2003-04 Season Previews, Recaps, and Notes
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Titanic season
Amelianovich, Trost garner CCIW awards
By Randy Reinhardt
rreinhardt@pantagraph.com
BLOOMINGTON -- Keelan Amelianovich couldn't make the substitution rotation as a freshman on Illinois Wesleyan's senior-laden basketball team last season.
As a sophomore, Amelianovich has made history.
The 6-foot-6 forward from Naperville became the first IWU sophomore to earn the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin's Fred Young Most Outstanding Player award since Jack Sikma in 1975 Tuesday in a voting of the league's coaches.
"Obviously, that's a great honor. All the work has paid off," Amelianovich said. "I never imagined that. That wasn't even one of my goals until my senior year."
Amelianovich is the first sophomore to claim the award since Carthage's Jason Wiertel in 2000. Wiertel shared the award with IWU's Korey Coon that season.
"There are some really good players in this league. Us being conference champions by two games speaks volumes about the year Keelan had," IWU coach Scott Trost said. "It's a great honor for Keelan. The coaches really respect his game and what he means to our team. It's a very deserving award and I'm very happy for him."
Trost gave the Titans a sweep of the CCIW's major awards by being named Coach of the Year for the second straight season. Wesleyan meets Maryville (Mo.) Thursday at 7 p.m. in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Tournament at Shirk Center.
IWU sophomore guard Adam Dauksas was a second team all-league selection, while freshman forward Zach Freeman was a third-team pick.
Amelianovich averaged 18.3 points to help the Titans to a 19-6 record and was fourth league-wide at 18.2 points in CCIW games only. He led the conference in 3-pointers per game at 2.57, was second in 3-point percentage (48.3), fifth in field goal percentage (54.5), eighth in rebounds (5.7) and 12th in steals (1.0).
"Without us winning (the CCIW), there would be no chance of me being in the running," he said. "So I would like to credit the team for that as well."
Amelianovich scored a total of 27 points in 18 games last season but had 25 points in the Titans' season-opening victory over the University of Chicago.
"He deserves it. He works his butt off," Dauksas said. "He's our best player and the league's best player. I'm very happy for him."
Joining Amelianovich as unanimous first-team picks were seniors Drew Carstens of Augustana, Wheaton's Joel Kolmodin and Theo Powell of Carthage. Kolmodin was the league's Most Outstanding Player last season.
"Drew and Joel are All-Americans. I respect them to the fullest," Amelianovich said. "I'm not at their level yet. This award doesn't put me above them by any means. It's still a great honor to be named up there with them."
Rounding out the first team was Elmhurst sophomore Chris Martin, a Eureka High School graduate.
Dauksas was second in the CCIW in assists at 4.86 per game and assist-turnover ratio at 2.27. He was 13th in scoring (12.6), sixth in 3-point percentage (42.6) and seventh in 3-pointers per game (1.64).
"It (first team) is a goal. But it (second team) definitely means a lot to hear it from the coaches. So it's very cool," said Dauksas. "I've got two more years to improve so hopefully I can do that and challenge Keelan for that Most Outstanding Player some day."
Dauksas is the lone returning starter from last season's NCAA Tournament team.
"I've stated all along that I think Adam is the best point guard in the league," said Trost, noting that no point guards were selected to the first team. "There's not a guy I would rather have running our team. Like I told the coaches, Adam is the catalyst of our team."
A Normal Community graduate, Freeman was sixth in CCIW rebounding at 6.7 and third in field goal percentage at .561. He is averaging 11.7 points for the season.
"It feels good I got recognized for things I've done this year," said Freeman. "It's exciting."
"Zach had a tremendous freshman year," Trost said. "He made some huge baskets for us and had some huge games. He's going to get nothing but better."
The IWU coach added that senior guard Jim Lehan and sophomore center Cory Jones "both had great years and easily could have been recognized."
Trost credited his players and coaching staff for the Coach of the Year honor. The third-year coach led a team that was picked fifth in the CCIW preseason poll to a league championship.
"When you get awards like that, it says something about your team," he said. "These guys have worked hard and bought into what we preached and taught them. It says a lot about our players and our staff."
Amelianovich agrees his coach is deserving.
"Obviously he's done a great job since he's been here," Amelianovich said. "He knows what the right stuff to do in practice is and how to motivate the right guys. He's done that over the last couple of years."
Titans own CCIW title
Titans rally for 10th win in row, claim NCAA bid
By Randy Reinhardt
rreinhardt@pantagraph.com
BLOOMINGTON -- Jim Lehan's white Illinois Wesleyan home jersey sported a large green smear courtesy of an embrace from a chest-painted Titan loyalist.
"I bleed green," said a beaming Lehan.
IWU needed blood, guts and free throws Saturday to emerge from a classic College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin battle with Wheaton clutching a 75-72 victory before a two-deep-on-the-railing, standing room only Shirk Center crowd listed modestly at 3,000.
"That whole game I don't know what was going on. I felt like I was in a dream," Lehan said. "I felt like we should win and it was going to happen. Sometimes when you will it to happen, it does."
Lehan and Adam Dauksas each nailed two critical free throws in the final 28 seconds as Wesleyan rallied from a nine-point deficit at the 5:25 mark to secure its first outright CCIW championship since 1998 and land the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament.
"The kids found a way. I'm so proud of them," said emotionally spent IWU coach Scott Trost. "They've got big hearts and they never quit."
The Titans' 10th consecutive victory moved their record to 19-6 overall and 12-2 in the CCIW, a full two games ahead of the field. No. 7 Wheaton (21-4, 10-4 in the CCIW) is left to hope for a Pool C (at-large) bid when tournament pairings are announced tonight.
"Whatever Dennie (IWU athletic director Dennie Bridges) charges to get in here, it's probably not enough," Thunder coach Bill Harris said.
Wheaton, which owns one of the six CCIW opponent victories in IWU's 63-6 Shirk Center conference record, grabbed a 66-57 advantage on a Tony Bollier 3-pointer with 5:25 remaining.
"They took us out of our offense. We couldn't get anything. But we're still right there knowing we can play better," Trost said. "We were playing timid and a little bit scared. Finally the last five or six minutes I said 'Break them down off the dribble,' and Jimmy and Adam were able to do that."
A Dauksas three-point play and a Lehan 3-pointer quickly brought the Titans back within three. The Thunder held a 70-67 edge before two Zach Freeman free throws and a Keelan Amelianovich 17-footer at the 2:34 mark gave IWU its first lead since 45-44.
"That was a designed play off a curl screen," said Amelianovich, who was held without a 3-pointer for just the second time all season with both coming against Wheaton. "I've practiced that so many times that if I square my shoulder to the basket I know it's going in."
