miracles to win that game – 1) Coming back from 20 down with 8:32 to play, 2) Coming back from down 4 with 1:17 to play in the first overtime, and 3) Coming back from down 4 with 1:59 left in double overtime.
And, 35 of 36 from the free throw line????? Absolutely amazing.
As I must have said 10 times on the radio, you have to give all the credit in the world to North Park. They came into that game 2-8, with absolutely nothing but pride on the line. They played as hard, and as well, as a team could possibly play. And even when IWU made the 30-10 run in the final 8:32, they did not give up. They kept hitting big shot after big shot in both overtimes.
Deaderick and Richardson were incredible. How North Park is 2-8 with those guys is beyond me. Javier Sanchez was also great, as was really the whole Viking rotation.
What the Titans did last night is beyond words. That was a senior-led team that absolutely just refused to lose. Talk about being hungry for a CCIW title.
I have seen more than 250 Titan games over the course of the last 14 years, and I just can’t think of a more thrilling game. It was incredible.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Titan Q (chcgil2-ar7-4-42-041-111.chcgil2.dsl-verizon.net - 4.42.41.111) on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 01:49 pm:
Here is the boxscore, with the full play-by-play.
IWU's point production during "the comeback" (the 30-10 run in the final 8:32 of regulation):
John Camardella: 11
Adam Dauksas: 5
Luke Kasten: 4
Jim Lehan: 3
Chris Silagi: 3
Eric Starkey: 2
Seth Hubbard: 2
And here is IWU's OT/2OT scoring:
Dauksas: 9
Silagi: 5
Starkey: 3
Hubbard: 2
Lehan: 2
Kasten: 2
Adam Dauksas scored 14 of his 17 points in crunch time. He went coast to coast and scored with :06 left just to get the game into double OT.
The great thing is that you cannot pick just one hero for the Titans last night. In addition to what freshman Adam Dauksas did --
* John Camardella, a warrior, led the comeback. The best example you'll ever see of why John is such a tremendous leader.
* Jimmy Lehan hit a huge 3 during the run to make it a 12 point game, and then knocked down two clutch free throws at the end of the 1st OT.
* Chris Silagi scores 5 of IWU's 13 points in OT #1.
* Luke Kasten hits a turnaround jumpshot to get IWU on the board in the second OT, and pulls down 3 big rebounds from the 8:32 mark in regulation on.
* Seth Hubbard scores with 1:03 to play in the first OT, to cut into North Park's 4 point lead.
* Eric Starkey makes the game winner.
Nothing foul about Titan win
IWU sinks 35 of 36 free throws, rallies to win two-OT thriller
By Randy Sharer
Pantagraph staff
CHICAGO -- The miracle that was Illinois Wesleyan's 98-97 double-overtime victory against North Park Wednesday night was actually made up of several mini-miracles.
Exactly which one was the most important is hard to say, but each was necessary and created an electric atmosphere as a half-IWU crowd of 1,111 looked on.
Among the miracles was IWU's 30-10 run to overcome a 65-45 deficit with 8:32 left in regulation. Another was the Titans' 35-of-36 free throw accuracy (.972) after shooting .717 for the season.
"Thank God it happened tonight," said a drained IWU coach Scott Trost while sitting on the floor outside the locker room. "We had to have them. It says a lot about our character."
The last bit of good fortune was Eric Starkey's conventional three-point play with 5.4 seconds left in the second overtime to end the scoring. His driving shot from 4-feet came on a broken play.
"We just wanted to get the ball to the rim," Trost said. "We wanted to get an inside touch, and they took that away. Eric made a great play. That wasn't drawn up that way."
"I had no idea there were only five seconds left," said Starkey, who had a team-high six assists to go with five points. "Luke (Kasten) passed me the ball. He made a great pass."
Preceding all the post-intermission wonders was probably the worst half IWU has played this season as it fell behind 48-26 while shooting 25 percent from the field and committing 11 of its 20 turnovers.
"I didn't recognize that team," Trost said. "North Park really pestered us. We dropped balls and missed layups. We stood around and were indecisive. I give North Park a lot of credit for that. We've got to be more composed."
The great escape helped No. 13-nationally ranked IWU improve to 18-4 overall and 9-2 alone atop the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin heading to Carthage Saturday. The Titans' all-time CCIW record at North Park improved to 22-19.
North Park fell to 12-10 and 2-9 with its second loss of the season to IWU, which has won 21 of the last 25 meetings between the teams. The Vikings have led at halftime in nine league games this year.
"It was the worst half I've been a part of in four years of college," said IWU co-captain John Camardella, who challenged his teammates at halftime.
They responded while shooting 58.3 percent from the field the second half and making 7 of 9 shots in overtime to finish at 47.4 percent compared to North Park's 47.6 percent.
IWU's performance fell in the category of a complete team effort as five players scored 15 or more points. Camardella and Chris Silagi each had 19 followed by Adam Dauksas with 17, Kasten with 15 and Seth Hubbard with 15.
Camardella also had 10 rebounds, four blocks and two assists before fouling out with 2:00 left in the second overtime. Silagi was 5-of-10 from 3-point range.
"Everybody stepped up and made plays," Trost said. "It wasn't one person."
The tool the Titans used to dig out of its 20-point hole the final 8:32 of regulation was a full-court press, which they rarely use.
"It's amazing," Trost said. "We did something that we haven't worked on. We just had to run and jump a little bit and trap the ball. It worked. I think it forced them to speed up. I give our kids credit for adjusting like that."
IWU, which fell behind 9-0 to open the game, never led until Kasten sank two free throws with 45 seconds left in regulation to make it 74-73. The Titans could have won it in regulation, but Camardella could only make one of two free throws with :28 to go.
That left the door open for Sneed Deaderick, who finished with 26 points, to make two free throws with :16.3 left to tie it at 75 and force overtime.
IWU never led in the first overtime and needed a layup by the freshman Dauksas with :04.9 showing to force a second extra period.
IWU was trailing by five in the second overtime when Dauksas drained a 3-pointer to pull his team within 95-93 with 1:40 left. Deaderick made it 97-93 before another Dauksas layup resuscitated IWU with :58 remaining.
"The team surrounded each other and just go it done," Camardella said.
North Park set the stage for Starkey's game-winner with an unforced over-and-back violation with :30.1 left. North Park's final shot was a missed 15-footer by Deaderick.
Irving Richardson led the Vikings with 31 points and Javier Sanchez added 13.
"Wesleyan was pretty lucky tonight," said North Park coach Rees Johnson, whose team made 30 of 41 free throws (.732). "They made a lot of free throws."
Johnson didn't fault his team's effort nor could he blame the loss on too much halftime confidence.
"They knew what they had to do," he said. "They just didn't get it done in the second half."
Wheaton snowed under by Kasten, No. 15 Titans
By Randy Sharer
Pantagraph staff
BLOOMINGTON -- The Wheaton College basketball team can relate to the snow shovelers among us whose driveway, once cleared, is soon sealed shut by the snow plow.
The Thunder dug themselves out of trouble several times at Shirk Center Saturday night only to be denied by Illinois Wesleyan during an 80-75 Titan triumph.
The No. 15 nationally ranked Titans improved to 17-4 overall and 8-2 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin in front of 2,000 fans on hand despite an eight-inch snowfall.
No. 24-ranked Wheaton's second loss of the year to IWU dropped it to 16-5 and 7-3. The Thunder have lost 22 of their last 24 games in Bloomington. The outcome combined with Augustana's loss to Carthage left IWU alone atop the CCIW with four games remaining.
"We control our own destiny," said IWU coach Scott Trost, whose team is pursuing its first CCIW title since 1997-98. "If we win the games we're supposed to win, we'll be in great shape. We've got to get on the road and win some games."
Wheaton played without head coach Bill Harris, who accidently severed a fingertip at 10 o'clock Friday night while closing his garage door. He underwent surgery at 3 a.m. to have the tip of his right ring finger reattached. Filling in for Harris was assistant coach Paul Ferguson.
"I thought it might be a rallying point for them," Trost said. "I feel bad for Bill. He is the ultimate professional."
"The key thing for our guys is to trust their preparation and I think they did that tonight," Ferguson said. "Our guys were ready to play. Our guys rallied. Give all the credit in the world to Illinois Wesleyan. They are a good basketball team."
IWU wasn't at full strength either after Eric Starkey sprained his ankle with 13:52 left in the first half.
"Eric's our best perimeter defender," Trost said. "I don't know the extent of his injury."
The Titans were led by Luke Kasten, who sank 12 of 19 shots from the field on his way to a season-high 28 points. John Camardella added 21 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Chris Silagi had 12 points.
"Wheaton is a great ballclub," Kasten said. "They are out there to win. It was about time we came out and put together 40 minutes of basketball. We've been lackadaisical the second half of our last few games."
Wheaton was led by 6-foot-8 Joel Kolmodin, a five-time CCIW player of the week, who had 27 points and 10 rebounds. Teammate Nate Collard added 21 points. CCIW assist leader Jon Nielson had two assists and 10 points.
"I'm proud of our guys," Trost said. "Our seniors stepped up. They all made some plays."
Among the things Trost was happy about was his team's turnover total of 12, which was 13 less than in Wednesday's win over North Central.
"I told the guys before the game 'we can't turn the ball over,'" he said. "We needed to get back to defending the way we're capable of. I thought we did a decent job."
Camardella and Kasten each scored 14 points the first half as IWU shot 64 percent from the field. The Titans finished at 59.6 percent compared to Wheaton at 47.5 percent. The Thunder really stubbed their toes at the free throw line, missing 7 of 17 attempts for 45.0 percent.
The Titans expanded on a 45-44 advantage with 10-2 run, which included six points from Kasten to make it 55-46 with 14:30 left. The gap grew to 69-58 following a Kasten 15-foot jump shot with 5:00 to go, but Wheaton answered with a 7-0 run.
A 3-pointer by Nielson with 2:00 left pulled Wheaton within 72-70, but IWU made all eight of its free throws the final 1:38 to seal the win.
"We always have trouble matching up with them," Ferguson said. "We match up better with Augustana and Carthage. Their inside combination of (Seth) Hubbard and Kasten is hard for us to guard."
IWU sank seven of its first eight shots to take at 16-11 lead, but Wheaton's Collard nailed three consecutive 3-pointers to put the Thunder on top, 20-16.
The teams played to a 27-27 draw with 6:31 left before intermission. Camardella ignited a 15-9 run to the halftime buzzer. Marty Eich's rebound basket narrowly beat that buzzer to give IWU a 42-36 advantage.
IWU returns to action at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday against North Park at Chicago in the first of three straight road games.
Illinois Wesleyan and Wheaton Square Off in Another Big One
by Bob Quillman, 2/14/03
Saturday's meeting between 7-2 (16-4) Illinois Wesleyan and 7-2 (16-4) Wheaton in Bloomington will certainly not be the first time these two programs have hooked up in a game with CCIW championship implications. The Titans and Thunder (formerly "Crusaders") have been the cream of the CCIW crop over the course of the last decade, combining for 6 league titles in the 10 seasons since 1993.
Last 10 Years (1992-93...2001-02)
| School | CCIW Record | Winning Percentage |
| Illinois Wesleyan | 106-34 |
.757 |
| Wheaton | 88-52 |
.629 |
| Augustana | 79-61 |
.564 |
| Elmhurst | 73-67 |
.521 |
| Carthage | 70-70 |
.500 |
| Millikin | 57-83 |
.407 |
| North Park | 48-92 |
.343 |
| North Central | 39-101 |
.279 |
Probably the game all Titans fans remember is the January 14, 1996 contest at the Shirk Center. Both teams came in 12-0 on the season. Wheaton was ranked #1 in the country and IWU #2. The Crusaders, led by Jason Senik, Matt Nadlehoffer, and Wesley Pitts, led the Titans 67-65 in the closing seconds, with IWU on the free throw line. The Titans made the first free throw, but missed the second. Somehow point-guard Brady Knight got the long rebound and found All-American Chris Simich open under the basket for a reverse layup. IWU won 68-67, in what was one of the best games played in the 8+ season history of the Shirk Center.
Illinois Wesleyan/Wheaton games are always hard-fought and exciting. Tomorrow's should be no exception.
Crunch Time in CCIW Race
Augustana is the third team tied for the league lead in the loss column, with an 8-2 mark coming into this weekend's play. The Vikings are probably in the best position at this point however, with three home games remaining, and a road contest at last place North Park. Augustana owns a sparkling 19-1 record at the Carver Center over the course of the last two seasons.
So with absolutely no margin for error in the 2003 CCIW title race, it is obvious that Saturday's contest at the Shirk Center is very important for both teams.
"For us, this game is big because it is at home," said Wesleyan head coach Scott Trost. "You have to defend homecourt -- it is very hard to win on the road in this league."
IWU won the first meeting, in Wheaton, 62-55 behind 16 points from Seth Hubbard and 10 from Luke Kasten. The Titans led by 9 and halftime and by as many as 15 in the second half.
Seniors Lead the Way for Titans
The Titans feature the best frontcourt in the CCIW, with 6-4 senior John Camardella (13.3 points, 7.1 rebounds), 6-7 senior Luke Kasten (16.9 points, 7.0 rebounds), and 6-7 senior Seth Hubbard (11.7 points, 4.4 rebounds) anchoring their attack. The trio is shooting 308-549 from the field on the season - an impressive 56.1%.
Camardella missed IWU's game against North Central Wednesday, due to a severe case of the flu. He is expected to play Saturday, but the Titan skipper is worried about his co-captain's condition. "With as sick as John was, you worry about his stamina…so we'll see. John is a warrior and will give us everything he has," said Trost.
Trost points to the overall efforts of Seth Hubbard as a big reason for Illinois Wesleyan's success this season. "Seth has been solid for us all year long," said Trost. "He gives us the low post presence we need, he is a great passer, and he is just the consummate team player."
6-3 freshman Adam Dauksas, IWU's starting point-guard, leads the team in assists, with 70 on the season. Dauksas scores 9.2 points per game, behind 33-74 (.446) shooting from 3-point range. Eric Starkey is the other Titan starting guard. Starkey, a senior from Milford, will once again draw the defensive assignment on Wheaton sharp-shooter Nate Collord. Starkey held Collord to 5 points, on 1-9 shooting from the field in the January 18 contest in Wheaton.
Senior Chris Silagi averages 8.7 points off the bench for the Titans. On the season, Silagi is 31-73 (.425) from beyond the arc. 6-7 senior Marty Eich averages almost 13 minutes per game in relief of Kasten and Hubbard, contributing 4.0 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. Junior Jim Lehan backs up Dauksas at the point, and senior Laban Cross can play a guard or small forward spot.
Scott Trosts says it is possible that 6-6 freshman Keelan Amelianovich will to join the Titan rotation down the stretch. "Keelan has been working hard, and has prepared himself in the event we need him," said Trost. "I have all the confidence in the world in Keelan.." Amelianovich saw early action against North Central on Wednesday, knocking down an open three from the left wing.
Inside/Oustide Combo Paces Thunder
Wheaton travels to the Shirk Center, with two very dangerous weapons in particular - 6-8, 230 pound junior Joel Kolmodin (Borculo, Michigan) and 5-10 senior guard Nate Collord. Kolmodin looks to be running away with the 2003 CCIW "Most Outstanding Player" award, averaging 23.4 points and 10.5 rebounds on the year. In Wheaton's 9 league games, Kolmodin is averaging 23.7 points and an amazing 12.6 rebounds per contest. Those numbers are even more impressive, considering Kolmodin had to sit out almost all of last season with knee problems. He has now had 5 knee operations for torn cartilage since his junior year in high school. Kolmodin was the subject of a D3Hoops.com feature story this week.
"Joel is one of the elite players in the CCIW," Trost said. "He is very difficult to defend, because he can beat you down low and also score from outside." Kolmodin has shot 75 3-point field goals this season, making 29 (.387).
Trost knows his squad won't be able to shut Kolmodin down, but he says they have to do a good job on him. "We just have to put pressure on him and not let him go off for 30." Illinois Wesleyan held Kolmodin to 17 points in the first meeting. With Hubbard guarding him, he was 6-19 from the field.
Collord is the all-time leader in 3-point field goals made in Wheaton College history. This season he has connected on 57 of 122 attempts from long-range - 46.7%. Collord averages 13.4 points and 2.8 rebounds per contest.
"We cannot give Collord good looks," said Trost. "He is a great shooter…we have to make him put it on the floor."
6-0 sophomore guard Jon Nielson (Wheaton Academy), 6-3 sophomore forward Martin Trimiew (Tenn. - Chattanooga Christian), and 6-5 junior forward Will Landry (N.Y. - Arlington H.S.) round out the Thunder starting lineup. Nielson leads the team in assists, averaging 4.0 per game. Trimiew, possessing a vertical leap that matches the likes of Rob Garnes and John Camardella, is very active on the boards. Landry is coming off a 14 point, 15 rebound performace in a win Tuesday over Millikin.
IWU Keys
Scott Trost says there are two keys to a Titan victory Saturday. "We have to play outstanding defense against Wheaton, without letting them get to the (free throw) line a ton of times," he explained. "Second, we cannot turn the ball over. We have been very sloppy with the ball lately." IWU committed 25 turnovers vs North Central, 21 at Augustana, and 15 at Elmhurst.
The JV game starts at 5:15pm, and the varsity at 7:30. A combination of ice and snow is expected in the Bloomington-Normal area Friday evening and Saturday morning, so travelers will want to budget plenty of time.
IWU's tale of two halves ends well
By Randy Sharer
Pantagraph staff
BLOOMINGTON -- The Illinois Wesleyan basketball team wanted to give the 1,900 at Shirk Center Wednesday night two things: 40 minutes of quality play and a victory.
The Titans made good on the latter, but they may have given their followers a stomach ache worse than the one which sidelined co-captain John Camardella when they allowed a 30-point halftime lead to shrink to four.
No. 15-nationally ranked IWU stopped the bleeding in time to secure an 81-67 win over North Central.
"I'm never going to apologize for a victory," said Titan coach Scott Trost, whose team won its seventh consecutive home game to improve to 16-4 overall and 7-2 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin.
"It definitely feels like a win," said IWU co-captain Luke Kasten, who had 20 points on 8-of-8 shooting from the field to go with three blocks, three assists and two steals. "In the CCIW, I'm not going to be picky about wins. I'm going to take wins any way I can get them.
"Am I proud of this win? No. It was a disappointing effort in the second half. Every game is going to be a dogfight from here on out."
The Titans offset their second half swoon with an unbelievable first half. They sank 13 of their first 15 shots while zooming to a 36-8 lead with 8:03 left in the half.
IWU shot 72.7 percent (16 of 22) from the field in the first half to take a 49-19 lead while North Central stumbled to 14.3 percent.
"I think we started counting our chickens before they were hatched," said IWU guard Chris Silagi, who started in place of Camardella and scored 18 points thanks to 5-of-6 3-point accuracy.
In the second half, it was North Central's chance to be unbelievable as it made a 27-3 run to pull within 52-46 with 13:10 remaining.
The Cardinals' trapping press squeezed 15 second-half turnovers out of the Titans, who finished with a season-high 25. Those extra possessions helped North Central take 26 more shots than its host.
"They turned the pressure up the second half," Trost said. "We didn't execute against it. We've got to work against pressure defenses (in practice). They forced us to do some things we can't do."
North Central forces 4.5 more turnovers than it commits to lead the CCIW.
"Not too many teams in our conference play like we do," said Cardinal coach Benjy Taylor, whose squad fell to 6-15 and 2-8 with its fifth consecutive loss. "I thought in the first half we were feeling sorry for ourselves."
Taylor found out at noon that his leading scorer, Mike Wilson (18.8 ppg), wouldn't play because of a hip injury.
"It had a big affect on us," said North Central senior Ricky Hildreth, a University High School graduate who posted six points and four steals in his third start. "Mike is one of our emotional leaders."
IWU could have used Camardella as well.
"Anytime you lose an emotional leader on the floor, you take a hit. Everybody on the team has to rise to the occasion," said Kasten, who was joined in double figures by Adam Dauksas with 13 points and Eric Starkey with 11.
The Titans shot 50 percent the second half to finish at 63.9 percent compared to North Central, which warmed up to 55.9 percent the second half and finished at 37.1 percent.
"We should have been expecting a run and they made a good one at us," Silagi said. "That's a lesson to be learned. We can't let that happen again."
After North Central pulled within 60-56 with 7:12 left, IWU made a 7-0 surge as a Silagi 3-pointer was sandwiched between a Starkey layup off a Kasten assist and two Starkey free throws. The gap was never below eight the rest of the way.
"We did get a little tired," said Hildreth, whose team made 2 of 8 shots the final 2:52. "We dug too big of a hole the first half."
Dauksas' six rebounds led IWU to a 34-30 advantage on the glass. Starkey had a team-high five assists.
Steve Gilbert led North Central with 12 points. Ray Vicario added 11 and Monte Williams 10.
Carstens, Augustana top Titans
By Randy Sharer
Pantagraph staff
ROCK ISLAND -- Guarding Augustana College basketball star Drew Carstens can be like guarding a phantom.
At Carver Center Saturday night, the 6-foot-2 junior was sometimes in two places at once or merely a vapor trail from the spot he just left on his way to scoring 28 points in an 80-75 victory over Illinois Wesleyan.
No. 5-nationally ranked IWU fell to 15-4 overall and 6-2 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. It was the Titans' fourth consecutive loss in Rock Island. Augustana improved to 16-4 and 7-2 as its largest crowd of the year, 2,750, looked on.
Wheaton's loss to North Park created a three-way tie for the league lead in the loss column between Wheaton, IWU and Augustana.
Carstens, who scored 16 points in a 66-62 loss at IWU Jan. 11, converted 13 of 16 free throws to go with 6 of 13 shots from the field.
"Drew is a good player," said IWU coach Scott Trost. "He's going to get his shots. He's hard to defend when he puts his shoulder down and forces his way to the glass."
"He's really active," said Augustana coach Grey Giovanine of Carstens, who averages 17.6 points. "I think a guy who can shoot the ball and is quick going to the hole is a hard guy to guard."
Complementing Carstens was Shaun Clements, who poured in 25 points, 18 more than in the January war with IWU when he was hampered by foul trouble.
"We knew he was a good player," Trost said. "He made some tough shots."
Augustana's press coaxed IWU into 21 turnovers and, more importantly, upped the game's tempo.
"We had a press-breaker and they got us in the corner," Trost said. "I didn't think we were strong with the ball and the opposite guy is supposed to break to the middle and they didn't break to the middle.
"It forced us into turnovers. We knew it was coming. We didn't execute against their press."
Giovanine was hoping his press would make IWU press.
"We want to play fast," he said. "We want to play in the open court. Our press, in one juncture, turned the game."
Luke Kasten scored 17 points to lead IWU followed by Seth Hubbard with 16, Chris Silagi with 11 and Adam Dauksas with 10. John Camardella's eight rebounds paced IWU to a 36-25 advantage on the glass.
The game was tied at 60 with 5:38 to go, but then Augie made seven of eight free throws to go up 67-60. The Titans never cut the gap below five the rest of the way.
The Vikings made 14 of 21 free throws the final 5:38 and finished at 26 of 38, outscoring IWU at the line by nine.
"I didn't think we executed very well," Trost said. "Our whole thought process is to get the ball inside. We didn't get it inside. I can't get any more point blank than that."
Hubbard, the CCIW field goal percentage leader at .584, scored 11 of his 16 points the first half as the Titans shot 41.7 percent from the field. They finished at 51 percent compared to 49 percent for the Vikings.
Augustana went up 7-1 before the Titans came alive with a 13-0 run, which included seven unanswered points by Camaradella. IWU then suffered through a scoreless 5:20 stretch as the hosts went up 15-14.
The final 8:37 of the first half ended with four lead changes and three ties, the last of which sent the teams into the locker room knotted at 30 apiece.
Augie broke from the gate in the second half with an 11-7 push. Baskets by Marty Eich and Kasten tied the contest at 41 with 14:00 left.
The see-saw battle tipped in the Vikings' favor when Joe Baumann's 3-pointer sparked an 11-4 surge, but IWU had an 8-0 answer -- which included six points by Silagi -- to tie it at 60 with 5:38 left.
"The press quickened the game and we have great confidence in our depth," Giovanine said. "We had hoped to get into their legs a little bit. Kasten and Hubbard played big minutes. You hoped that that might factor in late."
Illinois Wesleyan (15-3, 6-1) @ Augustana (15-4, 6-2)
Saturday, February 8 - Rock Island, Illinois - 7:30pm (JV game, 5:15pm)
| Radio Coverage:
WJBC, AM-1230 - Bloomington, Listen Live |
Matchups:
| Illinois Wesleyan | Augustana | |
| Guard | Adam Dauksas
(6'2/180, Fresh., H-F H.S.) 8.9 pts, 2.9 reb, 3.6 assists |
Jim Thomas
(5'10/180, Junior, Wheaton North H.S.) 7.9 pts, 3.3 reb, 3.7 assists |
| Guard | Eric Starkey
(6'2/185, Senior, Milford H.S.) 7.4 pts, 3.6 reb |
Drew Carstens
(6'2/190, Junior, Downers Grove North) 17.6 pts, 3.2 reb, 99-132 (.750) FT |
| Forward | John Camardella
(6'4/210, Senior, Arlington Hts - Hersey H.S.) 13.6 pts, 7.0 reb, 31-67 (.463) 3-pt |
Joe Baumann
(6'4/175, Soph., Chicago - Carmel H.S.) 6.6 pts, 2.2 reb, 42-85 (.494) FG |
| Forward | Luke Kasten
(6'7/215, Senior, Hillsboro H.S.) 16.3 pts, 6.3 reb, 95-194 (.490) FG |
Brad Novak
(6'6/235, Junior, Rock Island H.S.) 8.0 pts, 5.6 reb |
| Center | Seth Hubbard
(6'7/220, Senior, Normal - U High) 11.7 pts, 4.3 reb, 73-117 (.624) FG |
Shawn Clements
(6'6/220, Junior, Lake Zurich H.S) 13.2 pts, 6.7 reb, 101-178 (.567) FG |
| Bench | Chris Silagi (6'2/190 Senior, G) - 8.1 pts
Marty Eich (6'7/215 Senior, F/C) - 4.4 pts, 3.3 reb Jim Lehan (5'11/165, Junior, G) - 2.6 pts, 1.3 assists Laban Cross (6'2, Senior, G)
|
Mike Nee (6'3/200 Senior, F) - 3.4 pts, 1.6
reb
Bill Goehrke (6'6/230 Junior, C) - 4.9 pts, 5.5 reb Adam Rue (6'10/245 Senior, C) - 2.5 pts, 3.8 reb Jay McAdams-Thorton (6'3/225 Fresh, F) - 6.1 pts Rick Harrigan (6'3/220 Fresh, G) - 8.0 pts, 2.0 reb Brian Allured (5'10/168 Soph, G) - 5.9 pts, 1.2 reb
|
Team Averages:
| Illinois Wesleyan | Augustana | |
| Points Scored Per Game | 77.3 |
79.2 |
| Points Allowed Per Game | 65.5 |
66.5 |
| Field Goal % | .498 |
.472 |
| Opponent's Field Goal % | .408 |
.393 |
| 3-point % | .395 |
.360 |
| Opponent's 3-point % | .309 |
.278 |
| Free Throw % | .708 |
.676 |
| Rebounds Per Game | 36.6 |
40.7 |
| Rebounds Allowed Per Game | 31.6 |
34.8 |
Elmhurst has IWU's number
Bluejays hang on to top No. 5 Titans for third straight time at home
By Randy Sharer
Pantagraph staff
ELMHURST -- On a night when everything seemed to be going Elmhurst College's way, Illinois Wesleyan's No. 5-nationally ranked basketball team nearly overcame it all before bowing, 74-72, as a crowd of 1,200 watched.
The Bluejays parlayed 13-of-22 3-point shooting and a defense seemingly capable of reading the Titans' minds into their third consecutive home win over IWU in three years at R.A. Faganel Hall.
"They obviously did a good job of scouting us," said IWU forward Seth Hubbard, who scored 16 points to share team-high scoring honors with Luke Kasten.
"They knew exactly what we were going to do before we did it. They over-played the passing lanes, and it was hard to initiate the offense."
That led to 15 IWU turnovers and 42.1 percent field goal shooting, which included a half-dozen layups or short shots that rolled off the rim.
The Titans fell to 15-3 overall and 6-1 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin as their 12-game winning streak came to an end. Elmhurst improved to 8-10 and 3-4 with its 15th win against IWU in 101 meetings.
"In order to beat a team that's senior-laden and been playing better than us, you've got to have some shots fall for you," said Elmhurst coach Mark Scherer, who received 26 points from Wayne Bosworth, 19 from Adam Akerman and 10 from Gabe Kirstein. "Wayne Bosworth had an outstanding night."
The 6-foot-1 junior, who came in averaging 16.7 points, finished 9-of-11 from the field and 6-of-8 from 3-point range. Many of those shots came with IWU's Eric Starkey in Bosworth's face.
"They did a good job getting him open," said Starkey, who was run through one screen after another. "I had a hard time chasing him through screens. We had hands in his face, but he was able to hit the shot."
As great as Bosworth was, it almost wasn't enough when IWU made a furious charge to come back from a 70-59 deficit in the final 3:24.
An Adam Dauksas 3-pointer followed by a Hubbard rebound basket and a Chris Silagi jumper pulled the Titans within four with 1:36 remaining. Four consecutive free throws by Ackerman seemed to clinch it for Elmhurst, but then the unexpected happened.
IWU came up with a four-point possession as Jim Lehan made a layup and was fouled. His missed free throw was tapped in by Kasten, making it 74-70 with 30 seconds left.
Two missed free throws by Elmhurst's Reuben Slock with 22 seconds left provided faint hope for a miracle, but all IWU could manage was a rebound basket by Hubbard with a second left.
"We saw something Wesleyan did in film so we targeted that to get perimeter shots, but then you've got to make them, too," said Scherer, whose team shot 59.1 percent from 3-point range.
"We knew we had to play harder (than IWU). I was pleased the guys adopted that as a motto for this game."
The Bluejays held a 25-23 lead when they went on a 12-2 run to go up by 12 with 2:17 left in the first half. IWU responded with a 11-0 run -- which started with a three-point play by Hubbard and ended with a Silagi 3-pointer -- to cut the deficit to 37-36 at intermission. Silagi finished with 10 points.
Elmhurst's first-half prowess included 7-of-11 3-point shooting for 64 percent. The contest was physical throughout and began with Camardella injuring his knee after one minute of play, but returning three minutes later. He finished with five points and eight rebounds.
A poke in the eye sent Kasten to the bench 1:38 into the game. He ended up playing 34 minutes and grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds. Hubbard's 10 boards helped IWU gain a 44-26 rebound advantage.
"You win as a team and you lose as a team," said IWU coach Scott Trost. "They did a good job taking us out of our offense. We couldn't get the ball inside. I give them credit.
"We haven't gotten off to good starts the last couple of games. Every possession counts. We didn't start playing with a sense of urgency until late in the game."
IWU was within 45-44 when Elmhurst used four 3-pointers to go up 57-47 with 11:15 left.
"It was a tough place to win," Hubbard said, "but we didn't show up either."
Camardella lifts IWU, heavy hearts
By Randy Sharer
Pantagraph staff
BLOOMINGTON -- The heavy hearts of 2,680 gathered at Shirk Center Saturday night looking for a lift.
After a moment of silence for those lost in the space shuttle disaster, John Camardella put everyone on his shoulders including his No. 5-nationally ranked Illinois Wesleyan basketball team and took them for a high-flying, 78-51 ride past North Park.
"Every time something like this happens, it really puts things in perspective," said Camardella, who scored a career-high 27 points on 11-of-14 shooting from the field.
"It's hard to explain why basketball is so important when something like this happens. I was definitely thinking about that all day."
IWU's Luke Kasten gave North Park plenty to think about while collecting a career-high 16 rebounds to go with 15 points, seven assists and two blocks.
"Luke probably played the best all-around game of his career," Camardella said.
IWU coach Scott Trost said, "I can't think of a time tonight when Luke really forced shots. He hit the open man, attacked the glass and that's what great players do. He's making everybody around him better."