After Wheaton's Jonathan Steven and Bollier both missed 3-point tries, Lehan drained a pair of free throws for a 73-70 IWU lead.
Thunder All-American Joel Kolmodin scored the final two of his game-high 24 points with 17 seconds left before Dauksas converted a pair of free throws at the 14-second mark.
The Titans were a shoddy 5 of 11 from the foul line in the first half, but redeemed themselves with a 17 of 19 second-half showing.
"When I hit them I wasn't even thinking about the ones we missed," said Dauksas, who had 13 points and five assists. "We took it to a different gear and played better than we did before. They are a great team. I respect all of them. This is an unbelievable feeling."
Kolmodin did not connect from long range on Wheaton's last possession. Steven emerged froma a mad scramble with the rebound but could not get off a shot before the buzzer sounded and jubilant Wesleyan fans emptied onto the court.
"We had great shots," Harris said of the late going. "They hit a couple big shots and we missed. I thought when we had an eight-point lead we stopped playing defense for about a three-minute period."
Freeman scored 10 first-half points as IWU took a 30-29 lead to the locker room. The freshman forward finished with team-highs of 18 points and eight rebounds.
Amelianovich countered Wheaton's stifling perimeter defense with 7 of 11 shooting inside the arc. The sophomore finished with 17 points and a career-high matching eight rebounds.
"They play very good defense and have very athletic players," Amelianovich said. "But I didn't let that get to me. I took it to the basket and got 15-footers."
Lehan scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half, while Cory Jones added 10 as all five IWU starters hit double figures.
Bollier chipped in 14 points and Steven 13 for Wheaton, which was outrebounded,
37-35.
Wheaton @ (21-3, 10-3) @ Illinois
Wesleyan (18-6, 11-2)
Saturday February 28, 2004 - 7:30pm
Click here to listen to WJBC-2.com broadcast - coverage starts at 7:15pm
Click here to listen to WETN Broadcast
Probable Starters (conference-only stats)
|
||
G |
Adam Dauksas (6-3/190, Soph) 12.6 pts, 3.9 reb, 4.8 assists, 23-53 3-pt (.434) |
Jon Nielson (6-0/178, Jr) 11.5 pts, 2.1 reb, 5.4 assists, 24-59 3-pt (.407) |
G |
Jim Lehan (6-0/175, Sr) 10.2 pts, 3.5 reb, 3.8 assists, 10-27 3-pt (.370) |
Tony Bollier, G (6-0/160, Soph) 8.1 pts, 1.8 reb, 1.8 assists 19-43 3-pt (.442) |
F |
Keelan Amelianovich (6-6/215, Soph) 18.3 pts, 5.3 reb, 36-70 3-pt (.514) |
Martin Trimiew (6-3/205, Jr) 13.6, 4.3 reb, 61-107 FG (.570) |
F |
Zach Freeman (6-7/190, Fresh) 11.2 pts, 6.6 reb, 54-96 FG (.563) |
Will Landry (6-5/210, Sr) 10.4 pts, 8.6 reb, 47-91 FG (.516) |
C |
Cory Jones (6-6/213, Soph) 11.6 pts, 5.3 reb, 63-102 FG (.618) |
Joel Kolmodin (6-8/235, Sr) 19.5 pts, 9.2 reb, 78-155 FG (.503) |
Top Reserve |
Jason Fisher, G (6-2/204, Soph) 5.2 pts, 17-29 3-pt (.586) |
Jonathan Steven (6-5/215, Jr) 13.1 pts, 2.4 reb, 12-30 3-pt (.400) |
Team Averages (conference-only stats)
|
Illinois Wesleyan (11-2) |
Wheaton (10-3) |
Points Scored Per Game |
78.2 |
79.2 |
Points Allowed Per Game |
68.5 |
67.8 |
Field Goal % Avg FG Attempts Per Game |
.506 55 |
.499 53 |
Opponent's Field Goal % |
.423 |
.407 |
3-point % Avg 3-pt FG Att/Game |
.458 16 |
.394 15 |
Opponent's 3-point % |
.318 |
.333 |
Free Throw % |
.719 |
.773 |
Rebounds Per Game |
36.6 |
37.2 |
Rebounds Allowed Per Game |
31.8 |
33.2 |
| Assist to 1 T.O Ratio | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Opponent's Assist to 1 T.O. Ratio | .90 | .90 |
Rosters for Saturday's
Titan Alumni Game (5:15pm):
"Old Guys":
Name |
Position |
Height |
Yr of Graduation |
Brent Niebrugge |
F |
6-4 |
1998 |
Jon Litwiller |
F/C |
6-6 |
1996 |
Brady Knight |
G |
6-1 |
1996 |
Chad Hutson |
G |
6-2 |
1995 |
John Lipic |
F |
6-6 |
1994 |
Mike Thomas |
C |
6-6 |
1991 |
Mark Edmundson |
F |
6-6 |
1990 |
Paul Petersen |
G |
6-3 |
1988 |
Eric Bridges |
G |
6-1 |
1987 |
| Mark Aubry | G |
6-3 |
1995 |
"Young Guys":
Name |
Position |
Height |
Yr of Graduation |
Luke Kasten |
F |
6-7 |
2003 |
Laban Cross |
G |
6-2 |
2003 |
Chris Silagi |
G |
6-2 |
2003 |
Eric Starkey |
G |
6-2 |
2003 |
John Camardella |
F |
6-4 |
2003 |
Marty Eich |
F/C |
6-7 |
2003 |
Adam Osborn |
G |
6-3 |
2001 |
Korey Coon |
G |
6-0 |
2000 |
Nathan Hubbard |
G |
6-3 |
1999 |
| Matt Hoder* | F |
6-4 |
1998 |
* Denotes player is on Young Guys roster due to numbers, but player may not necessarily be young.
Titans clinch share of CCIW title
By Randy Reinhardt
rreinhardt@pantagraph.com
BLOOMINGTON -- Popular sentiment has long held that this sophomore-dominated Illinois Wesleyan squad would someday evolve into a championship caliber basketball team.
Someday has arrived.
The Titans secured the validation of a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin championship Wednesday by dismantling North Central, 97-71, before a Shirk Center crowd of 1,900.
"It's a great feeling. I'm so proud of those kids," said IWU coach Scott Trost. "At the beginning of the year, nobody gave us a chance. We were picked fifth in the league by the other coaches. I don't think anybody expected this except the 15 players, four coaches and the staff.
"Like Coach (Dennie) Bridges said, it never gets old winning the conference championship."
At 11-2 in the CCIW, Wesleyan clinched a share of its second straight league title and its 26th all-time.