The Titans' 12th consecutive victory lifted their record to 15-2 overall and 6-0 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. North Park slipped to 10-8 and 0-7 after losing to IWU for the 20th time in the past 24 meetings.
IWU became the first CCIW team to lead the Vikings at intermission when it earned a 40-28 advantage behind Camardella's 19 points. He finished 5-of-8 from 3-point range and had two dunks.
"John played really emotional and played with a lot of energy, but I think the whole team did," Trost said.
The most electrifying play of the game came when Kasten tipped a rebound on the baseline to Camardella, who had been knocked to his back on the floor.
Camardella's pass started a fastbreak, which he finished at the other end thanks to an assist from Adam Dauksas. That gave IWU a 67-42 lead with 5:44 left.
"It was teammates rewarding teammates," Camardella said.
North Park looked ultra-quick while taking a 16-8 lead.
"The first eight minutes we were a little sluggish executing against their zone," Trost said. "We added a little adjustment and ran a different wrinkle and we got some good looks."
Consecutive 3-pointers -- one by Chris Silagi and two by Camardella -- launched IWU on a 22-6 run to take a 30-22 lead with 3:40 left in the half.
"John has put us on his back the last couple nights," Kasten said. "His offense has improved so much in the last three years."
North Parks' 51 points were the fewest allowed by IWU this season. The Vikings shot 33.3 percent from the field.
"I challenged them after the North Central game (when IWU allowed 95 points)," Trost said. "We sat down and guarded, contested shots and were active off the ball. For the most part I thought we did a good job limiting their dribble drive."
North Park never made more than a 4-0 run in the second half while IWU was shooting 61.5 percent from the field to finish at 53.4 percent overall.
IWU had 23 assists -- five from Dauksas -- compared to 10 for North Park.
"Coach mentioned in the locker room to make the extra pass," Camardella said. "It felt good to spread the ball around."
Silagi provided 14 points off the bench on a night when IWU gained a 42-29 rebound advantage.
Trost emptied his bench over the final five minutes as IWU notched its first blowout since returning from Hawaii Jan. 3.
"They are all hard," Trost said. "This one wasn't easy for the first 25 minutes. You play against yourself and expect a lot out of yourself."
North Park received 15 points from Irving Richardson and 14 from Sneed Deaderick.
"As poorly as we played, they played that well," said Viking coach Rees Johnson. "We played about 12 minutes. When they play like that, not too many teams are going to beat them. That's the best defense they've had in years."
Titans win on road
By Randy Sharer
Pantagraph staff
NAPERVILLE -- Most figured No. 8 nationally ranked Illinois Wesleyan was in for a cake walk against lightly regarded North Central Saturday night at Merner Fieldhouse, but the cake was more like quicksand.
The youthful Cardinals gave the veteran Titans all they could handle, but IWU proved it could handle plenty while winning a 103-95 shootout in front of 500.
When a pressure-packed shot or free throw was needed, the Titans had more than enough willing volunteers to expand on a 90-88 lead over the final three minutes.
"We have a bunch of seniors who are not afraid to take big shots," said IWU coach Scott Trost, who had steady freshman Adam Dauksas ignite the run-in to the buzzer with a conventional three-point play with 2:29 to go.
Seth Hubbard followed with a short jumper and Dauksas hit two free throws to make it 97-88 with 1:31 left.
"I give North Central a lot of credit," Trost said. "They played really hard. They took us out of what we wanted to do."
Trost counted himself among those surprised by the game's high-scoring nature. North Central's season-high point total was more than any IWU foe scored all year including No. 1 Washington (Mo), which scored 88.
"We kind of fell into their trap a little bit and didn't get the ball inside," said Trost, whose team got the ball inside enough for Luke Kasten to score 24 points and Hubbard 16.
John Camardella led IWU with 25 points while Dauksas added 16 and Chris Silagi 13. Kasten and Camardella each had seven rebounds. Kasten had a team-high seven assists.
"For playing good defense all year, we were pretty lackluster the first half and second half," said Camardella, who only missed one of nine shots. "We can't have that (foes scoring 95). It was good to see our offense woke up."
North Central erased a 13-point halftime deficit in a mere seven minutes and took a 70-68 lead with 11:58 left. IWU later opened up seven points of breathing room only to half the upstart Cardinals close within 83-81 with 4:55 left.
"North Central didn't do anything different," Kasten said. "We knew they would come out with a lot of energy and emotion. It's hard to match that on the road."
The Titans' 10th consecutive victory improved their record to 14-2 overall and 5-0 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. North Central fell to 6-11 overall, 2-4 in the league and 30-96 all-time against IWU.
The Titans' winning streak is their longest since a 13-game run in 1997-98.
"I don't believe in moral victories," said North Central coach Benjy Taylor, whose team's record includes six games decided by the final shot. "They are awfully good.
"I thought Augustana was the best team we had played all year when we played them. When we played Carthage, I thought they were the best we'd played. But Wesleyan is the best we've seen all year."
IWU never really solved the problem of North Central sophomore Mike Wilson, who scored 26 points, eight over his average. His 3-pointer pulled the Cardinals within 88-86 with 3:22 left.
"He's one of the best players in the league," Taylor said. "He takes a beating every night."
Wilson was among three Cardinals to foul out. North Central got 14 points apiece from Monte Williams and Ray Vicario and 12 from David Johnson. Former University High star Ricky Hildreth played the final minute and had one assist.
In the first half, IWU sped to a 59-46 lead for its second highest 20-minute output of the season behind a 62-point opening half against Olivet Nazarene.
"We knew we'd make a run," Taylor said. "We didn't know if we'd have enough to get over the top. We started making some dumb fouls. We ran out of gas a little bit."
The first 10 minutes were a virtual draw, but the Titans turned up the intensity during a 19-10 run to take a 43-31 lead 4:35 before intermission.
The surge ended with two free throws by Hubbard, whose 12 first-half points included 7-of-7 free throw accuracy. Hubbard scored eight unanswered points in one stretch.
IWU shot a 73.1 percent (19 of 26) from the field the first half before cooling to an overall mark of 65.3 percent. North Central opened at 50 percent and finished at 53.2 percent.
"North Central is a good team and will beat some people at home," said Trost, whose team returns to action at home next Saturday at 7:30 p.m. against North Park.
Illinois Wesleyan (13-2, 4-0) @ North Central (6-10, 2-3)
Saturday, January 25 - Naperville, Illinois - 7:30pm (JV game, 5:15pm)
| Radio Coverage:
WESN, 88.1 FM, Bloomington, WJBC Netcast WONC, 89.1 FM, Naperville, WONC Live Internet Stream
|
Matchups:
| Illinois Wesleyan | North Central | |
| Guard | Adam Dauksas
(6'2/180, Fresh., H-F H.S.) 9.1 pts, 3.1 reb, 3.5 assists |
Adam Teising
(5'11/155, Fresh., Naperville Central H.S.) 4.0 pts, 2.4 reb, 2.3 assists |
| Guard | Eric Starkey
(6'2/185, Senior, Milford H.S.) 7.9 pts, 3.7 reb |
Mike Wilson
(6'3/170, Soph., Naperville Central H.S.) 18.9 pts, 3.2 reb, 21-69 (.304) 3-pt |
| Forward | John Camardella
(6'4/210, Senior, Arlington Hts - Hersey H.S.) 12.5 pts, 7.2 reb, 23-52 (.442) 3-pt |
Monte Williams
(6'3/210, Soph., Chicago - St. Francis DeSales) 10.0 pts, 4.7 reb, 53-139 (.381) FG |
| Forward | Luke Kasten
(6'7/215, Senior, Hillsboro H.S.) 16.3 pts, 6.3 reb, 95-194 (.490) FG |
Kevin Lambert
(6'3/215, Junior, Rockford - Jefferson H.S.) 4.3 pts, 4.3 reb, 27-66 (.409) FG |
| Center | Seth Hubbard
(6'7/220, Senior, Normal - U High) 11.5 pts, 4.2 reb, 63-100 (.630) FG |
David Johnson
(6'4/200, Fresh., Naperville Central H.S) 8.2 pts, 3.8 reb, 51-107 (.477) FG |
| Bench | (More than 10 minutes PT per game)
Jim Lehan (5'11/165, Junior, G) 2.2 pts, 1.5 assists Marty Eich (6'7/215 Senior, F/C) - 4.4 pts, 3.3 reb Chris Silagi (6'2/190 Senior, G) - 7.2 pts
|
(More than 10 minutes PT per game)
Ray Vicario (6'0/170, Fresh, G) - 8.1 pts Josh Wesley (6'8/265, Fresh, C) - 7.0 pts, 2.7 reb Steve Gilbert (6'5/210, Soph, F) - (4.3 pts, 4.1 reb) Luke Cerveny (6'4/190, Fresh, F) - 3.5 pts Andre Hester (6'0/195, Fresh, G) - 3.1 pts, 2.1 reb Jeremy Nixon (6'0/180, Fresh, G) Mario Alexander (6'1/195, Junior, G) - 2.6 pts, 1.7 reb
|
Team Averages:
| Illinois Wesleyan | North Central | |
| Points Scored Per Game | 75.9 |
71.7 |
| Points Allowed Per Game | 63.9 |
75.9 |
| Field Goal % | .492 |
.407 |
| Opponent's Field Goal % | .399 |
.459 |
| 3-point % | .385 |
.309 |
| Opponent's 3-point % | .278 |
.352 |
| Free Throw % | .710 |
.691 |
| Rebounds Per Game | 36.30 |
34.9 |
| Rebounds Allowed Per Game | 32.3 |
39.9 |
Starkey's steal saves No. 8 IWU
By Randy Sharer
Pantagraph staff
BLOOMINGTON -- To be the star of the game for Illinois Wesleyan's basketball team, it has reached the point where one must take a number and wait in line.
Wednesday night was no exception as the Titans -- ranked No. 8 nationally in Division III -- edged No. 16 Carthage, 64-62, at Shirk Center where 2,750 willed IWU to its 10th straight victory.
The star-of-the-game candidates ranged from freshman Adam Dauksas, who scored a season-high 19 points, to Marty Eich, who had the crowd chanting his name with an eight-point outburst in the first half.
In between there was Titan forward Luke Kasten grinding out 16 points on a gimpy knee and his fellow co-captain John Camardella soaring for 11 points and a game-high seven rebounds.
But IWU guard Eric Starkey's case for game-winner status was as strong as anyone's when he stole the ball from Carthage star Antoine McDaniel on the final possession.
"Eric got his hands on the ball and made a great play," said IWU coach Scott Trost, whose team improved to 13-2 overall and 4-0 alone atop the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. "I give Eric a lot of credit."
Defending CCIW champion Carthage, the league's preseason favorite, fell to 9-5 and 1-2 despite McDaniel's 21 points.
"Eric made McDaniel earn all of his points," Trost said.
Kasten agreed.
"We've been winning with our defense and that was a huge play by Eric," Kasten said. "He played great defense on Antoine, who is just a great player."
Good shooting was all the rage as both teams shot 51.1 percent from the field. IWU won the battle of the boards, 29-21.
"It was two good teams going against each other," Trost said. "They (the Redmen) thought they had their backs against the wall, but our kids were resilient."
Camardella held three-time all-CCIW first team star Rob Garnes to 10 points, five below his average.
"John did a good job on him, but our team defense is good," Trost said.
Dauksas finished 5-of-7 from 3-point range and 6-of-9 overall while blasting past his previous high of 13 points. He hit back-to-back 3-pointers to ignite a 12-0 run with 7:15 left in the first half to give IWU a 25-19 lead.
"Adam is not afraid to take shots," said Trost, whose team led at intermission, 36-32. "He hit some clutch shots. I'm glad he's with me for three more years."
A 10-foot jump shot by Dauksas gave IWU a 64-60 lead with 1:18 to go.
"Adam's a freshman who played with all the maturity in the world," Kasten said.
McDaniel ended the scoring with a drive through traffic at the 1:02 mark. Dauksas, who had a game-high four assists, turned the ball over on a five-second call while dribbling with 30.3 seconds left.
Carthage ran the clock down to 13 seconds before calling time to set up the last play. One option was Kevin Menard coming off a screen for a 3-pointer.
"The ball always goes back to McDaniel," said Redmen coach Bosko Djurickovic. "He's made a lot of them down the stretch through the last four years. The ball got to him a little bit late."
"We felt very confident we were going to get a good look. We had a chance for a two. We had two guys out there who are really exceptional 3-point shooters. We thought we had a look at that as well. It just didn't come out."
IWU's biggest lead was 50-38 with 12:53 left following a Camardella layup off a Kasten assist, but Carthage had an 18-5 answer to go up 56-55.
The Titans, who finished 10 of 17 at the line, made five of nine charity tosses the next four minutes to go ahead for good at 62-58.
IWU's two-point win included two fastbreak baskets, one by Eich off a Jim Lehan long bomb pass and one by Camardella off a baseball pass by Dauksas.
"We tried to push the ball," said Dauksas, who topped his scoring average by 11 points.
"That surprised me," said Djurickovic, who alternated between zone and man defenses. "Tonight he (Dauksas) was a good player in the things I wouldn't expect him to be because, even though he's a good percentage 3-point shooter, that's hardly the best part of his game."
Carthage, which received 13 points from Theo Powell, became the sixth consecutive IWU foe to score less than 63.
"We're still a good basketball team," said Djurickovic, who was an assistant coach for Trost at Elmhurst College in 1995-96.
"Our goals haven't changed. We want to compete for the conference championship. We're going to have to do it the hard way. We're capable of doing it."
Titans navigate way to victory
Hubbard leads way to ninth straight win
By Randy Sharer
Pantagraph staff
WHEATON -- The Illinois Wesleyan basketball team is finding so many ways to win this season, it should consider changing its nickname to the Trailblazers.
The path at Wheaton College's King Arena Saturday night had more obstacles than a Marine Corps training ground with the biggest hurdle being the loss of star Luke Kasten to fouls with 7:37 left.
But like so many times before, the Titans navigated through the fray for a 62-55 victory as a predominantly IWU-boosting crowd of 2,350 looked on.
"We found a way on the road and the kids competed hard," said IWU coach Scott Trost. "We made some big free throws down the stretch. We got a little bit tentative."
That may have been the case after Kasten exited with 10 points and his team leading 50-38. Wheaton made 9 of 12 free throws the final 6:22 to pull within six on three occasions.
A 25-foot 3-pointer by Nate Collard brought the Thunder as close as it would get at 60-55 with 23.5 seconds left. Collard is his school's career 3-point leader, but was 1 of 7 from long range and 1 of 9 overall in the face of Eric Starkey's defense.
"The kids have bought into defense and we are tough to score on," said Trost after IWU held its fifth foe under 60.
The Titan savior was Seth Hubbard, who scored a team-high 16 points including an inside hoop with 55 seconds left to make it 58-50. More importantly, he hounded Wheaton star Joel Kolmodin into a 6-for-19 shooting performance and 17 points.
"I just wanted to contest every shot," Hubbard said. "With 10 minutes to go, I leaned over to him and said, 'you are wearing me out, man.' He's a hard-working player and he made me work hard."
The 6-foot-8, 240-pound Kolmodin came in leading the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin in scoring at 22.8 per game. The 82 percent free throw shooter was only 5 of 9 at the line Saturday.
"We told Seth it would take a great effort against a great player," said Trost, whose other primary lead preservers the final 5:24 were Adam Dauksas (a 3-pointer), Marty Eich (two free throws) and Chris Silagi (two free throws).
IWU's ninth consecutive victory lifted its record to 12-2 overall and 3-0 alone atop the CCIW. Wheaton, which is ranked fifth in the NCAA Midwest Region, one spot ahead of the No. 11 nationally ranked Titans, fell to 10-3 and 1-1.
The Titans only shot 39.2 percent from the field, but that was plenty as Wheaton shot a season-low 31.5 percent. The Thunder came in shooting 47.8 on the year.
"They make it hard for you to enter the ball (in the post)," said Trost, whose bench outscored Wheaton's, 16-5. "We struggled a little bit with our tempo and flow, but Wheaton is a good team."
Thunder coach Bill Harris didn't think much of Wheaton's 28 percent shooting the second half.