IWU (18-6 overall) will try to win the CCIW outright Saturday when Wheaton (10-3) visits Shirk Center for a 7:30 p.m. showdown. The league's automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament goes to the winner.
"We wanted to do it for Jim (Lehan) and OB (John O'Brien)," sophomore sharpshooter Keelan Amelianovich said of IWU's seniors. "Putting another conference banner up in the locker room means a lot. I didn't play much last year and it was cool winning one, but it's a lot better this year."
The 6-foot-6 Amelianovich sent the Titans on their way to a ninth straight victory by scoring his team's first 12 points on four 3-pointers. Amelianovich was 6 of 8 from 3-point range and connected on 9 of 12 overall while scoring a career-high 26 points.
"Keelan has proven himself to be a premier player," Trost said. "He's tough to guard because he can beat you off the dribble. He can elevate over you and he can post you up. We do some things to get him looks and he executes the play."
The Titans skillfully avoided the potential pitfall of gazing ahead to Saturday with a strong start and a season-high 58 first-half points.
After Amelianovich's opening spree, Adam Dauksas added a 3-pointer and Cory Jones hit two baskets for a 19-9 lead.
Amelianovich's fifth 3-pointer of the half gave IWU a 38-21 bulge, and a Jason Fisher driving basket at the 2:48 mark pushed the Titans' advantage to 48-24.
"That's no different than anything he's done all season," North Central coach Benjy Taylor said of Amelianovich. "He's just a heckuva player. To be such a young player, he has really good patience. He works hard off the ball and takes good shots."
The Cardinals (11-12, 4-9 in the CCIW) dropped their ninth consecutive game.
"Coach told us not to look past this game," said IWU sophomore Chris Jones, who scored a career-high 16 points in 14 minutes off the bench. "This clinches the CCIW championship so we wanted to play just as hard against them as anybody else.
"When we work the ball, we always get pretty good shots. That's what Coach harps on. Once we get inside touches, that opens it up for the outside and we've got such great shooters it's hard to stop us."
The Titans shot over 50 percent in each half and ended at 54 percent (37 of 68) while recording 10 more assists (22) than turnovers (12).
"They're very hot," Taylor said. "They have really good players at every position. They're awfully good."
North Central sliced its 21-point halftime deficit as low as 18 at 62-44. But Wesleyan responded with 14 straight points with Amelianovich contributing seven and Cory Jones five.
Cory Jones added 13 points, Dauksas 12 and Zach Freeman 10. Cory Jones and Freeman each grabbed a team-high six rebounds as IWU dominated the boards, 45-23.
Mike Wilson paced the Cardinals with 31 points. Adam Krumtinger, a freshman from Normal Community High School like Freeman, had five points and four rebounds for the visitors.
With an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament a long shot if it loses Saturday, IWU's season comes down to the much-anticipated finale against Wheaton.
"Saturday is going to be big time," said Amelianovich. "Hopefully we can keep playing like we are now. It will be a tough game, but I think we're ready for it."
North Central (11-11, 4-8) @ Illinois Wesleyan (17-6, 10-2)
Wednesday February 25, 2004 - 7:30pm
Click here to listen to WJBC-2.com Netcast - coverage starts at 7:15pm
Click here to listen to WONC FM-89.1 (Naperville) Broadcast
Wednesday's Pantagraph Coverage
Boxscore from 2/4/04 meeting in Naperville
Probable Starters (conference-only stats):
|
||
G |
Adam Dauksas (6-3/190, Soph) 12.7 pts, 3.9 reb, 4.7 assists, 22-49 FT (.449) |
Adam Teising (5-11/160, Fr) 3.4 pts, 2.1 reb, 1.8 assists, 3-16 3-pt (.188) |
G |
Jim Lehan (6-0/175, Sr) 10.6 pts, 3.4 reb, 3,7 assists, 39-82 FG (.476) |
Mike Wilson (6-4/170, Soph) 14.6 pts, 3.4 reb, 14-38 FG (.368) |
F |
Keelan Amelianovich (6-6/215, Soph) 17.7 pts, 5.8 reb, 30-62 3-pt (.484) |
Monte Williams (6-3/210, Jr) 7.4, 4.1 reb, 34-82 FG (.415) |
F |
Zach Freeman (6-7/190, Fr) 11.3 pts, 6.7 reb, 49-88 FG (.557) |
Anthony Simmons (6-6/225, Fr) 10.6 pts, 4.2 reb, 53-99 FG (.535) |
C |
Cory Jones (6-6/213, Soph) 11.5 pts, 5.3 reb, 57-93 FG (.613) |
Josh Wesley (6-8/260, Soph) 5.8 pts, 3.7 reb, 22-48 FG (.458) |
Top Reserve |
Jason Fisher, G (6-2/204, Soph) 5.1 pts, 16-26 3-pt (.615) |
Kevin Lambert , F (6-3/215, Sr) 14.6 pts, 3.4 reb, 42-113 FG (.372) |
Team Averages (conference-only stats):
|
Illinois Wesleyan (17-6, 10-2) |
North Central (11-8, 4-8) |
Points Scored Per Game |
76.7 |
73.4 |
Points Allowed Per Game |
68.2 |
80.9 |
Field Goal % Avg FG Attempts Per Game |
.502 54 |
.422 61 |
Opponent's Field Goal % |
.424 |
.453 |
3-point % Avg 3-pt FG Att/Game |
.464 15 |
.325 17 |
Opponent's 3-point % |
.314 |
.421 |
Free Throw % |
.712 |
.677 |
Rebounds Per Game |
35.9 |
35.6 |
Rebounds Allowed Per Game |
32.5 |
37.5 |
| Assist to T.O Ratio | .90 | .80 |
| Opponent's Assist to T.O. Ratio | 1.0 | .80 |
Titans deliver early knockout punch
By Randy Reinhardt
rreinhardt@pantagraph.com
ROCK ISLAND -- The theme from the boxing motion picture blockbuster "Rocky" blared over the public address system shortly before the beginning of the second half Saturday.
Inspiration to a senior-laden Augustana basketball team facing a daunting task in its final home game?
Possibly.
Truth be told, the knockout punch had already been landed.
Illinois Wesleyan came out slugging in an unfathomable first 12 1/2 minutes and clung stubbornly to the resulting 25-point cushion to claim a crucial 84-73 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin victory.
A Carver Physical Education Center crowd of 2,400 watched Augustana miss 18 of its first 19 shots and IWU methodically construct a logic-defying 28-3 lead.
The Titans (17-6, 10-2 in the CCIW) won their eighth straight game and could clinch a share of the conference championship Wednesday against North Central at Shirk Center.
If IWU avoids an upset Wednesday, it would meet Wheaton (10-3 in the CCIW) next Saturday at Shirk Center with the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament on the line.
"It feels unbelievable to beat a team like that on their Senior Night," said IWU sophomore guard Adam Dauksas. "We played as a team. It was a team victory. That's the best part of it."
Preseason CCIW favorite Augustana (15-9, 9-4) was eliminated from conference title contention.
"Give the kids credit. They bought into the idea to defend and rebound on the road," said Wesleyan coach Scott Trost. "Every win is big. Every possession is big. We have to find a way for two more games."
After a Jim Thomas 3-pointer at the 18:07 mark of the first half brought the Vikings within 5-3, Augustana simply stopped scoring.
Seven Titans did score -- including eight points from Keelan Amelianovich -- as the IWU advantage grew to 25 points.
Augustana's scoring drought of 10:58 finally ended on a Shaun Clements basket.
"It was awesome. I could have never imagined anything like that, especially against a group of outstanding seniors," Amelianovich said. "We got a few key stops, a few blocks, executed and hit some open threes."
Cory Jones blocked three shots in IWU's opening salvo, two on one possession.
Just as importantly, the Titans held that huge lead the remainder of the half for a 45-20 margin at the break.
"Wesleyan has such tremendous offensive firepower," Augustana coach Grey Giovanine said. "We were climbing uphill after that."
The desperate Vikings tested IWU the entire second half and shaved their deficit to 12 points on three occasions, the last coming on a Thomas 3-pointer with 4:52 remaining.
But three Zach Freeman free throws and an Amelianovich steal shifted the momentum. Augustana would not get closer than the final score.
"We knew they would make a run, and I was worried how our kids would respond," said Trost. "The kids found a way. Our guys didn't fold."
Amelianovich paced the Titans with 20 points and eight rebounds. Dauksas added 18 points despite missing 8 of 19 free throws.
Cory Jones added 11 points, while Jim Lehan contributed eight points and seven rebounds and Freeman nine points and six boards.
Augustana All-American Drew Carstens was held scoreless in the first half and finished with nine, 10 below his average.
Thomas topped the Vikings with 18 points, and Shaun Clements had 15.
"Wesleyan's zone made us shoot threes and we couldn't make them," said Giovanine, whose team was 10 of 33 from beyond the arc.
IWU was 8 of 11 from 3-point range in the opening half and 9 of 12 overall. The Titans shot 57 percent (25 of 44) from the floor.
IWU keeps foot on the gas, wins 7th in row
By Randy Reinhardt
rreinhardt@pantagraph.com
KENOSHA, Wis. -- This lead was not going anywhere.
It was under lock and Keelan.
After turning hefty second-half advantages into nailbiters in its last two road games, Illinois Wesleyan rode the 25 points of sophomore Keelan Amelianovich to a convincing 81-62 victory over Carthage Wednesday.
Amelianovich matched a career high as the Titans closed the first half on a 10-1 run and opened the second half with a 23-11 streak.
"This was probably our most complete game in the league so far," IWU coach Scott Trost said. "They were 8-1 here. They've beaten a lot of good teams at home."
The Titans (16-6 overall) extended their winning streak to seven and held on to first place in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin at 9-2 before a crowd of 1,750 at the Physical Education Center.
"They beat our butt every which way," Carthage coach Bosko Djurickovic said. "They are an outstanding team, and they are playing very well. We are not an outstanding team."
Wesleyan held a 49-34 bulge with 14:26 remaining. Yet the not-so-fond memory of watching a 49-33 lead disintegrate into a one-point deficit last Saturday at Elmhurst was extremely fresh.
"We let down at the exact same time the last two (road games)," Amelianovich said. "This is definitely one of our better games this year. We decided to actually play defense while running our offense."
The Titans outshot the Redmen 54 percent to 39 percent and enjoyed a 42-26 rebounding margin as Carthage slipped to 13-9 and 5-6 in the CCIW.
"We did a good job beating them down the floor and a good job rebounding," said IWU forward Zach Freeman. "We had to lock them down on defense and pound the glass at the offensive and defensive end. That keys our break."
The Titans' starting frontline of Amelianovich, Freeman and Cory Jones combined for 54 points and 25 rebounds on 25 of 38 shooting from the floor.
"Keelan really played well. He was playing with confidence," Trost said. "He had that look in his eye like 'they can't guard me' and he was right."
Freeman recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds. For good measure, the freshman powered home two second-half dunks.
"They run the floor well from offense to defense and from defense to offense. They run their offensive stuff with great precision," Djurickovic said. "They've got better players than we've got and they played better than we did."
IWU led by as much as 23 points (58-35 in the second half). Carthage got within 72-58 on a Ryan Hargesheimer three-point play at the 4:09 mark. But a Jones basket and an Amelianovich 3-pointer squashed any Redmen comeback hopes.
Jones finished with 16 points and Adam Dauksas chipped in 10 points and seven assists.
Theo Powell paced Carthage with 19 points and seven rebounds, while all 13 of Kevin Menard's points came in the second half. Powell had riddled IWU for 31 points in a Titan win at Shirk Center.
The Titans fell into an early 10-2 hole as senior guard Jim Lehan sat out the rest of the half after picking up his third foul at the 16:45 mark.
IWU rallied for a 12-12 tie and led 25-23 before finishing the opening half on a 10-1 spurt. A Steve Schweer layup and two baskets each from Jones and Amelianovich boosted the Titans' lead to 35-24 entering the break.
"For us to come in here and play like we did with Jim out most of the first half with three fouls says a lot about our guys," Trost said.
IWU plays its final road game of the regular season Saturday against Augustana (9-3 in the CCIW) at Rock Island.
Jones cures ailing IWU offense
By Randy Reinhardt
rreinhardt@pantagraph.com
ELMHURST -- While his Illinois Wesleyan teammates were coughing up a 16-point lead, sophomore Cory Jones was simply coughing.
After becoming ill on the bench and retreating briefly to the locker room, Jones returned to make the Titans feel a whole lot better.
Jones snapped a horrendous IWU scoring skid with two free throws, followed with a huge jumper from the baseline with 1:24 remaining and the Titans hung on for a 62-55 victory over Elmhurst Saturday.
"I've been sick all week. But I had to play," Jones said. "I was coughing on the bench and had to run to the locker room. After that, I felt better."
IWU (15-6 overall) stretched its winning streak to six while maintaining its perch atop the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin at 8-2 before a Faganel Hall crowd of 769.
"Cory sucked it up and found a way," said IWU coach Scott Trost, who notched his 100th career victory at the school he began his head coaching career. "He told me 'Coach, I can go.' We need him in there. He's been a clutch player all year."