"A lot of credit goes to the Wesleyan defense," said Harris, who received 12 points from Will Landry. "Some of the credit goes to the fact we just didn't shoot the ball well. We just couldn't make the one big stop and we couldn't make the one big shot."
The Thunder gained a 38-35 rebound advantage behind Kolmodin's 16. John Camardella led IWU with nine.
The Titans took control of the first half with a 9-0 run to go up 15-6 with 10:28 left. Dauksas contributed five points to the flurry. The gap grew to 24-13 following a layup by Kasten, who was scoreless the second half, but finished with eight rebounds.
Kolmodin's inside play helped Wheaton come alive to pull within 27-22 with 2:10 to go before intermission. IWU went into the locker room leading, 33-24, after outshooting the Thunder from the field, 44 percent to 35 percent.
The Titans made a 7-2 move to open the second half and Wheaton's Martin Trimiew drew a technical foul for tossing the ball after being called for a charge.
IWU returns to action at home at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday against No. 9 Carthage, a 69-55 loser to Augustana Saturday.
(Saturday January 18, 2003)
11-2 Titans Travel to 10-2 Wheaton
Matchups:
| Illinois Wesleyan | Wheaton | |
| Guard | Adam Dauksas (6'2/180, Freshman)
8.4 pts, 3.1 reb, 3.8 assists |
Jon Nielsen (6'0/178, Soph.)
8.8 pts, 3.8 reb, 4.7 assists |
| Guard | Eric Starkey (6'2/185, Senior)
8.5 pts, 3.5 reb |
Nate Collord (5'10/185 Senior)
14.4 pts, 3.1 reb, 39-77 (.506) 3-pt |
| Forward | John Camardella (6'4/210, Senior)
12.9 pts, 7.1 reb, 21-46 (.457) 3-pt |
Martin Trimiew (6'3/190 Soph.)
10.3 pts, 4.2 reb, 53-102 (.520) FG |
| Forward | Luke Kasten (6'7/215, Senior)
16.8 pts, 6.6 reb, 85-171 (.497) FG |
Will Landry (6'5/210 Junior)
5.8 pts, 4.3 reb, 23-45 (.511) 3-pt |
| Center | Seth Hubbard (6'7/220, Senior)
12.0 pts, 4.3 reb, 59-93 (.634) FG |
Joel Kolmodin (6'8/240, Junior)
22.8 pts, 9.4 reb, 94-170 (.553) FG |
| Bench | Jim Lehan (5'11/165, Junior, G) 2.5 pts, 1.5 assists
Marty Eich (6'7/215 Senior, F/C) - 3.8 pts, 3.2 reb Chris Silagi (6'2/190 Senior, G) - 7.5 pts Laban Cross (6/2, 185 Senior, G) |
Tony Bollier (6'0, 160 Fresh., G) - 3.9 pts, 2.1 assists
Jim Fortosis (6'8/220 Soph., C) - 2.3 pts Austin Ochs (6'3/185 Senior, G) - 2.2 pts Taylor Armerding (6/5, 210 Junior, F) - 1.3 pts |
Team Averages:
| Illinois Wesleyan | Wheaton | |
| Points Scored Per Game | 77.9 |
78.1 |
| Points Allowed Per Game | 64.8 |
65.5 |
| Field Goal % | .497 |
.478 |
| Opponent's Field Goal % | .398 |
.406 |
| 3-point % | .384 |
.365 |
| Opponent's 3-point % | .276 |
.320 |
| Free Throw % | .715 |
.745 |
| Rebounds Per Game | 37.0 |
36.4 |
| Rebounds Allowed Per Game | 32.8 |
33.8 |
Today's Pantagraph article:
IWU's Kasten a pain for Titans' opponents
By Randy Sharer
Pantagraph staff
BLOOMINGTON -- Luke Kasten thought his doctor was joking last summer when he said the 40-injection therapy he was about to perform with a 3-inch needle on Kasten's left knee was very painful.
Kasten remembers the doctor saying, "There's a reason athletes don't run in here to have this done.'"
The doctor also told the Illinois Wesleyan basketball star -- whose team plays at 7:30 tonight at Wheaton -- that 35 to 40 percent of patients pass out from the pain.
"It's the most painful experience I've ever gone through in my life," said Kasten, who suffers from chronic patella tendinosis, the same malady which ended Mark McGwire's baseball career.
"My poor mom (Rhonda) went up with me the last time and cried through the whole thing."
Kasten feels pain when he jumps or tries to post up opponents.
"I've been taking prescription painkillers," he said. "I kind of live off of them right now just trying to get through the season."
Everything considered, Kasten's 24-point effort in Wednesday's 69-54 win over Millikin was remarkable on multiple levels.
"When it's game time, he's a warrior," said IWU coach Scott Trost. "He hit some huge shots (against Millikin). It was great to see him come out and play like that."
But statistics say Kasten isn't the player he was a year ago when he averaged 18.4 points. He is averaging a team-high 16.8 points, but only 13.0 the past six games. He is barely ahead of his 16.3 average as both a sophomore and freshman.
"Whenever I have the ball, I know what I should be able to do," he said. "When I go to do it, my knee will give out and I can't get as high on my shots. I can't post up as well as I'd like to. I can't get as high on my hook shot and that's very frustrating."
Fortunately for IWU, Kasten isn't so debilitated he isn't a threat.
"On any given night, sometimes it hurts a little less and the adrenalin pumps a little more and I can do a little more," he said.
But Kasten knows his body has limits and he has talked to Trost about playing a reduced role if necessary.
"When he feels I'm not as productive as I should be, maybe we'll take me out of the starting lineup and I can come in and give them backup minutes or whatever it is we need," said Kasten, who takes comfort in the fact he hasn't had to score as much for the No. 11-nationally ranked Titans (11-2, 2-0).
Kasten is doing 21.6 percent of IWU's scoring compared to 25.1 percent last year thanks to teammates such as John Camardella (12.9 ppg), Seth Hubbard (12.0), Eric Starkey (8.5), Adam Dauksas (8.4), Chris Silagi (7.5) and Marty Eich (3.8).
"The seven of us (seniors) made a promise before the year that we were going to go at this and give it our best. If it's not enough, at least we know we tried. Luke is not about to give up on any one of us. He's going to be there until the end even if one of his legs falls off."
Last summer's painful knee treatment was a success because Kasten had time to rest the knee after the procedure, but its benefits wear off.
IWU's schedule hasn't allowed Kasten -- who has missed more than a dozen practices -- enough rest following treatments at Thanksgiving and Dec. 19 for them to do any good so he won't have any more.
"I've got a new brace now," he said. "The idea is to keep the knee warm and keep a little pressure on it.
"I have three months of basketball left in my career. I want to try to make the best of it. My ultimate goal is to win a CCIW championship no matter what role or capacity that puts me in."
Kolmodin back at Wheaton
Wheaton (10-2, 1-0) went 16-9 last year when Kevin Blomstrom averaged 18.6 points. He has transferred to Westmont College, but his scoring has been more than replaced by 6-foot-8, 240-pound Joel Kolmodin.
The junior center, who sat out all but three games last year with a knee injury, averages 22.8 points to lead the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin.
"He has been outstanding," said Wheaton coach Bill Harris, whose team is ranked fifth in the NCAA Midwest Region compared to IWU at sixth. "He faces double teams and denials and sometimes triple teams most every night."
Trost plans to single-team Kolmodin with Hubbard.
Harris added of the Titans, "These are the kids we were raving about in the (2001) Final Four. They're not young any more and they are better than they were. They are a team."
IWU's ugly outing looks just fine in win column
By Randy Sharer
Pantagraph staff
BLOOMINGTON -- To find the beauty in No. 11 nationally ranked Illinois Wesleyan's 69-54 basketball victory over Millikin Wednesday night, one had to look past a few things at Shirk Center.
Among the blemishes were 2-of-16 3-point inaccuracy and 11-of-20 free throw misfiring.
The beauty amongst the boo-boos for Coach Scott Trost was the manner in which IWU answered the question: what do you do when shots aren't falling?
"Some nights those shots aren't going to go and after the first 10 minutes, I thought we were great defensively," said Trost, those team held Millikin to 32 points the final 30 minutes.
Millikin's output on 33 percent field goal shooting was a season-low for an IWU foe. The Big Blue became the fourth opponent held under 60 points this season.
"That's a whale of a defensive effort. That kept us in the game because our shots weren't going," said Trost, whose squad improved to 11-2 overall and 2-0 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin.
"We didn't have a lot of flow, but it was a good win. I told people before that Millikin scared me."
Many in the audience of 2,250 became apprehensive as Millikin (4-8, 1-2) took a 22-11 lead with 10:25 left in the first half.
"We were in the locker room saying 'don't come out flat,'" said Titan co-captain John Camardella, who had 15 points, two dunks and eight rebounds. "All we did was come out flat. "
IWU perked up offensively by going inside where Luke Kasten and Seth Hubbard responded with 24 and 13 points, respectively.
The slump-escaping Kasten, who had averaged 10.8 points his previous five games, reached 1,591 for his career to climb into sixth in IWU history. He scored 18 the second half thanks to a halftime adjustment by Trost.
"They were doing a great job of doubling down as soon as Seth and I got the ball," Kasten said. "That took away a lot of our passing lanes.
"The second half, Coach decided to run one of our other offenses that put me kind of at the elbow (of the key). When my guy went to double down, we were able to take advantage."
Kasten ended 11 of 17 from the field. His baskets included layups, turn-around jumpers, fade-aways, put-backs and one alley oop bucket off a Camardella assist.
"It was so good to see Luke break out and have his usual 20-point output," Camardella said.
Among those feeding Kasten were Adam Dauksas, who finished with four assists, six rebounds and 10 points, and Hubbard, who had three assists.
"He's a first team all-conference player and for good reason," said Millikin coach Tim Littrell, who watched Kasten score 12 consecutive points for IWU in one six-minute stretch. "He's a tough matchup when you don't have much size."
Kasten was guarded by his Hillsboro High School teammate, Tim Tolle, who had to sit down with two fouls three minutes into the game.
Tolle was held to three points, 12 below his team-leading average. His off night included a free throw air ball, which was among the reasons the Big Blue was held almost 22 points below its average.
The score was tied at 27 at intermission as IWU languished under 34 percent shooting. With 14:19 remaining, the Big Blue was still within 39-36.
IWU's subsequent 15-2 getaway saw Millikin go 1-of-9 from the field and commit four of its 15 turnovers.
"We lost a little trust within ourselves," said Littrell, whose team never cut the gap below 11 the rest of the way. "Our shot selection was not very good."
IWU shot 65 percent the second half to finish at 48 percent. The Titans also gained a 40-37 rebound advantage. The most efficient rebounder was Marty Eich, who came off the bench to grab seven boards in just 11 minutes of action.
Millikin was led by Jason Fisher and Charles Williams with 14 points apiece. Williams also had a team-high eight rebounds.
The Titans return to action at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Wheaton (10-2, 1-0).
Titans tip Augustana
By Randy Sharer
Pantagraph staff
BLOOMINGTON -- The Illinois Wesleyan basketball team survived one storm after another Saturday night before socking Augustana with one more flurry than it could handle in a 66-62 Titan triumph.
A capacity Shirk Center crowd of 2,980, which included some IWU fraternity members in drag, watched the Titans' Seth Hubbard pour in a career-high 26 points to vanquish the Vikings.
The outcome left No. 15-nationally ranked IWU 10-2 overall and 1-0 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. Augustana fell to 9-3 overall, 1-1 in the league and 50-80 all-time against the Titans.
Augustana was teetering on a 58-57 lead with 39 seconds left when the Titans pulled off a four-point possession.
First, Hubbard scored two of his 20 points in the paint and was fouled. His missed free throw was rebounded by John Camardella, who was fouled and made both free throws.
IWU never trailed again.
"That's seniors making big plays," said Titan coach Scott Trost. "In close games you've got to have guys step up. Seth played great the whole game."
Hubbard made 10 of 13 shots from the field, most on spin moves within arm's reach of the basket, to go with 6 of 8 free throw shooting. His previous season high was 18 and his previous career high 23.
"I've always struggled against Augustana," Hubbard said. "Maybe it's their system. I was able to get the ball where I could do something with it."
Trost is getting used to Hubbard shining.
"Seth has played great this whole year," Trost said. "When he takes that ball up strong, no one can stop him in this league. Our thought going into this game was to get the ball inside to Luke (Kasten) and Seth."
Augustana coach Grey Giovanine said, "He (Hubbard) is a veteran senior, battle-tested guy. He really asserted himself tonight."
The Titans shot 45 percent from the field, but Camardella was there to clean things up with 13 rebounds, including five on the offensive end. He also scored 13 points and had three assists.
"It seemed we could never get over the hump," said Camardella, whose team trailed all of the second half until Camardella's crowd-leasing 3-pointer gave IWU a 57-54 lead. "The key was rebounding."
IWU gained a 38-36 rebounding advantage against a team that had been outrebounding foes by six per game. The Titans committed 21 turnovers as Augie challenged every pass.
"Augustana played extremely tough and physical," Trost said. "They bump you off your cuts so it's hard to get tempo. We made great plays when we had to."
Another key was the defense of Eric Starkey on Augie star Drew Carstens, who was held to 16 points, 15 fewer than he averaged in two wins over IWU last year. Starkey managed 10 points before fouling out with 1:03 left.
"Drew is a great player. Eric, I thought, made it tough for him," Trost said. "He bumped him, battled him and didn't give him any good looks."
The first half was virtually a draw until Augie made an 8-0 run to go up 24-13 with 9:40 left. Three minutes later, the Titans mounted a 10-0 surge capped by a Starkey 3-pointer to go up 29-28.
Hubbard made five of his first six shots to score 12 points the first 14 minutes, but the Vikings won the race to halftime, 36-33.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Carstens and Joe Baumann spotted Augie a 44-35 lead early in the second half. IWU bounced back with a 14-6 run to pull within 50-49 with 5:50 remaining.
The Vikings led 48-42 when Baumann missed a wide open layup.
"That was huge," Giovanine said.
At one point, Hubbard scored three consecutive IWU baskets, the last of which was part of a conventional three-point lay up to tie the game at 54-54 and electrify the crowd with 3:02 left.
Eich, No. 17 IWU bounce Beloit
Senior bench player pours in 20 during Titans' run to victory
By Randy Sharer
Pantagraph staff
BLOOMINGTON -- Just when the Beloit College basketball team thought it had Illinois Wesleyan figured out Sunday, Marty Eich changed everything.
The 6-foot-7 senior sub from Palatine stunned the Buccaneers and his own teammates with a career-high 20 points on 10-of-12 shooting from the field in a mere 18 minutes of action.
Eich's eruption and some turnover-producing defense the final 14 minutes helped IWU break away from a 47-47 tie to notch a 76-61 triumph in front of 1,700 at Shirk Center.
"Marty played a whale of a game," said Titan coach Scott Trost, whose No. 17-nationally ranked team ended its pre-conference schedule with a 9-2 record.
"He gave us good energy. He defended, got put-backs, made some shots..."
More than anything, Eich's effort proved Trost's point that basketball is a team game necessitating contributions from many. Eich became the sixth Titan this season to lead the team in scoring at least once.
"It was really, really fun," said Eich, whose previous career-high was eight points last year against Hardin Simmons. "It was a really great game especially to get the momentum going into the conference season.
"I think I knew I had something like this in me because I tell guys in practice I'm a pretty good scorer when I get a chance to do it. There were a lot of open layups."
Eich's repertoire of shots included two 16-foot jumpers.
"I think a higher power might have put a couple of those shots in," he said. "Some days everything goes your way. Today was my day I guess."
Beloit coach Cecil Youngblood was among the throng wowed by Eich.
"Everything fell his way," Youngblood said. "Everything he shot was falling. We saw him in the tapes and he wasn't hitting shots. He had one of those days and it was a day they needed him to do it, too."
Eich became a Titan 3 1/2 years ago even though he wasn't recruited. He entered Sunday's game having scored 25 points all season and just 87 for his career.
"His day has finally come," said IWU co-captain John Camardella, who scored 17 points to go with game highs for rebounds (eight) and blocks (four). "The kid has worked so hard the past 3 1/2 years."