Elmhurst (10-11, 2-8 in the CCIW) appeared through after a basket from IWU's Chris Jones handed the Bluejays a 49-33 deficit with 12:10 remaining.
But Elmhurst scored 12 straight points in a span of 3:13 to pull within four.
Meanwhile, the Titans, who had dropped four of their last five here, managed only an Adam Dauksas 3-pointer and a Zach Freeman basket in nearly 10 minutes.
"We made stupid mistakes, turned the ball over, didn't execute and quit running," said Trost. "But we made some plays when we had to. Give the kids credit."
Elmhurst capped a 22-5 surge and took the lead at 55-54 on a Reuben Slock shot at the 2:43 mark.
"We started playing some defense and hit some open shots," said Bluejays' forward Chris Martin, a Eureka native. "It's crazy how good we can be when we play to our potential."
The Bluejays would not score again.
Jones' two free throws gave the Titans back the lead and after an Elmhurst miss, Jones buried a 12-footer with the shot clock at four.
"Keelan (Amelianovich) gave me a good pass," Cory Jones said. "He penetrated and drew my man to him."
After not attempting a first-half shot, Cory Jones scored 10 second-half points.
"Cory is a big-time player. People are beginning to see that," said Amelianovich, who led all scorers with 19. "We expected him to pull through and he did."
After Wayne Bosworth missed a 3-point attempt, Dauksas converted two free throws with 20 seconds left to extend the Wesleyan margin to 60-55.
Bosworth scored 11 of his 14 points in the second half, while Martin finished with 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Martin, who had been averaging 19.7 points, said IWU's extensive use of a 2-3 zone bothered the Bluejays.
"Sure it did," he said. "It took me out of my game. I couldn't do anything. It seemed like every time I touched the ball I had three people staring at me. It was very smart to do."
The Titans got just 10 points and 2 of 13 shooting from starting guards Dauksas and Jim Lehan. But Amelianovich, Cory Jones and Freeman combined to nail 14 of 20 from the field.
"Once we got back to executing and running our plays, we held our own," said Amelianovich.
Freeman added 14 points and reserve Steve Schweer helped IWU to a 30-27 rebounding edge with eight boards.
The Titans play the second of three consecutive road games Wednesday against Carthage in Kenosha, Wis.
Illinois Wesleyan (14-6, 7-2) @ Elmhurst (10-10, 2-7)
Saturday February 14, 2004 - 7:30pm
Saturday's Pantagraph Coverage
Boxscore from 1/10/04 IWU 84-74 win
Probable Starters:
|
||
G |
Adam Dauksas (6-3/190, Soph) 14.3 pts, 3.8 reb, 5.5 assists, 33-74 3-pt (.446) |
Craig Schau (6-0/170, Jr) 1.6 pts, 1.1 reb, 0.8 assists, 4-15 3-pt (.267) |
G |
Jim Lehan (6-0/175, Sr) 7.7 pts, 2.0 reb, 13-28 3-pt (.464) |
Wayne Bosworth (6-1/190, Sr) 11.9 pts, 2.9 reb, 29-92 3-pt (.315) |
F |
Keelan Amelianovich (6-6/215, Soph) 17.5 pts, 4.4 reb, 59-121 3-pt (.488) |
Chris Martin (6-6/215, Jr) 19.7, 10.1 reb, 135-269 FG (.502) |
F |
Zach Freeman (6-7/190, Fr.) 11.5 pts, 7.1 reb, 82-157 FG (.522) |
Gabe Kirstein (6-6/215, Jr) 9.7 pts, 3.2 reb, 77-140 FG (.550) |
C |
Cory Jones (6-6/213, Soph) 9.4 pts, 6.0 reb, 77-139 FG (.554) |
Reuben Slock (6-6/220, Jr) 10.6 pts, 4.2 reb, 82-192 FG (.427) |
Top Reserve |
Jason Fisher, G (6-2/204, Soph) 6.4 pts, 27-46 3-pt (.587) |
Patrick Trierweiler, C (6-8/250, Jr.) 4.8 pts, 1.5 reb, 26-42 FG (.619) |
Team Averages:
|
Illinois Wesleyan (14-6, 7-2) |
Elmhurst (10-10, 2-7) |
Points Scored Per Game |
78.2 |
76.9 |
Points Allowed Per Game |
68.6 |
71.9 |
Field Goal % Avg FG Attempts Per Game |
.473 58 |
.479 59 |
Opponent's Field Goal % |
.419 |
.451 |
3-point % Avg 3-pt FG Att/Game |
.459 18 |
.312 18 |
Opponent's 3-point % |
.337 |
.353 |
Free Throw % |
.762 |
.743 |
Rebounds Per Game |
36.8 |
37.0 |
Rebounds Allowed Per Game |
33.0 |
29.3 |
| Assist to 1 T.O Ratio | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Opponent's Assist to 1 T.O. Ratio | 0.9 | 0.9 |
Titans stymie Millikin
By Randy Reinhardt
rreinhardt@pantagraph.com
BLOOMINGTON -- The College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin's top shooting basketball team won't apologize for winning a game with defense.
Illinois Wesleyan is just relieved it could.
"Picturesque," said IWU coach Scott Trost with a sarcastic smile after the Titans overcame 42 percent shooting and a season-high 20 turnovers to handle Millikin, 65-51, Wednesday night before a Shirk Center crowd of 2,300.
"We didn't shoot the ball great and we had some turnovers, but defensively I thought we were pretty good," Trost said. "When you don't do some of those things, defense is going to save you and it did tonight."
Scoring its fewest points in a victory all season, IWU extended its winning streak to five while improving to 14-6 overall and hanging on to first place in the CCIW at 7-2.
"We know we can't play like that on the road, otherwise we're not going to win," said forward Steve Schweer. "We were real sloppy. I don't think any of the guys are really happy how we played. But I'm not going to complain about a win."
In the 200th game of the Wesleyan-Millikin rivalry, the Big Blue (13-8, 5-5) matched the Titans with 20 turnovers and shot a chilly 34 percent.
"We didn't do a good job shooting the ball, but Wesleyan did a great job defending us," Millikin coach Tim Littrell said. "We just struggled offensively all night long."
The Big Blue particularly struggled early in each half. Millikin scored just two points in the game's first nine minutes to trail 12-2. In the second half, the visitors buried themselves by going scoreless for the opening 4:35.
"The defense was there," said IWU center Cory Jones. "Overall it was decent game. But we had too many turnovers."
Jones and Keelan Amelianovich each had game-highs of 13 points and seven rebounds, although Amelianovich had his worst shooting performance of the season at 3 of 13.
The Titans led 32-21 at halftime as Millikin's top two scorers -- Chuck William and Jason Fisher -- missed 11 of 12 shots.