Camardella's production included three 3-pointers and three dunks, two of which came on offensive rebounds he jammed before landing.
"John gives us something we were missing before," said Trost, whose team shot 52.4 percent from the field compared to Beloit's 40.4 percent. "He's an emotional leader of this team and he gave us that little spark when we needed it."
The Titans played the first half so sluggishly it appeared they had yet to overcome the jet lag of Friday's return from a week-long, three-game visit to Hawaii.
Trost blamed the lethargy on the six-day break between games, which only included one solid practice.
"I was concerned about our legs and I was concerned about our focus," he said. "My fears came true a little bit the first half. The second half our energy was better. We started to defend. We played with more effort."
A 9-0 run late in the first half seemed to get IWU on track as it took a 41-32 lead at intermission. Beloit stormed out of the locker room to force a 47-47 tie with 14:19 remaining.
"People look at their (2-7) record and say they are not that good. They have played a great schedule. I knew it was going to be a test," said Trost, whose team went up 70-53 thanks to a 23-6 run that included 14 points from Eich.
Among those feeding Eich assists were Adam Dauksas (two), Eric Starkey (two) and Chris Silagi (one). Luke Kasten finished with a team-high four assists to go with 11 points.
Eich and Starkey each had seven rebounds as IWU gained a 35-34 edge on the boards.
Youngblood said Beloit's relative lack of experience caught up to it the final 14 minutes when it committed seven of its 16 turnovers and made just 4 of 16 shots.
"This is a team that knows how to win and they don't give it up easy," said Youngblood of the Titans. "You've got to play good basketball to beat them and down the stretch we didn't."
Freshman Josh Hinz' 21 points and seven rebounds led Beloit, which lost its seventh consecutive game. Marques Flowers added 12 points and Mahomet-native Tyson Chapman scored eight in his second start.
IWU returns to action at 7:30 p.m. Saturday for its College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin opener at home against Augustana.
Titans 3-for-3 in Hawaii
By Randy Sharer
Pantagraph staff
HONOLULU -- The Illinois Wesleyan basketball team has taken a liking to this place where Spam is better known as something you get at McDonald's instead of in your e-mail.
For the third time in three days, the Titans tasted success in the D-III Hawaiian Shootout Monday, downing Nebraska Wesleyan, 68-56, at Kaimuki High School.
Eric Starkey, scoreless in Sunday's win over Wisconsin-Stout, led IWU with 14 points while Luke Kasten came off Waikiki Beach to add 10 points and six rebounds.
"I think we played really well," Kasten said. "We played really well the whole time we've been here. That's a real testament to our maturity and experience because it takes a lot to come in from the beach in the morning and refocus and get a job done."
IWU's fifth consecutive win pushed its record to 8-2 while the Prairie Wolves, whom the Titans defeated in the 1997 national championship game, fell to 6-4. IWU is 5-1 all-time against the Lincoln, Neb., based school.
"Coach (Scott Trost) wanted to make sure we took care of business for three straight days," Kasten said. "Now we've got three days off (before a Friday arrival home), which is really nice.
"It's been great being in Hawaii. It's really beautiful. To be able to walk away with these three wins is really icing on the cake."
The No. 18-nationally ranked Titans never trailed after John Camardella's 16-foot jump shot opened the scoring. He followed with a 3-pointer, the first of six IWU sank en route to a 28-13 lead with 9:07 left in the first half.
IWU outscored NWU, 30-9, from beyond the arc.
"I was more impressed with our effort and our intensity," Trost said. "We came out focused among a lot of distractions and played a really solid basketball game against another good opponent."
Starkey's four 3-pointers sparked IWU to a 40-22 halftime lead. He nailed three 3-pointers during a 1:19 stretch of the first half.
"I told him yesterday after the game, 'tonight wasn't your night, but you'll have it again,'" Trost said. "That's the great thing about this team, if one guy has an off night -- which you are going to -- there are other guys around to help."
Starkey wanted a lot more from himself Monday after scoring a team-high 15 in Saturday's win over St. John's.
"I was a little disappointed in my performance last night," he said. "I didn't quite have the game I expected out of myself. But that's all right. We played a great team game last night and got a victory. Tonight we came out and it all starts with our defense and rebounding."
The Titans shot 56 percent from the field the first 20 minutes and finished at 47 percent compared to NWU's 36 percent.
"With the exception of Chicago and a six-minute thing against Wash U, we have played good basketball for a month ," said Trost, whose team returns to action at 3 p.m. Jan. 5 against Beloit at home. "We can get better. We need to get better."
During a raggedy second-half, the teams combined to miss 10 consecutive shots during one lull, but the Titans led, 56-33, at the time.
Trost played his reserves the final five minutes and they let a 21-point lead shrink to 12 over the final 1:15. Freshman Jason Fisher from Delavan sprained his ankle with 41 seconds left, but his coach didn't think it was serious.
Trost's season-long emphasis on rebounding paid off again as IWU gained a 43-26 advantage on the boards. Seth Hubbard grabbed a team-high nine rebounds while guards Adam Dauksas and Chris Silagi collected seven apiece.
"I told the guys before the game we had a size advantage," Trost said. "We had to take advantage of it on both ends. With the exception of a couple games, we've gotten a lot better at rebounding."
NWU coach Todd Raridon tried to stop IWU's inside game first, but he knew that was a gamble.
"They are a good 3-point shooting team," he said. "You look at their stats, they are all shooting close to 50 percent. If you go out and cover the 3, their inside game hurts you."
The Prairie Wolves lone inside threat, 6-foot-7 Ben Bakewell, scored a team-high 15 points. Brandon Hansen added 11. IWU limited Drew Snyder to four points, nine below his average.
"I thought we played scared the first half," Raridon said. "They have good inside players and good perimeter players. You're going to have to catch them on a bad night when they aren't shooting the ball well."
Titans sink upset-minded foe in Hawaii
Silagi scores 24 for IWU in win vs. Wisconsin-Stout
By Randy Sharer
Pantagraph staff
HONOLULU -- The ship of the Wisconsin-Stout basketball team never did come in Sunday in the D-III Hawaii Shootout where Illinois Wesleyan torpedoed the Blue Devils, 89-75, as a crowd of 75 looked on at Kaimuki High School.
The No. 18-nationally ranked Titans picked Stout apart with needle-threading passes, many of which went to Chris Silagi, who came off the bench to score a season-high 24 points.
"I don't look at Chris as a non-starter," said IWU coach Scott Trost. "He started for us last year. It's a luxury having someone like Chris being able to come off the bench and score.
"The thing that impresses me as much as anything about Chris is he is sitting down (in a defensive stance) and guarding and he's making the extra pass, too."
IWU improved to 7-2 with its fourth consecutive victory ahead of tonight's 7:45 (CST) game against Nebraska Wesleyan, which was 5-3 prior to Sunday's late night contest against St. John's (Minn.).
Stout, which held off Nebraska Wesleyan 87-81 late Saturday night, fell to 5-5.
Silagi, who scored 17 the first half, was an economic 9 of 13 from the field. His previous season-high was 13 points.
"Few teams have a weapon like Chris who can come off the bench and score," said Titan co-captain John Camardella, who posted a double-double with 18 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
It took Silagi awhile to adapt to his role off the bench.
"At the beginning of the year it was a tougher role for me, but now that we are into the season, I have adjusted well," he said. "It's something I did a lot my sophomore year."
Other Titan heroes were Seth Hubbard and Luke Kasten with 17 and 13 points, respectively. Each had three assists.
"We've got some kids who are really good passers," Trost said. "That's the mark of a good team. We're playing well right now."
Among Trost's pre-game goals was to win the battle of the boards and break Stout's trapping press. Kasten's six rebounds boosted IWU to a 34-23 domination of the glass and the Titans only had one more turnover than the Blue Devils' 17.
"I thought Adam (Dauksas) did a great job handling their press," Trost said.
Stout coach Eddie Andrist said, "I thought they outplayed us tonight, especially on the glass. They don't quit. I don't think we matched their intensity."
The first half was a schizophrenic one for IWU, which fell behind, 6-0, and then went on a 23-2 run en route to a 38-19 lead with 6:38 left.
Stout came alive with an 18-2 flurry as the Titans limped into intermission with a 42-35 advantage.
"It wasn't a matter of what they did," Trost said. "It was what we didn't do. We stopped executing our offense. I thought our defense got a little lackadaisical, but we responded again."
IWU shot 59 percent from the field the first half and finished at 58 percent. Stout shot 44 percent percent as Andy Bray scored 20, Barrington Smith 18 and Julian Greer 14.
Stout was within 49-43 with 16:34 left in the game when IWU took off on a 21-4 run. The surge included a 12-0 section ending on back-to-back layups by Laban Cross and Silagi.
IWU emptied its bench for the final three minutes.
IWU shoots past cold-shooting foe
By Randy Sharer
Pantagraph staff
HONOLULU -- The D-III Hawaiian Shootout opened Saturday in 87-degree conditions, but that wasn't enough to warm the shooting touches of snowbirds on the Illinois Wesleyan and St. John's (Minn.) basketball teams.
St. John's (Minn.) never could get warm in a 76-56 loss to the No. 18-nationally ranked Titans at Kaimuki High School.
IWU, which is visiting Hawaii for the fifth time since 1984-85, improved to 6-2 this season and 5-6 all-time in Hawaii. St. John's fell to 4-4 as Coach Jim Smith failed to pick up his 609th career win in 39 years.
IWU was led by Eric Starkey's 15 points as the Titans shot .432 percent from the field. Chris Silagi and Adam Dauksas chipped in 12 and 11 points, respectively, while Luke Kasten had 10.
John Camardella's nine rebounds paced IWU to a 43-34 advantage on the glass.
St. John's received 18 points from Kevin Buth, who scored 10 in the first half with Starkey hounding him. Buth came in averaging 20.7 points.
In the first half, IWU shot .371 from the field en route to a 32-20 lead, which included a 27-18 advantage on the boards. The Johnnies shot .222 the first 20 minutes and finished at .333.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Starkey spotted IWU an 8-2 lead. Dauksas later sank three 3-pointers to push the Titans ahead 21-11 with 4:26 left in the half.
A Dauksas 18-foot jump shot ignited a 9-0 IWU run, which included a fastbreak layup and a 3-pointer by Starkey to make it 30-14.
The Titans exploded out of the gate in the second half thanks to a 16-6 run. A Silagi 3-pointer was part of an 11-0 surge which put IWU up 49-26 with 13:34 remaining. Seth Hubbard contributed two baskets in traffic to the getaway.
St. John's struggles after a Silagi 3-pointer made it 52-30 included Andrew Sherburne committing the team's third offensive foul in a two-minute span.
IWU, which faces Wisconsin-Stout at 4:30 p.m. (CST) today, pulled its starters with six minutes remaining. Eleven of the 14 Titans who played scored.
Kasten's point total gave him 1,523 for his career, pulling him within 50 of the No. 7 spot in school history.
(December 24, 2002)
Strong Field Awaits Titans at D3 Hawaiian Shootout
WJBC.com - Live Internet Streaming
The 5-2 Illinois Wesleyan Titans will depart for Honolulu, Hawaii on the 26th looking for sun, sand, and most importantly, victories. IWU Athletic Director Dennie Bridges will serve as host of the first ever D3 Hawaiian Shootout. Other teams joining IWU at Kaimuki High School Gymnasium are Nebraska Wesleyan, St. John's (Minnesota), and University of Wisconsin-Stout.
This will be Illinois Wesleyan's fifth trip to the islands, and first under head coach Scott Trost. Bridges took the Titans in 1984-85, 1989-90, 1992-93, and 1998-99. IWU has a 4-6 record in Hawaii, but this will be the first time they have played NCAA Division III schools on the trip. The previous 10 contests were all against upper level teams, such as NCAA D2 Chaminade, Hawaii Pacific, and Brigham Young-Hawaii.
This will also be the first time the Lady Titans will be along. On the women's side of the Shootout, Williamette, Elms, and Lake Forest round out the field. Mia Smith's club is 7-3 on the season, and is in first place in the CCIW with a 2-0 conference record. The Lady Titans surprised perennial conference power Millikin in Decatur on 12/3, winning 71-69.
Three Good Tests
On Saturday 12/28 (8:30pm CST), the Titans face 4-3 St. John's, from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). The Johnnies are coached by Jim Smith, who is in his 39th season at the school. With a career record of 608-401, Smith is the winningest collegiate basketball coach on all levels in Minnesota.
St. John's defeated #19 ranked St. Thomas, their longtime MIAC rival, 66-56 at home on December 4. The Johnnies are led by 6-3/195 senior forward Kevin Buth, who averages 20.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. Buth leads the team in 3-point attempts and has connected on 18 of his 52 (.346) tries from beyond the arc. 6'8/210 senior post player Shawn McGuire averages 12.4 points and 4.6 rebounds.
IWU's toughest test in Hawaii will probably come from 4-4 UW-Stout on Sunday (8:30pm CST). The Blue Devils play in the only Division III conference in the country considered to be stronger than the CCIW - the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC). The WIAC sent six teams to the Final Four in the 1990s, 5 being from Bo Ryan's (now the head coach at D1 Wisconsin) UW-Platteville powerhouse. Stout is picked by most to finish middle-of-the-pack in the WIAC, behind the likes of nationally ranked Oshkosh, Stevens Point, Whitewater, and Eau Claire.
Stout's two non-conference losses were to strong NCAA Division 2 teams - Michigan Tech and Minnesota State - Mankato. In WIAC action, they lost at home to #21 ranked Eau Claire (80-74) and on the road at #6 ranked Stevens Point (69-64).
The Blue Devils are led by 6'8/225 junior forward Andy Bray. Bray averages 16.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Guards Barrington Smith, Jeff Vandenberghe, and Casey Chapman also average in double figures. 6-5/235 junior college transfer Julian Greer is now eligible and will see his first action of the season in Hawaii. In high school, Greer was a 3-time all-state player in Minnesota, scoring over 2000 points and collecting over 1000 rebounds. Also on the roster is 26 year old sophomore guard Charlie Taylor, who lettered for Denny Crum at Louisville during the 1995-96 season. Taylor was the 1995 high school "player of the year" in the state of Kentucky.
On Monday (7:45pm CST), Illinois Wesleyan faces a team most Titan fans are familiar with -- the Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves (formerly "Plainsmen"). The two Wesleyans, both among the Top 10 D3 programs in all-time wins, have squared off in some memorable games over the years. In the 1990 Sweet 16, the Titans defeated NWU 85-63 in Minnesota to advance to the Elite Eight. IWU won regular season meetings against Todd Raridon's club in 1992-93, '95-96, and '98-99, and dropped a 2-point game in Lincoln early in the '99-00 season.
The most memorable matchup between the two programs, however, was played on March 22, 1997 in Salem, Virginia. In the Division III national championship game, the Titans jumped out to a 19-point halftime lead, behind Bryan Crabtree's 19 first half points. In the second half, behind 23 points from shooting-guard Mitch Moser, the Plainsmen came storming back. NWU cut the Titan lead to 1 with 6:43 to play, but Dennie Bridges' team hung on to secure IWU's first national championship.
The 2002-03 Nebraska Wesleyan squad is 5-2, with wins over Illinois Institute of Technology, Robert Morris, Baker, Dordt, and Colorado College. Their losses were to Buena Vista and Hastings. The Prairie Wolves are led in scoring by 6-3 sophomore forward Drew Snyder, who averages 13.4 points and 5.7 rebounds. 6'1 junior guard Brandon Hansen (10.9 pts/game) is their biggest 3-point threat, connecting on 12-35 (.343) attempts from beyond the arc.
All three games in Hawaii can be heard live on "The Voice", AM-1230, WJBC and also live on the internet at WJBC.com.
IWU foils Fontbonne
By Randy Sharer
Pantagraph staff
ST. LOUIS -- The run made by the Fontbonne University basketball team to start the second half Wednesday night might have caused the Illinois Wesleyan squad of a year ago to wilt.
This time it made them stiffen their resolve.
After the Griffins shaved a 12-point halftime deficit to two, No. 18-nationally ranked IWU shrugged it off with a share-the-fun, 30-7 surge of its own on the way to an 87-63 triumph.