Wesleyan opened the second half with 13 consecutive points as Jones contributed six points on two free throws, a rebound basket and a dunk off a pass from Zach Freeman.
"Most of the time when I get the ball (inside) I'm getting double teamed and that leaves him (Freeman) wide open," said Jones. "I peek over my shoulder and there he is, and he does the same. We executed tonight."
Millikin did slice a 52-26 deficit to 15 with 9:43 remaining. But an Adam Dauksas 3-pointer halted the Big Blue's surge.
"Without question, the team that won deserved to win the basketball game," Littrell said. "I think they outplayed us in almost every phase of the game. I don't think we did a bad job defensively overall."
Kevin Causley led the Big Blue with eight points and seven rebounds as Fisher and Williams combined to shoot 3 of 18.
Schweer scored 10 points to reach double figures for the first time since Dec. 2.
"Steve is playing with a lot more confidence," said Trost. "You can see by the way he shoots it. He believes it's going in. That confidence and the way he's playing is coming at a good time."
The Titans, who missed four of their first five free throws but finished 16 of 21 from the line, face three straight road games beginning Saturday at Elmhurst.
"Our guys know we can play a lot better," Trost said, "and we will."
This was a real ugly game for the most part. IWU came out sloppy and committed a lot of careless turnovers (the Titans had 10 T.O. in the 1st half), but still had an 11 point halftime lead. IWU's defense was very good throughout this one and in the first half they held Millikin to 28% from the field.
Dauksas guarded Chuck Williams, who lit Adam up for 23 on 6-10 from 3 in Decatur. But tonight Adam did a real good job on the 6-0 shooter, who's only first half basket was a 19 footer at the buzzer. Williams finished with just 6 points on 2-10 shooting from the field. He was 0-3 from beyond the arc. How good was Adam and IWU's effort on Williams? This was the first of Millikin's 21 games that Chuck Williams has not made a 3-point field goal in.
IWU played very well for the first 10 minutes of the second half. The Titans scored the first 12 points of the 2nd to take a 44-21 lead, and IWU had it's biggest lead at 56-26. Millikin did go on an 11-0 run to get within 15, but the Titans quickly pushed the lead back to 20. I believe Millikin scored the final 8 points of the game to make the final margin 14.
IWU only played well for about 10 of the game's 40 minutes, but as former Titan Mark Aubry probably put it best after the game, "At this stage of the season, you'll take wins however you can get them."
IWU now hits to road for three tough ones - Elmhurst, Carthage, and Augustana.
IWU teams up for win
By Randy Reinhardt
rreinhardt@pantagraph.com
BLOOMINGTON -- Carthage strong man Theo Powell was simply unstoppable Saturday at Shirk Center, except when it came to stopping Illinois Wesleyan's surge into first place in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin.
The Titans overcame Powell's 31 points with superior quickness and balanced scoring in an 80-68 defeat of Carthage before a standing room only crowd of 2,800.
"They had Theo, but we had five guys doing it," said IWU guard Adam Dauksas. "I guess five is greater than one."
All five Titan starters reached double figures in scoring as Wesleyan (13-6) climbed into first place in the CCIW at 6-2. Augustana (7-3) dropped Wheaton (6-3) to third place by downing the Thunder at Wheaton Saturday.
"There are a lot of games left," said IWU coach Scott Trost, whose team won its fourth straight. "But I would rather be there (first) than anywhere else."
The Titans got there by matching Powell's inside dominance shot-for-shot and scoring 46 points on 55 percent second-half shooting.
"We had a lot better flow and rhythm the second half," Trost said. "Teams are going to key on Keelan (Amelianovich), but that leaves other guys open. And they stepped up."
Jim Lehan (career-high 17 points, six assists) and Dauksas (16 points, five assists) turned the Redmen blue with their penetration and quickness on the fast break.
"We knew they were tough inside and Theo is a monster in there," Lehan said. "But they're not real quick on the outside and we were able to take advantage of it. We made their defense shift and got some open looks and layups."
Powell connected on 12 of 15 shots from the field as Carthage (13-7) slipped to the brink of extinction in the CCIW at 5-4.
"Theo is asked to do so much. But Theo wears out," said Redmen coach Bosko Djurickovic. "We are what we are. We're good, but we're not what we've been the last four years."
Powell opened the second half with two of his 19 points after the break to pull Carthage within 34-32.
A Cory Jones basket, a Dauksas 3-pointer and seven quick points from Zach Freeman helped the Titans creep out to a 46-39 lead.
Five straight Amelianovich points gave IWU its first double-digit lead at 54-43. Carthage did not get closer than eight in the final eight minutes at 74-66 with 1:16 remaining.
"We brought a lot of energy to the floor and we defended pretty well," Dauksas said. "Jim and myself could break down their guards when we needed to and create some easy shots. Theo is a tough player, but we were answering back."
Jones finished with 16 points, Freeman scored all 12 of his in the second half and Amelianovich added 10.
"We wanted to get Cory and Zach the ball. They're shooting over 50 percent," said Trost. "We need Zach. He played with more energy the second half."
Powell and Kevin Menard combined for 26 of Carthage's 30 first-half points. Menard scored just two in the second half to finish with 16.
The Titans outrebounded the Redmen, 19-9, in the second half and 33-30 overall. Amelianovich, Jones and Steve Schweer led IWU with five boards each.
"The first half we did a much better job on the boards," Djurickovic said. "Schweer was flying around, jumping on guys and making plays."
Wesleyan returns to Shirk Center Wednesday to face Millikin before embarking on a three-game road swing that features trips to Elmhurst, Carthage and Augustana.