The win gives IWU a 5-2 record heading into its Dec. 26-Jan. 2 trip to Hawaii. Fontbonne fell to 4-4 and is also bound for Honolulu Dec. 29 to play Chaminade.
"For 30 minutes I thought we played well," said IWU coach Scott Trost, who wasn't especially fond of the first five minutes of either half. "They shoot the three so well, no lead is big enough."
Fontbonne had no one big enough or quick enough to stay with IWU star Luke Kasten, who scored a season-high 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
"We were able to high-low them and get the ball where we wanted to," Trost said. "Luke did a good job of finishing. I give Luke a lot of credit. He's playing on a bum knee. He had a great game."
Kasten, who finished 9 of 16 from the field and 7 of 9 at the line, matched his previous season high of 24 points in the first half when he paced IWU to a 43-31 lead at intermission. The Titans shot 52 percent from the field in both halves.
"Kasten is a player," said Fontbonne coach Lee McKinney, who ended the night stuck on 696 career wins. "We won't play anybody as good as Illinois Wesleyan, but we're a better team than we showed tonight.
"They've got a lot of talent and play hard. They played better than the tape I've seen of them."
Many have thought IWU guard Jimmy Lehan was better than his statistics have shown. The junior erupted for a career-high 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field.
"Jimmy came in and played great the second half," said Trost, who watched the fleet-footed Lehan score nine points in a 3:20 span of the second half. "He gave us a big lift. He played with a lot of confidence."
Lehan noticed his team wasn't getting many good looks at the basket early in the second half so he starting pushing the ball up court before Fontbonne could set up its zone.
"Pushing the ball opened some things up and they had to go back to man-to-man," Lehan said. "That really got us back in the flow of the game."
Lehan credited Kasten for keeping IWU in the game the first half.
"That's one of the great things about having a player like him," Lehan said. "When other people aren't producing, you have that one constant who is always there. We didn't play well the first half and we were still up by 12. That's a tribute to Luke."
Trost was pleased with all of his bench players including Chris Silagi, who scored 10 points, and Marty Eich, who grabbed six rebounds.
IWU's John Camardella played with a disregard for his well-being, crashing to the floor several times while collecting a game-high 11 rebounds to go with 13 points.
"He's relentless on the boards," Trost said. "You've got to play with reckless abandon and not worry about anything in the past (such as a sophomore-season knee injury.)"
IWU limited the Griffins to 39 percent field goal shooting while gaining a 44-24 rebound advantage. Steve King led the home team with 17 points. Mike Horton added 13 and Rob Arbuthnot 12.
Fontbonne pulled within 23-22 of the Titans after the first 12 minutes until a Kasten free throw sparked an 8-0 run which included an Adam Dauksas 3-pointer, a Seth Hubbard spin move and two Kasten free throws. Dauksas had four of IWU's 22 assists.
"Our guards did a good job of getting the ball inside and I was able to find some open seams," Kasten said. "The guards were making Fontbonne respect them from the 3-point line."
Kasten's output lifted his career point total to 1,513, leaving him eighth in school history behind the 1,573 scored by both Jeff Kuehl (1986-90) and Sheldon Thompson (1967-71).
Titans wrap up Olivet
By Randy Sharer
Pantagraph staff
BLOOMINGTON -- With only nine shopping days until Christmas, the No. 21-nationally ranked Illinois Wesleyan basketball team really bought into Coach Scott Trost's game plan Saturday night.
The resulting 104-67 victory over Olivet Nazarene made a nifty gift for the crowd of 1,500 at Shirk Center.
"We wanted to take away their high-low (offense) and we wanted to close out on (Jeremy) Riddle and make it difficult for him to get shots," said Trost, whose team accomplished both goals resoundingly.
"It's not what our opponents do. It's more about us."
Luke Kasten and John Camardella each scored 22 points to help the Titans improve to 4-2 ahead of Wednesday's trip to St. Louis to face Fontbonne (4-3). Olivet Nazarene fell to 6-7 this season and 5-18 all-time against IWU.
The Titans' season-high point total exceeded last year's high of 102 against North Park. IWU shot 56.7 percent from the field compared to Olivet's 38.1 percent.
Kasten scored 16 points the first 11 minutes as IWU built a 29-11 lead. The 6-foot-7 senior had made five 3-pointers prior to Saturday, but sank four during a 2:18 span in the first half.
"With the offense we have, I told him before the year started, I wanted him to play out on the floor a little bit," Trost said. "I want Luke to take the 3 when it's open. He's an effective shooter when he gets his feet set."
Kasten finished 9 of 16 from the field and 4 of 6 from 3-point range while Camardella was 10 of 13 from the field and 2 of 4 from long range.
"A lot of times Seth (Hubbard) would get double teamed and kick it out and it was a matter of them not contesting it," said Kasten of his arc work. "It's always fun when it seems like everything is going in."
Hubbard, who was 4 of 4 from the field for eight points, had seven of IWU's season-high 27 assists. Adam Dauksas had five assists and eight points.
"Seth's probably one of the best passing big men in the conference," Camardella said. "He's really just been playing incredible."
IWU won the rebound battle, 45-29, as Kasten grabbed a team-high 10.
"Coach has been emphasizing rebounds," Kasten said. "That has been one of our weaknesses. Everybody checked out their man. I think the two games we lost, we beat ourselves giving up offensive rebounds and turnovers."
The Titans shot a sizzling 61 percent en route to an artistic 62-30 halftime lead, which featured 17 assists and only two turnovers.
Their 12-of-20 shooting from 3-point range the first half left them just seven shy of the school record for 3-pointers in a game. They finished 17 of 34 from downtown with Chris Silagi making 4 of 6 en route to 13 points.
Perhaps even more impressive was IWU's 23-12 intermission edge on the boards.
"We shot the ball well, but more important to me, we defended and rebounded the ball," Trost said. "It was a good half."
Among the first-half highlights was a hang-in-the-air reverse layup by Camardella off a pass from Eric Starkey. Camardella, who tied his career scoring high, scored 14 of his 22 points the first 17 minutes.
"Illinois Wesleyan played a marvelous game," said Olivet coach Ralph Hodge. "They were the active team, the aggressive team.
"There was another team out there that stood around and watched them have a lot of fun. That team has got a lot of potential and a lot of it came out this evening."
IWU's biggest lead came at 85-45 following a 3-pointer by freshman Keelan Amelianovich with 9:46 to play.
"Coach Trost challenged us to make it work and make it start on the defensive end," Camardella said. "I think everything offensively came off the defensive end.
"Eric Starkey, I'm going to give him credit right off. Their best player, Jeremy Riddle, was held to four points by Eric until we came out of the game. Riddle was shell-shocked."
Riddle finished with 15 points, but 11 came against IWU's reserves the last 10 minutes.
Senior guard Laban Cross, who has been battling an ankle injury, made his season debut with 7:52 left and IWU leading 88-49. Cross became the 13th of 14 Titan scorers when he drilled a 3-pointer, much to the crowd's delight, with 3:34 left to make it 97-64.
"Tonight we did a great job offensively, defensively, rebounding," Trost said. "There wasn't a facet of the game where we didn't play."
Kasten's output lifted his career point total to 1,487, leaving him eighth in school history behind the 1,573 scored by both Jeff Kuehl (1986-90) and Sheldon Thompson (1967-71).
Jeffries tough on IWU
No. 1 Washington turns back Titans
By Randy Sharer
Pantagraph staff
BLOOMINGTON -- Illinois Wesleyan's basketball home game against No. 1 nationally ranked Washington University (Mo.) Sunday afternoon was never boring.
There were hope-inspiring rallies by the home team, one unstoppable star and at times short tempers on the part of players and officials.
The game didn't have an upset though as Washington held off No. 14-ranked IWU, 88-75, in front of 2,100.
The Bears improved to 7-0 behind the 31 points and nine rebounds of 6-foot-6 Chris Jeffries, who was 11 of 14 from the field and 9 of 10 at the line.
"I haven't seen a team that well-rounded," said IWU captain John Camaradella, who scored 15 points as IWU fell to 3-2.
"Jeffries is as good as he's talked up to be. When he doesn't get the shot, he kicks it out to somebody on the perimeter who is going to knock it down."
Seth Hubbard knocked down 5 of 7 from the field and 8 of 10 at the line to lead the Titans with 18 points, but he had no rebounds. Freshman Adam Dauksas sparked IWU with seven points within a 2:26 span to pull the Titans within 71-66. He finished with 10 points.
"They are solid at every position," Hubbard said. "They are deep and Jeffries is a ton."
The Bears shot 54 percent from the field while taking 10 more shots than IWU, which lost the battle of the boards, 39-24.
"We just didn't rebound," said Camardella, whose team was led by Luke Kasten's nine boards.
Washington came in shooting 30 percent from 3-point range, but drained 8 of 21 tries for 38 percent. IWU shot 47 percent from the field and 40 percent from long range.
"They've got great balance," said IWU coach Scott Trost. "In Jeffries they have an outstanding player. They shot the ball tonight better than they have on the year.
"You go into a game like this picking your poison in the sense that if they hit some of those shots, they are difficult to beat. We were right there."
The Titans pulled within 78-73 on a Camardella 3-pointer with 4:22 left. That was after trailing by as many as 12 with 13:29 showing.
"The momentum was on our side," Trost said.
But Jeffries was on Washington's side and his two free throws sparked a 10-2 run to end the game.
Washington created much of its final margin in the first three minutes by taking a 9-1 lead behind seven quick points by Jeffries.
"I thought we played like a veteran team," said Bear coach Mark Edwards, who has all the starters back from last year's 25-2 Sweet Sixteen squad.
"I thought we showed poise. We've been up here enough to know what you've got to do to win."
Washington's first win at Shirk Center -- where IWU is 102-9 since 1994-95 -- cut the Titans' series lead to 13-8. The Bears hadn't won in Bloomington since 1985-86.
"We kind of had some demons around us (in Bloomington)," Jeffries said. "We knew we had to play big here. I love it (playing in front of a big crowd) personally. I think we all do. We don't get this too often."
Camardella said, "The crowd was great tonight. It's what got all of us to come here to play big games like this. It's unfortunate when one gets away."
The Bears held Kasten to 11 points, 9.5 under his average, on 4-of-11 shooting. He committed six of IWU's 13 turnovers.
"Our game plan defensively is consistent from game to game," Edwards said. "We're very active. It's not like we try to take one person and shut him down. One thing we didn't want to do was help off their 3-point shooters as much."
Tempers flared when Bear senior Matt Tabash, who finished with 10 points, pushed Dauksas down near the scorers' table as the teams walked to their huddles with 12:37 left. Tabash was booed the rest of the game when he had the ball.
"I think both kids were going for the ball and shoved each other," Trost said. "That happens in the heat of battle."
Edwards said, "Matt was trying to call time out and the kid kept riding him so he just pushed him off. It was a senior showing a freshman."
A Titan fan was shown the door with 6:08 left in the first half after a verbal exchange with an official, who delayed play until the man left.
Edwards sees no reason IWU can't return to the NCAA playoffs this season.
"I don't think there is any question about it," he said. "I thought they played with a lot of heart tonight and I thought we did, too. It was a great Division III basketball game. We may see them down the road (in the playoffs)."
(Saturday December 7)
#1 Wash U to Visit Shirk Center Sunday
by Bob Quillman - IWU Hoops.com
(Listen to game live on the internet at WJBC.com.)
Illinois Wesleyan's Shirk Center will play host to a battle of perennial NCAA Division III powers Sunday, when the nationally #1 ranked Washington University Bears (6-0) meet the host Titans (3-1) at 3:00pm. IWU is 102-8 in the 8+ year history of the venue, and the Titans have been to the D3 Final Four three times (1996, 1997, and 2001) in the Shirk Center Era. An overflow crowd of more than 2800 is expected in Bloomington.
Last Six Meetings
| Season | Location | Result |
| 2001-02 | St. Louis | Wash U 81, IWU 58 |
| 2000-01 | Bloomington | IWU 94, Wash U 86 |
| 1998-99 | St. Louis | IWU 81, Wash U 75 |
| 1997-98 | St. Louis | IWU 76, Wash U 63 |
| 1995-96 | Roanoke, Virginia | IWU 73, Wash U 61 (Sectional Champ.) |
| 1995-96 | Bloomington | IWU 83, Wash U 74 |
It was no surprise the Bears were everybody's preseason favorite to take home the national championship. In 2001-02 Wash U went 25-2, advancing to the Sweet Sixteen. Their 14-0 conference record marked just the second time in history that a team went undefeated in University Athletic Association play. They rattled off a school record 21-game winning streak during the season. The Bears are 6-0 so far this year, with wins over Coe, Trinity (Texas), Southwestern, Dallas, Pomona-Pitzer, and Wesleyan.
After a disappointing 12-12 campaign last season, Illinois Wesleyan started this year with impressive, convincing wins over DePauw and Wabash at the Wabash Little Giant Tipoff Tournament. A blowout victory over Dominican improved the Titan's record to 3-0, but IWU fell Wednesday night at the University of Chicago (a UAA school), 77-69.
Probable Starters
| Illinois Wesleyan | Wash U |
| G Jim Lehan (5-11/165, JR) or
Adam Dauksas (6'3/180, FR) |
G Matt Tabash (5'10/160, SR) |
| G Eric Starkey (6'2/185, SR) | G Dustin Tylka (6'3/210, SR) |
| F John Camardella (6'4/210, SR) | G Joel Parrott (6'4/210, SR) |
| F Luke Kasten* (6'7/215, SR) | F Chris Jeffries* (6'6/185 SR) |
| C Seth Hubbard (6'7/220, SR) | C Jarriot Rook (6'8/210 SR) |
* Denotes Preseason D3Hoops.com All-American
Illinois Wesleyan and Wash U. are very similar in make-up. Both are led by a deep and talented senior class - so far in 2002-03, 4 of the top 5 scores for both squads are seniors. Both teams have tremendous balance, starting with solid frontcourts. 6'7/215 Luke Kasten (20.5 pts/6.3 reb) and 6'7/220 Seth Hubbard (12.5 pts, 5.0 reb) anchor the post for the Titans, while 6'8/210 Jarriot Rook (10.5 pts, 8.7 reb) starts at center for the Bears. 6'6/185 Division 3 All-American Chris Jeffries is Wash U's number one threat, averaging 20.7 points and 7.0 rebounds. Jeffries erupted for 35 points and 11 rebounds in a victory over Coe College Friday night. He is 48-69 (.696) from the field through six games, with all 69 attempts coming from inside the arc. 6'4/210 athletic small forward John Camardella (11.0 pts, 4.8 reb), who is playing near 100% health after an injury-plagued 2001-02 campaign, rounds out the Titan frontcourt.
The Titans and Bears are also both very strong in the backcourt. IWU head coach Scott Trost splits the point-guard duties between junior Jim Lehan and highly-touted freshman Adam Dauksas. Eric Starkey (12.3 pts) and Chris Silagi (6.3 pts) have been handling the shooting guard responsibilities, with Laban Cross (a CCIW All-Conference player last season) sidelined with an ankle injury so far this season. Mark Edwards starts three guards - Dustin Tylka (10.0 pts), Joel Parrott (9.2 pts), and Matt Tabash (7.2 pts). The trio is shooting 27-90 (.300) collectively from beyond the arc. Illinois Wesleyan's main perimeter threats (Starkey, Dauksas, Silagi, and Camardella) are 25-54 (.463) from 3-point range.
Barry Bryant, Anthony Hollins, Rob Keller, and Nick Geurts all average over 9 minutes off the bench for Wash U. Keller has connected on 5-11 (.455) attempts from beyond the arc. In addition to Daukas and Silagi, 6-7 Marty Eich sees time in a reserve role for the Titans, spelling Kasten and Hubbard in the post.
Illinois Wesleyan holds a 13-7 lead in the series, with the last two games being split -- Wash U dominated the Titans last season, 81-58…IWU won at the Shirk Center in 2000-01 by a score of 94-86.
Titans hold down Reich, not Chicago
By Randy Sharer
Pantagraph staff
CHICAGO -- Foul trouble disrupted a lot of what Illinois Wesleyan's No. 14-nationally ranked basketball team attempted to do Wednesday night during a 77-69 loss to the University of Chicago.