Carthage (13-6, 5-3) @ Illinois Wesleyan (12-6, 5-2)
Saturday February 7, 2004 - 7:30pm
A look back - the final 3:40 of last year's Carthage/IWU game at the Shirk Center (WJBC broadcast)
Click here to listen to WJBC-2.com Netcast - coverage starts at 7:15pm
Click here to listen to WRJN AM-1400 (Racine) Broadcast
Saturday's Pantagraph Coverage
Probable Starters:
|
||
G |
Adam Dauksas (6-3/190, Soph) 14.7 pts, 4.2 reb, 5.7 assists, 71-82 FT (.866) |
Scott Hood (6-1/180, Fr) 6.8 pts, 1.8 reb, 2.2 assists, 43-47 FT (.915) |
G |
Jim Lehan (6-0/175, Sr) 7.1 pts, 1.7 reb, 12-25 3-pt (.480) |
Keena Johnson (6-4/195, Soph) 3.7 pts, 1.9 reb, 10-29 FG (.345) |
F |
Keelan Amelianovich (6-6/215, Soph) 18.2 pts, 4.2 reb, 54-107 3-pt (.505) |
Mark Morrison (6-6/205, Soph) 8.2, 3.7 reb, 27-80 3-pt (.338) |
F |
Zach Freeman (6-7/190, Fr.) 11.7 pts, 7.3 reb, 75-143 FG (.524) |
Kevin Menard (6-6/210, Jr) 17.9 pts, 4.7 reb, 33-78 3-pt (.423) |
C |
Cory Jones (6-6/213, Soph) 8.8 pts, 6.0 reb, 65-117 FG (.556) |
Theo Powell (6-7/225, Sr) 16.8 pts, 7.9 reb, 117-220 FG (.532) |
Top Reserve |
Jason Fisher, G (6-2/204, Soph) 6.8 pts, 25-43 3-pt (.581) |
Pat Kalamatas, F (6-5/195, Jr.) 6.2 pts, 6.2 reb, 53-100 FG (.530) |
Team Averages:
|
Illinois Wesleyan (12-6, 5-2) |
Carthage (13-6, 5-3) |
Points Scored Per Game |
78.9 |
73.3 |
Points Allowed Per Game |
69.6 |
66.7 |
Field Goal % Avg FG Attempts Per Game |
.474 58 |
.450 57 |
Opponent's Field Goal % |
.419 |
.428 |
3-point % Avg 3-pt FG Att/Game |
.459 16 |
.336 18 |
Opponent's 3-point % |
.345 |
.299 |
Free Throw % |
.765 |
.695 |
Rebounds Per Game |
36.8 |
36.2 |
Rebounds Allowed Per Game |
33.2 |
34.2 |
| Assist to 1 T.O Ratio | 1.1 | 1.0 |
| Opponent's Assist to 1 T.O. Ratio | 1.0 | .90 |
Titans tough it out on the road
By Randy Reinhardt
rreinhardt@pantagraph.com
NAPERVILLE -- Keelan Amelianovich dressed slowly and emerged from the locker room wearily lugging his bag.
Nobody said returning to your hometown was a party, and nobody said winning on the road in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin was easy.
Amelianovich and his Illinois Wesleyan teammates succeeded on both counts Wednesday, hanging on for a bruising 81-74 victory over North Central before a Merner Fieldhouse crowd of 888.
"North Central's a good team. We knew it would be physical. We knew it would be a battle," said Amelianovich, a former standout at Naperville's Neuqua Valley High School. "Even when we got up the second half, we knew it would be a game."
IWU did get up -- way up -- with an 18-point lead at the 9:20 mark and still held a 13-point bulge with 3:48 remaining.
North Central clawed, bumped and pushed its way back to a three-point deficit at 77-74 before the Titans closed the deal.
"We found a way. On the road, you have to gut it out and find a way and we did," IWU coach Scott Trost said. "I wouldn't say we played intelligent basketball the last five or six minutes, but we found a way."
The Titans moved to 12-6 overall and into second place in the CCIW at 5-2. Wheaton leads the league at 6-2. A loss to Millikin Wednesday dropped Augustana to 6-3.
"Every time we got back in the game the first or second half, they hit big shot after big shot," North Central coach Benjy Taylor said. "That's what good teams do."
The Cardinals (11-8, 4-5) dropped their fifth straight game.
North Central, which forced three Wesleyan turnovers in the final two minutes, surged within three with 29 seconds remaining on a rare four-point play from Anthony Simmons.
Zach Freeman atoned for fouling Simmons on the play by hitting two crucial free throws at the 28-second mark.
Amelianovich's press-breaking dunk at the buzzer capped the scoring.
"It was very physical. Every game on the road is going to be like that," said IWU guard Adam Dauksas. "They always had a hand on you. We have to learn to play against that. If we do, good things will happen."
Dauksas' 19 points included two 3-pointers in the final 22 seconds of the first half that gave the Titans a 41-30 halftime advantage.
"That's momentum. If he doesn't hit those, we're up five," Trost said. "You need some of that on the road, some fortuitous shots."
Dauksas banked in the first 3-pointer with the shot clock nearing zero.
And after Lambert nailed two free throws with 3.9 seconds showing, Dauksas took the inbound pass, raced downcourt and connected from beyond the arc at the buzzer despite the tight defense of Adam Teising.
An 11-2 second half spurt extended the IWU lead from 45-38 to 56-40 and was capped by a Freeman fast break dunk.
Amelianovich temporarily slowed the North Central comeback on a 3-pointer for a 73-60 lead with 3:48 left.
"A lot of the threes came off the break. We broke their press and got it to the open man," Amelianovich said. "They couldn't pick all of us up."
Freeman added 15 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for IWU, which meets Carthage Saturday at Shirk Center.
Jim Lehan and Cory Jones chipped in nine points apiece, while Steve Schweer contributed six points and six rebounds off the bench.
North Central leading scorer Mike Wilson was held to six points, 12 below his average. David Johnson and Simmons topped the Cardinals with 18 points each.
Adam Krumtinger, a Normal Community High School teammate of Freeman, had two points and one rebound in 13 minutes.
(February 4, 2004)
Freeman a slam dunk
By Randy Reinhardt
rreinhardt@pantagraph.com
BLOOMINGTON -- Zach Freeman remained calm and expressionless Tuesday as he fielded a variety of questions -- mimicking his stone-faced demeanor on the basketball floor.
Then, bringing the initial smile from the Illinois Wesleyan freshman, the subject of dunks was broached.
"It's something that gets the fans up. It gets everyone's spirits up," said Freeman. "Whenever you can, go and do it."
Freeman can. And he does.
While no official statistics are kept, the Normal Community High School graduate easily leads the Titans with approximately 15 du-nks.
Yet Freeman is more than a slam dunker, more than a explosive leaper. The 6-foot-7 forward has emerged as a remarkably well-rounded player in his first season as a Titan.
"You knew athletically he was really good," IWU coach Scott Trost said. "And it didn't take long once practice started for you to notice he was going to be a special player."
Freeman ranks third on the Titans, who face North Central today in a 7:30 p.m. College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin game at Naperville, at 11.5 points per game and is the team's leading rebounder with a 7.2 average.
"Definitely not. I didn't think I would get as many minutes as I have," said Freeman, who has started all 17 games. "I'm really happy how things have gone."
Few freshmen score their first college points on an alley oop dunk as Freeman did Nov. 22 against the University of Chicago. And IWU senior guard Jim Lehan could tell immediately that Freeman was a cut above most freshmen.
"It was probably about the first open gym we had with him. Right away you could see the natural ability and talent he has, the athleticism, the feel for the game around the basket," said the Titan captain. "He's really smooth. You just can't teach those things.