A crowd of 478 at 67-year-old Henry Crown Field House watched the Titans win the battle against Division III preseason player of the year Derek Reich, but lose the war against the rest of the Maroons while three IWU starters fouled out.
Two fouls limited Reich to just nine minutes and three points the first half, but he came back to finish with 18 points, 15 below his season average.
IWU coach Scott Trost felt his team needed more than a 35-31 halftime lead with Reich on the bench.
"I'm sure they felt good going in at half only down four with Reich not playing the last eight minutes," said Trost, whose team fell to 3-1 ahead of Sunday's 3 p.m. home game against No. 1-ranked Washington, Mo. "We didn't take advantage of him sitting."
Chicago coach Mike McGrath said, "It could have been a more negative feeling (at halftime) if some other kids hadn't made some good plays."
The Titans made good use of Luke Kasten, who scored a game-high 24 points, including IWU's first eight of the second half. But he only had one point the final 15 minutes.
"We weren't really in it from the very beginning," said Kasten, who was 8 of 19 from the field, 7 of 8 at the line and grabbed 11 rebounds. "We never got our tempo down. We never got momentum. We just played bad. Our shooting was off tonight."
The Titans shot 40.4 percent from the field compared to Chicago's 44.4 percent. IWU was 2 of 11 from 3-point range the first half, but went 5 of 12 the second half.
IWU freshman guard Adam Dauksas was 4 of 5 from 3-point range en route to a season-high 13 points.
"We didn't execute our offense," Dauksas said. "We didn't trust it. It was one of those games where nothing clicked."
The first Titan to foul out was co-captain John Camardella, who was scoreless in nine minutes of action.
"John is kind of our heart and soul out there along with Luke. When you take half of it out, it's tough to keep things moving," said Dauksas, who watched Camardella foul out with 7:29 left, Eric Starkey with :57 left and Kasten with :21 left.
Kasten felt the fouls could have been overcome.
"We aren't a one man team," he said. "When something like that happens, the rest of us have to step up. We just didn't do that."
Chicago (3-3) got a boost from its other players as Mike Dolezal scored 15 points (eight over his average), Bryan Fitzgerald 14 and Brian Cuttica 10.
"We've asked Mike to be our second scorer (with the loss of Scott Fischer to injury)," McGrath said. "He's capable of scoring and tonight he showed he can."
IWU went ahead 49-47 with 12:17 left on a 3-pointer by Chris Silagi. The Titans didn't score again until a Dauksas 3-pointer 6:27 later. During that drought, IWU missed seven shots and committed two of its 16 turnovers while Chicago went up 56-49.
"I thought our kids really worked hard and really bought into the scouting report," McGrath said. "Obviously foul trouble with John and Eric was a factor in the game, but I thought our kids battled and competed."
The Maroons also shot 36 free throws -- making 23 -- as IWU was forced to foul down the stretch. Chicago made 12 of 18 free throws the final 3:26.
Chicago twice built leads of 13 points in the final 1:14. IWU never cut the gap under six the final 5:22.
"Having John Camardella playing nine minutes hurt us," Trost said. "We wanted to try to pressure them, but pressuring them doesn't equate to fouling.
"I don't think we played as smart as we've been playing. We committed some careless fouls. We were playing with some lineups that we weren't comfortable with."
Titans find comfort zone in home opener
By Randy Sharer
Pantagraph staff
BLOOMINGTON -- The Illinois Wesleyan basketball team hadn't practiced against a zone defense much prior to Tuesday's home opener against Dominican University.
The River Forest-based Stars kept their hosts bogged down for 12 minutes, but ultimately the Titans found their comfort zone and cruised to a 79-55 triumph in front of 1,600 at Shirk Center.
"We really didn't have a lot of time to work against a zone so it was a matter of adapting to what they threw at us," said IWU forward John Camardella, who scored 13 points.
Titan forward Luke Kasten found enough seams in the zone to add 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field. Seth Hubbard chipped in 14 points and Eric Starkey 11.
"Luke's our rock," Camardella said. "When we need a basket, we go to him. When he's open, he shoots it. When he's not, he passes it back out. The guards were able to hit."
IWU sank 9 of 20 attempts from 3-point range to outscore the Stars from beyond the arc, 27-9. The Titans shot 55 percent from the field.
Dominican got the Titans' attention when it took a 17-16 lead with 11:10 left in the first half.
IWU took the lead for good on its next possession thanks to a 3-pointer by freshman Adam Dauksas, who finished with six points and five assists. Kasten followed with a fastbreak basket off a Chris Silagi assist.
"We had those two great wins in the Wabash Tournament and we wanted to get off to a great start on our home court," said Kasten, whose team improved to 3-0.
"They came out scrappy and we went for too many steals and took too many gambles, which gave them easy layups. On the offensive end, we were a little antsy."
Dominican (0-3) scored 10 points off layups or drives in the first eight minutes.
"We were chasing," said IWU coach Scott Trost. "We weren't playing our defense. Any time you go for a steal and miss, you compromise your defense. We gave driving lanes and didn't rotate over."
IWU ended the first half with a 15-4 run to take a 39-26 lead at intermission. No Titan foe has exceeded 26 points in the first half this season.
"Defensively, up to this point, we've been really good," Trost said. "I think in spurts tonight we were really good. Overall, I think our shot selection was pretty good."
IWU limited Dominican to 45.5 percent shooting and forced it into 17 turnovers.
"We were trying to spread the floor a little bit because we don't have quite the inside game that Wesleyan has," said Dominican coach Mark White. "That gave our point guard (Eric) Dunn some lanes to penetrate."
Dunn finished with a team-high 14 points, but seven came in the first seven minutes. Steve Preston added 13 points.
The Stars pulled within 11 on two occasions early in the second half, but two free throws by Hubbard and a reverse layup by Starkey sent IWU on a 16-6 run.
That surge included a Kasten dunk off a Camardella assist followed by a Kasten 3-pointer.
"Luke's outstanding," White said. "He's so tough to stop. We could possibly double him in the post, but he's not going to stay in the post. He's going to go out to 15 feet and hit a jumper or he's going to hit a 3-pointer or he's going to take it to the hole and dunk on you.
"It's not like he's one dimensional. He does so many different things it makes him difficult to stop over a 40-minute time span. He's a match-up problem for most teams in the country."
The officials had a problem with Camardella slapping the backboard following a hang-on-the-rim reverse dunk off an alley-oop pass from Dauksas. The play gave IWU a 61-40 lead and the officials gave Camardella a technical foul.
"Adam Dauksas has that sixth sense in him to know I was in the air," Camardella said. "The kid can pass. I was a little off balance. Slapping the glass is something I've been doing since high school. We were so excited."
IWU posted a 29-26 rebounding advantage with Hubbard grabbing a team-high seven.
"We were a little bit sloppy in the first half," Hubbard said. "I thought we could have played better, but got things together and ended up with a good win."
Titans take title in season-opening tournament
By Randy Sharer
Pantagraph staff
CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. -- The Illinois Wesleyan basketball team couldn't match its outside shooting of the night before.
That proved no problem thanks to all-tournament post players Luke Kasten and Seth Hubbard in the Wabash College Little Giant Tipoff Classic at Chadwick Court Saturday night.
Tournament most valuable player Kasten poured in 21 points and Hubbard only missed one shot en route to 15 points as IWU won the championship game over Wabash, 78-64, with 642 in attendance.
"Tonight the shots weren't falling from the perimeter so the guards got the ball inside," said Kasten, who was 8 of 15 from the field.
IWU senior Eric Starkey chipped in a career-high 19 points after going 12 of 13 at the line. He and Chris Silagi limited Wabash star Brady Claxton to 15 points.
Stopping Joe DesJean, a D3hoops.com third team All-American, was another matter as he poured in 34 points, 23 of which came in the second half.
"Coming into the game we made a concerted effort to stop him and Claxton," Starkey said. "For the most part I think we did a pretty good job on DesJean. We tried to step out on screens and bump Claxton a little. I think we took him out of his rhythm."
IWU shot 50 percent from the field compared to 45 percent for Wabash, which gained a 32-29 rebound advantage.
"I've tried to sell our guys on the idea that when you go on the road, you've got to play defense," said IWU coach Scott Trost, whose team improved to 2-0 while Wabash slipped to 1-1. "I'm proud of the guys' effort."
Rounding out the four Titans in double figure scoring was John Camardella with 12.
After giving up 25 offensive rebounds to No. 14-nationally ranked DePauw Friday, the Titans held Wabash to seven.
For the second straight night, IWU held its opponent to 24 first-half points while taking a 38-24 lead at intermission. Hubbard didn't miss on his six first-half shots, scoring 13 points.
"I think Seth played a great game, probably the best game of his career at Wesleyan," said Kasten, whose six rebounds shared the team lead with Hubbard and Adam Dauksas.
The Titans fell behind, 9-8, before taking the lead for good with an 11-0 run ignited by a Hubbard hook shot and concluding with a conventional three-point play by Starkey.
Trost wanted Starkey and Silagi to shadow all-tourney pick Claxton and "not give him a look. Chris did a good job and Eric did a good job, but I also think our post players did a good job hedging on those screens (to stop Claxton)."
Trost also wanted a strong first five minutes of the second half, which he got thanks to a 14-5 surge fueled by points from five Titans. That flurry included two Starkey free throws from a technical foul against Eric Buck.
An alley oop pass from Jim Lehan to Kasten gave IWU its biggest lead at 56-31 with 14:15 remaining. All-tournament pick DesJean then scored 12 of the Little Giants' next 14 points.
"He's a great player," Kasten said. "He has a great all-around game. He can face the basket. He's strong, jumps well. Me and Seth, basically all we could do was front him and hope we had back side help."
Trost said, "Luke and Seth were doing what they were supposed to do, but sometimes our back side help wasn't there."
IWU never allowed Wabash to score more than four unanswered points the final 6:36. It was too late by the time Wabash pulled within, 75-64, with 41 seconds showing.
"Coming into this tournament we really had a lot of questions on our minds about how we would handle two great teams," Kasten said. "Tonight you can see we really played well together. We had a lot of great chemistry on the floor. Everything clicked for us."
Wabash coach Mac Petty had hoped to see DesJean touch the ball more often in the first half, when the 6-foot-6 senior only took seven shots. He finished 11 of 16 from the field and 12 of 13 at the line.
"That's what we talked about at halftime," Petty said. "Wesleyan had something to do with it, but we didn't take the opportunity to throw it down to him. They did a good job doubling down on him the first half. They are a good ball club."
In Saturday's consolation game, Purdue-Calumet downed DePauw, 62-46. Purdue-Calumet was represented on the all-tourney team by Marquice Woods and DePauw by Jeremy Bettis.
IWU on right side of opening upset
By Randy Sharer
Pantagraph staff
CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. -- The Illinois Wesleyan basketball team was heavily favored to win its season-opener a year ago and lost.
On Friday night, the Titans were the underdog against No. 14-nationally ranked DePauw and triumphed, 77-64, in the semifinals of the Wabash College Little Giant Classic at Chadwick Court.
"It's a lot more fun being the underdog," said IWU forward Seth Hubbard, whose 12 points made him one of five Titans in double figures.
"There was no pressure going into this game except with ourselves. We just wanted to get the bad taste out of our mouth from last year. I think we did that tonight."
IWU thus advanced to tonight's 8 o'clock (CST) championship game to face host Wabash, which opened its season in Friday's first game with a 77-54 blowout of Purdue-Calumet.
The Titans had DePauw, a Division III Elite Eight qualifier a year ago, reeling early after back-to-back 3-pointers by John Camardella and a 3-pointer by Eric Starkey gave IWU a 17-5 lead six minutes into the game.
Camardella finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds and four steals. He was followed by Luke Kasten with 18 points, freshman Adam Dauksas with 11 and Starkey with 10. They helped IWU shoot 50.9 percent from the field compared to DePauw's 37.1 percent.
"We could have seven guys in double figures," said IWU coach Scott Trost. "We've got guys who can score. We've got to make sure they share the ball. When we do that, you saw how good we can be. We made the extra pass."
The Titans shot 56.3 percent the first half on their way to a 44-24 halftime lead.
"On the defensive end, we started there," said Camardella, whose team forced 15 turnovers and blocked four shots.
IWU also benefitted from making 9 of 15 3-pointers while DePauw went 4 of 17.
"Our recognition defense was as bad as it's ever been," said DePauw coach Bill Fenlon. "I can't remember the last time we lost track of guys as much as we did the first half. They made us pay every time."
DePauw came out the second half like a team that had gone 24-4 last year. Five points from Jeremy Bettis and four from Joe Ringger brought the Tigers within 46-35 just 4:30 into the second half. Ringger finished with 22 points and Bettis with 20.
"We didn't execute as well the second half," Trost said. "Our defensive intensity the second half wasn't what it was the first half."
But when DePauw pulled within 48-40, Camardella answered with a 3-pointer off a steal. A minute later he stole the ball again and put back his own miss to make it 55-42.
"John brings a spark and a fire to this team," Trost said. "I put a lot of pressure on Adam (Dauksas). He's still learning, but he's going to be really good. You don't have to worry about Eric Starkey not getting hustle plays. He's a scrappy kid (getting four steals)."
Trost's strategy against Ringger and Bettis was to deny them the ball. Ringger got a few extra touches thanks to 15 rebounds, which paced his team to a 43-34 rebound advantage.
"You can't let Ringger and Bettis post up," Trost said. "I think we did a decent job. You're not going to stop them completely."
DePauw's final run brought them within 67-59 with 2:11 left. IWU defused the threat by making 10 of 12 free throws.
"Everybody contributed," Kasten said. "Everybody passed well. This is a great team win. DePauw is a great team. We've got another great team tomorrow in Wabash."
Wabash-Purdue-Calumet
Brady Claxton scored 23 points and Joe DesJean 17 to lead Wabash past Purdue-Calumet, which was outshot from the field, 54 percent to 35 percent.
"We've got to try to stop those two players," Trost said. "If we do that, we'll give ourselves a chance. I'm sure they'll have a big crowd tomorrow, but our kids will come ready to play."
Marquice Woods led the Lakers with 16 points. Teammate Tyler Reash added 12. Purdue-Calumet faces DePauw in tonight's 6 o'clock (CST) consolation game.
CAMARDELLA, TITANS SEEK DRAMATIC IMPROVEMENT IN ‘02-’03
The Spectator--Jim Bennett--Nov. 14, 2002
E.mail Jim at jwbnnt@aol.com
“THAT’S NOT GONNA happen again,” he will tell you, and he won’t blink His confidence will ooze and you’ll have no cause to doubt him.
“He,” in this instance is John Camardella, Ilinois Wesleyan University’s 6-4 senior forward and co-captain. He will begin the 2002-03 season strong and injury free, a blessing he does not take for granted. His basketball career at IWU has been undermined by knee surgeries as well as a bout with reactive arthritis, a condition that can be nearly paralyzing.
“That,” in this instance would be losing. Last year’s Titans stumbled, finishing at 12-13, below .500 for the first time in a generation or two. They were 6-8 in the College Conference of Illinois (CCIW). They even lost three games at home. Illinois Wesleyan losses at the Shirk Center, where NCAA banners hang from the ceiling, come along about as often as the state of Illinois elects a Democrat for governor.
This is a basketball program used to winning and winning and then more winning. In the NCAA post-season playoffs, the Titans have nearly always been present to raise a hand when the roll is called. Head Coach and Athletic Director Dennie Bridges led the Green and White to the Division III Final Four in 2000-01, his final year of coaching.
It was not unfamiliar territory. In 1996, IWU advanced to the national semifinals; in 1997, they went one better by winning the national championship.
Bridges remains at his post as athletic director. During his 36 years of coaching IWU basketball, he established himself as a coaching legend, leading teams to 667 wins, 17 conference titles, and numerous playoff appearances.
ENTER SCOTT TROST. This is the act he had to follow. Bridges handed him the reins as head basketball coach in the fall of last year. His first season at the helm, the one "That's not gonna happen again," was a bumpier transition than Trost expected. "My first year was a difficult one, one that was more difficult than I imagined it would be. I knew it would be difficult to follow someone like Dennie, but it was even more so. I think it took a while for me to get to know the players and trust them and vice-versa. I feel a lot more comfortable with each and every one of them this year."
Trost's respect for Camardella developed in a hurry. Anyone who has watched John play is aware of his warrior-like competitiveness and his tenacious rebounding. There may be a better rebounder, inch for inch, in the CCIW but I doubt it. In high school, while playing for Hersey High in Arlington Heights, Camardella was an all-state volleyball player as well. "Volleyball is big in the suburbs," he says, "just as big as basketball. I consider it my best sport."
There is almost no scholastic volleyball for downstate boys, and certainly none for men in the CCIW. But playing volleyball had to be beneficial for him as a basketball plalyer. He's been a "player" ever since he enrolled as a freshman. Trost says, "I chose John as captain for a variety of reasons. One being his leadership qualities and the respect he demands from his teammates. You combine that with his ability and you have a great captain."
6-7 senior center/forward Luke Kasten, who has led IWU in scoring and rebounding in recent years, is the other co-captain. At IWU, Kasten has made a habit of earning a spot on the all-conference team. Once again, he will be Wesleyan's "go-to" guy on the offensive end.
Camardella seconds Trost's analysis of the substandard 2001-02 season. "We like Coach Trost and respect him, but last season's transition period accounts for the drop-off. It shows how the relationship between a coach and players is underestimated. There has to be a rock-solid trust and belief. We've established that now with Coach Trost."
BUT THE BITTER taste of defeat is still like acid on the tongue. “It was the worst year of my life,” says Camardella, “and not just because of the losing. What was worse, I couldn’t help the team. I couldn’t contribute anything because of the arthritic condition and the knee surgery. I felt really helpless.
"Because of it, I had to wait until late fall to have the surgery. By the time I was well enough to play again, I was out of shape; my wind was bad and so was my vertical [jump]. I probably only had three or four good games all season.” The record shows that Camardella played in only 18 games while starting but four. Still, he averaged 4.8 rebounds a game.
Last year's reactive arthritis (Camardella and his doctors attribute its onset to a nasty case of food poisoning) nearly disabled him. "Every joint in my body was like, agonizing. I couldn't put my clothes on or tie my shoes. I could hardly even walk. I couldn't get better. I kept taking the medicine day after day, and all the doctors could say was, 'just keep taking your pills and this thing will run its course in a few months.'
"I was really discouraged. I didn't have six or seven months, I needed to get well so I could have the knee surgery to repair the damaged cartilage. And practice was already starting."
You know those ads on TV, the ones that proclaim the benefits of Vioxx and Celebrex? If their manufacturers are looking for endorsements from athletes, Camardella is not their man. "I just kept taking those meds week after week, and they never did any good," he says.
On the other hand, the community of acupuncturists would find him an enthusiastic spokesperson. "My mom," he says, "found out about this acupuncturist in Lake Forest named Dr. Meng, who was the acupuncturist for the Bulls and the Bears. She called him up and made an appointment for me."
Acupuncture is a form of treatment for various ailments which dates all the way back to ancient China. The acupuncturist inserts needles beneath the skin into carefully-chosen pressure points.
"As soon as I told him about my condition, Dr. Meng just laughed. 'Easy,' he said. He wanted me to come for three treatments a week over a three-week period. I remember leaving his office after the first treatment. I could actually lift my arms again. By the time I finished the course of treatments, I was completely pain free. It was almost like a miracle."
IF TROST WAS DISCOURAGED with last season's win-loss record, he has to be smiling about the nine talented freshman he welcomes to the fold, all players he recruited in the spring. These are not glorified walk-ons. "All nine freshmen were recruited to IWU," he says. "It just so happened that most everyone we recruited ended up coming here."
Camardella says, "We have to have the best division three recruitng class in the nation." On Bob Quillman's website, (iwuhoops.com), Kasten says of the freshmen, "Man are they good." He also evaluates Mike McKean, a 6-5 forward from Cissna Park: "He's a ton; he'll probably get varsity playing time."
Another IWU senior, guard Eric Starkey, is blown away by the talent of Keelan Amelianovich, a 6-6 forward who prepped at Neuqua Valley in Naperville. "Before he's done," says Starkey, "Keelan will be the best player in the CCIW. There's no doubt in my mind." The website also includes Trost's assessment of Delavan all-stater Jason Fisher, as "the most athletic player I've ever coached at this level."
Generously listed as 6-2, Fisher won the slam-dunk competition at state tournament festivities in March.
Quillman's website, by the way, is a mother lode of information about IWU basketball. It is pleasingly designed, easy to navigate, and always current. It also provides numerous related links. Most Titan followers should probably bookmark it.
TROST HIMSELF would probably appreciate it if the seniors would restrain themselves a bit while exalting the new recruits. Why put extra pressure on them? Yet, he too acknowledges their talent and potential. "I would be careful to call this class the best recruiting class in the nation." But he's quick to add, "All of the freshmen have impressed me at one time or another. Because of the senior class, it is going to be difficult for many of them to get a lot of varsity minutes this season.
"I do anticipate a couple of them contributing to the varsity squad this year. Particuarly, [Adam] Dauksas and Amelianovich." And what about his dunkathon diaper dandy? (Lord, I watch too much ESPN.) "Jason Fisher is extremely talented," says the coach. "He is very athletic and shoots the ball extremely well. He's a young man that is going to be a very good player in the CCIW."
Trost has already alluded to the depth and talent of his seniors. He will have the luxury of bringing his frosh along slowly. In addition to Stark, Kasten, and Camardella, he welcomes back guard Laban Cross, center/forward Marty Eich, guard Chris Silagi, and center Seth Hubbard.
Competition for playing time at the guard positions should be downright fierce. In addition to the three seniors and those gifted freshmen, juniors Jim Lehan and Shawn McGuire bring skills and experience of their own to the talent pool.
CAMARDELLA RELISHES rebounding and defense. "Rebounding is my game," he says. "I'm like the fullback in there, rooting around; I'm not afraid of the dirty work. And I always work on my rebounding in practice with Coach Martell." Martell, a Trost assistant, is also the school's head baseball coach. "There's always more to learn about anticipating the carom of missed shot, whether on the strong side or the weak side."
But he is too modest about his scoring ability. He doesn't feed exclusively on "garbage" points. He has an effective jump shot, and can take his man off the dribble on the perimeter. His shooting percentage from beyond the arc is well over .400 for his three seasons at IWU.
A combination of unique circumstances joined to bring Camardella to IWU. He didn't have to be recruited at all. Or if he did, his mother was the point man (woman). And why not? Any mother who can ferret out the right acupuncturist should be capable of finding the right college. "As for Coach Bridges and how I found IWU, that's simple," says the senior forward. "My mom made me come visit. She heard about the school and during the summer before senior year we visited, and I fell in love. Mom is always right."
And that's probably not tongue in cheek. Off the basketball court, Camardella is all "Yessir," or "No, Sir." He insists on calling old sportswriters "Mister." And if you invite him to communicate on a first-name basis, he replies, "I'm sorry, but I can't. It's just not the way I was brought up."
He does take issue (politely) with respect to the title of Athletic Direcor Bridges' recent book, "A dunk only counts two points." Did you ever notice it's the guys who coudn't touch the rim who find their solace in the refuge of scoreboard? "Actually that's not quite true," says Camardella. A dunk can inspire a team, increase their players' adrenaline rush and change momentum."
Camardella has dunked many times in the Titan uniform, but the one he remembers best occurred his sophomore year in a game against Wheaton at the Shirk Center. "It was a high lob pass from Todd Wente during a critical part of he game. I caught it and dunked as I came down, I felt the whole Shirk Center stand up. It will always be one of my fondest memories at IWU. We all know that a dunk only counts two points, but the momentum it can bring is immeasurable."
I'll go with John on this one. Any play that gets the crowd into the game is worth three points at least.
(Wednesday October 30, 2002)
"Titan Thoughts", Chapter 1
by Art Kimball, WJBC Radio -- Special to IWUhoops.com
Send Art a note at Akimbakk@aol.com.
This year marks my 50th year in broadcasting. That's a long haul any way you cut it, but when you cover sports for a living, life certainly isn't all bad!
We'd love to see a Titan resurgence this coming hoop season, but basketball is a funny game. The CCIW race shapes up as being demanding especially when you are trying to blend talented newcomers with a veteran cast still smarting from last season's 12-12 finish.
From our observations in pre-season drills, the veterans are a determined group. Both players and coaching staff look to be much more comfortable than a year ago. After all, Scott Trost faced the daunting task of replacing Dennie Bridges.
The Trost style is markedly different than was the Bridges' approach. This time around, the returning veterans know what to expect. Although the Titan freshmen are impressive, how soon they can step in and contribute is up in the air. At this point Mike McKean, Keelan Amelianovich, Adam Dauksas, and Jason Fisher look ready to throw their oar in the water the soonest.
The backcourt battle is interesting with DeKalb product Jim Lehan currently the top point guard candidate. Scott Trost is concerned with that spot and he is giving a good look at senior Chris Silagi along with Dauksas and another veteran, Eric Starkey.
Luke Kasten, perhaps the CCIW's premier player leads the Green and White with plenty of help from a slimmed-down John Camardella. Seth Hubbard looks to draw the other opening assignment when the Titans face DePauw November 22nd in the Wabash Tournament in Crawfordsville, Indiana. The three we've mentioned give the Titans a front line that goes 6-7, 6-7, and 6-4 and averages 215 pounds per man. Not the biggest front court trio in the CCIW but not bad. Look for Mike McKean to throw his 6-5, 200-pound frame into the action early on. Another key veteran, Laban Cross, figures in at a couple of spots.
We've been behind the mike on a bundle of IWU games over the years. The first season for us was 1973-74 when Jack Sikma was starting his sensational collegiate, and later NBA career. Back at that time, the Titans were an NAIA member and played such D-1 toughies as St. Bonaventure, Detroit, Arizona, Bradley, Iowa and many more. The switch to NCAA III several years ago has netted a national championship and a runner-up and a pair of third place finishes.
What lies ahead? Good things! This will be an entertaining team, no question. There will be bumps along the way, but we have a hunch the memories of last season's struggles will become a distant memory in a hurry.
(Friday October 25)
IWU basketball team seeks to put bite in tradition's bark
By Randy Sharer
Pantagraph staff
The unspoken feeling among Illinois Wesleyan basketball players a year ago was "let's get this regular season formality out of the way so we can go back to the Final Four."
That mindset was one of many ingredients for what became a disastrous season by IWU standards.
"Before I knew it, it was over and we were under .500," said senior captain John Camardella. "I think it was everybody's fault for not believing in the correct way to do things."
The Titans assembled for their annual Media Day Thursday touting a different philosophy.
"We can't win anymore simply from having a tradition," Camardella said. "We need to win because we work hard. We need to win because we execute our offense."
Nine of the top 10 players return from a squad which went 12-12 last year and tied for fourth in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin at 6-8. Six Titans were key members of the nation's third-place squad, which went 24-7 two years ago.
The 23 Titans include nine freshmen.
Two-time all-CCIW first team pick Luke Kasten is among seven seniors. The 6-foot-7, 215-pound forward averaged a team-leading 18.4 points per game last season.
"We are in the best position since I've been here," Kasten said. "We've got a great nucleus of seniors. The freshmen -- a lot of people regard them as the best class in the nation. They are providing a lot of great competition in practice."
Kasten said he is happy the transition year to a new coach is out of the way as Scott Trost begins his second season since replacing Dennie Bridges.
"It was hard for him to trust us in crunch time and hard for us to trust him," Kasten said. "This year he knows everybody. We have a great relationship. He has confidence in us and we have confidence in him. I think that is going to make a world of difference."
Also back is all-CCIW third-team pick Laban Cross, a 6-2 senior guard who averaged 12.0 points.
"We want to get off to a good start this year, which is something we didn't do last year," said Cross, who was among many Titans to stay in Bloomington over the summer to practice.
"We played twice a week against ISU. They are a lot stronger and quicker than we are, but we played them pretty tough. They were trying to get better, too. I hope we helped each other out."
IWU was hurt last year when a knee injury delayed the start of Camardella's season by seven games. The 6-4 forward returned to average 6.8 points. He worked with a personal trainer over the summer to increase his vertical jump to 33 inches.
Other seniors are 6-2 Chris Silagi (10.3 ppg), 6-7 Seth Hubbard (7.9 ppg), 6-2 Eric Starkey (5.9 ppg) and 6-7 Marty Eich (2.5 ppg). The most experienced juniors are Shawn McGuire (4.0 ppg) and Jim Lehan (2.8 ppg).
Adam Dauksas, a 6-3 freshman, could see extensive playing time at point guard.
"I thought last year he was the best high school point guard we recruited," Trost said. "He's one who is going to contribute some quality minutes."
Trost has yet to name his starters and he may not until the day before the season opener Nov. 22 at Crawfordsville, Ind., in the Wabash College Little Giant Classic against DePauw at 6 p.m. Purdue-Calumet rounds out the four-team field in that two-day tournament.
Trost rates his schedule among the most difficult in Division III. Three IWU opponents are ranked in one national poll: No. 1 Washington (Mo.), No. 7 Carthage and No. 17 DePauw.
"It's a very difficult schedule, but one I think our kids are up for," Trost said.
The opener for IWU's 11-game home schedule is Nov. 26 against Dominican of River Forest. CCIW play begins at home Jan. 11 against Augustana.
A schedule highlight is the D-III Shootout at Honolulu where the Titans face St. John's (Minn.) Dec. 28, Wisconsin-Stout Dec. 29 and Nebraska Wesleyan Dec. 30.
(Sept 12, 2002)
New Titans on Campus after Productive Summer
by Bob Quillman
Three weeks into their first semester of college, the Illinois Wesleyan freshmen basketball players are finding their way around campus and the basketball court. Collectively, the much-heralded Titan recruiting class is excited and ready for the season.
6-3 Homewood-Flossmoor product Adam Dauksas is one of two members of the class who moved to Bloomington for the summer. "I just wanted to get to know the guys and play as much ball as I could," said Dauksas. "It was the best thing I could have done…I had a great summer."
Michael McKean, a 6-5 forward from CPCI High School, also spent his summer in the Twin Cities. McKean lived with his aunt and uncle and worked landscaping for Bauer & Gudeman Inc. "Getting to know the guys this summer was really great," said McKean. "We played a ton of basketball."
Standout recruit Keelan Amelianovich (6'6 forward, Neuqua Valley H.S.) spent the summer at home in Naperville, but made it down to Bloomington a number of times. In addition to joining his new Wesleyan classmates for pick-up games, Amelianovich participated in the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Class AA all-star game at IWU's Shirk Center in June. "The IBCA game was an amazing experience," said Amelianovich. "Overall, I had a good summer. I worked out quite a bit and feel like I am in good shape."
Amelianovich was not the only Titan on the IBCA all-star roster. McKean and Jason Fisher (6-2 guard, Delevan) played for the north in the Class A contest. Fisher was also a regular at Shirk Center open gyms from June to August, making the short drive from Delavan.
Litchfield's Mike McGraw also made four trips to Bloomington to meet his new teammates and play basketball. "It was pretty eye opening playing against the older guys…they are much quicker and stronger," said McGraw. "I spent the summer trying to get stronger and working on my defense."
A highlight of the summer for those participating in the pick-up games at IWU was squaring off against members of the Illinois State basketball team each day. Gregg Alexander, Dirk Williams, Andy Strandmark, Casey Reid, Boo Bojang, Vince Green, and Trey Guidry (transfer from N.C. State) were among the Redbird regulars at the Shirk Center. "Playing against those guys was a ton of fun," said Dauksas. "There probably isn't a player in the CCIW as good as Trey, so that was a great test for us." Guidry averaged 23 points a game for the Redbirds during their summer trip to Australia.
6'5 identical twins Chris and Cornelius Jones (Thornwood H.S.) spent the summer playing in a slightly different environment than the Shirk Center. The Jones' played at Argalde Gardens and the Eisenhower Projects in the southeast suburbs. "We played against guys like Bobby Simmons and (former Thornwood teammate) Eddy Curry," said Chris. "Playing against NBA competition was definitely good for us," he added.
Cornelius seemed to speak for the entire freshmen class in saying, "I am coming in just trying to find a role on this team. I am going to give 110% and work my butt off." Dauksas added, "The talent level of the upperclassmen is amazing. I am just looking to fit into the scheme somehow."