"You could tell right away he was going to be able to contribute and be an impact player for us."
Far from beefy at 195 pounds, Freeman has not been overmatched against heavier and stronger players in the lane. His rebounding average is seventh in the CCIW, while he leads the league with 3.1 offensive rebounds per contest.
"He doesn't back away from anybody, but he's had to guard some tough people who have a lot of weight on him," said Trost. "We're asking him to do something that's difficult for anybody, let alone a 195-pound freshman."
The IWU coach smiles eagerly at the thought of Freeman adding 15 to 20 pounds of muscle.
"He's only going to get a lot better," Trost said. "He's going to get stronger. He's going to mature. The experience he has this year is only going to help him."
Freeman, whose twin brother Andrew is a reserve for the Titans, also ranks eighth in the CCIW in field goal percentage (.526) and 12th in free throw percentage (.775). He is on pace for 287 points, which would be the eighth highest total for a freshman in Wesleyan history
"He's got great timing, a good touch and he's developing some post moves," said Trost. "The big thing with Zach is just confidence playing against guys at this level. He's got great skill."
Lehan admires how the son of Bob (the principal at Carlock Elementary School) and Sheree (a family and consumer sciences teacher at NCHS) Freeman has handled the transition to college basketball.
"He never gets too high or too low. He's really been a constant for us all season," said Lehan. "You know he's going to be there getting rebounds and scoring for us. You don't even think about him being a freshman."
Freeman, who has season highs of 24 points and 15 rebounds, believes he has improved since the beginning of the season.
"I think I'm a little smarter. I try not to rush things as much," he said. "I'm still making mistakes. I'm trying to work on that, but you just have to keep playing. I think that's what helps me a lot. I know I'm allowed to make some mistakes (without getting benched)."
Freeman has delivered several clutch baskets, the biggest of which was a last-second shot against Augustana that gave IWU a 78-77 victory Jan. 12.
"That's the highlight of my season so far," he said. "But that's over now. We have to focus on what we have at hand."
While Zach has already taken off, Trost said Andrew Freeman is sitting on the runway waiting to do the same.
"Andrew has a ton of potential. We have to work on his strength," said the IWU coach. "Athletically, he's every bit as talented as Zach. He jumps extremely well, and he has a knack for going to get the ball. I expect Andrew to be a very productive player here. He's an important part of our future, no question."
"In practice, you wouldn't be able to distinguish who plays and who doesn't. It's really competitive," Zach said of his twin. "He'll get his minutes sooner or later. I don't think it's anything he should be worried about."
North Central struggling
North Central was the last CCIW team to sustain a conference loss, but the Cardinals (11-7 overall) have lost four straight after opening with four CCIW wins.
Leading scorer Mike Wilson, a 6-4 sophomore, averages 18.1 points but missed North Central's last game with an ankle injury.
Cardinals' coach Benjy Taylor called Wilson "day by day" and declined to speculate whether Wilson would play today. Taylor gave a "no comment" when asked if Wilson has practiced this week.
Other than Wilson, no North Central player scores more than the 8.6 points of 6-8, 260-pound sophomore Josh Wesley. Adam Krumtinger, a 6-7 teammate of the Freemans at NCHS last season, contributes 5.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.
"You plan for the system. If he (Wilson) plays, he plays. We're going to plan as if he is playing and go from there," Trost said. "They are physical, aggressive and a very hard-nosed team. They go to the offensive glass really hard."
The Titans are 11-6 overall and 4-2 in the CCIW.
"They're young, they play hard and they have a lot of weapons," Taylor said of IWU. "I don't know how we're going to defend them. We'll have to play awfully well with or without Mike to win."
IWU's bark, bite equally damaging to North Park
By Randy Reinhardt
rreinhardt@pantagraph.com
BLOOMINGTON -- With a young gentleman roaming Shirk Center in a dalmatian costume, the Disney movie set was down to 100.
On the court, the Illinois Wesleyan basketball team was not about to turn in another dog performance against North Park Saturday.
"There wasn't any doubt," said sophomore Cory Jones after the Titans pummeled North Park, 82-51, before a crowd of 2,400. "Everybody was determined. We knew what we had to do."
Handed a crushing 77-74 loss by North Park Jan. 21 in Chicago, Wesleyan did not trail after taking a 5-4 lead and the IWU starters watched the final 7:45 from the bench.
The Titans moved to 11-6 overall and 4-2 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin on the strength of 57 percent shooting. North Park fell to 6-12 and 1-6 in the CCIW.
"I thought our sense of urgency was greater. We were a lot better at the defensive end. We contested their shots," said IWU coach Scott Trost, who had challenged his team to hold North Park to 52 points or less. "We're learning as we're going."
Titan sophomore Keelan Amelianovich has already learned how to shoot. The 6-foot-6 forward connected on 5 of 8 from 3-point range, 8 of 12 overall and led IWU with 23 points.
"Keelan was outstanding," Trost said. "He was aggressive and looked for his shot. He worked hard without the ball to get open."
Three early Amelianovich 3-pointers helped the Titans to a 21-13 edge before IWU pulled away with a 10-0 spurt capped by a Jones three-point play.
"I wouldn't call it revenge. It was a tough loss up there," Amelianovich said. "First of all, we don't lose on our home court. We had to defend that."
Wesleyan held a 37-21 halftime lead despite Lamar Townsend tossing in a 3-pointer at the buzzer. The 21 points were a season-low first half total for a Titan opponent.
Jones and Zach Freeman combined for 24 points and were perfect on eight shots from the field.
"That was part of the game plan," said Jones, who had 11 points. "We wanted to get the ball inside more. We knew we could get baskets down low if we executed."
Freeman scored nine of his 13 points early in the second half, and an Adam Dauksas 3-pointer at the 14:04 mark had Wesleyan doubling North Park up at 60-30.
IWU was hardly on cruise control just before the bench was cleared with a 72-38 advantage. On one possession, Chris Jones blocked two shots and joined brother Cory and Jim Lehan as Titans diving after a loose ball.
"That's what you need. You have to have some toughness and hustle," Trost said. "We've got that little edge at home. We have to develop that little edge on the road."
Playing all 40 minutes, Townsend paced North Park with 25 points. No other Viking managed more than seven.
Lehan added 10 points and Amelianovich topped IWU with seven rebounds as the Titans, who travel to North Central Wednesday, held a 35-31 margin on the boards.
The Freeman brothers, Zach and Andrew, combined to sink 11 of 11 free throws as IWU shot 82 percent (18 of 22) from the foul line.
Freshman Brad Liddell became the last Wesleyan player to score this season on a layup late in the game.
Titans scrap past Millikin
15-0 second-half run keys CCIW triumph
By Randy Reinhardt
rreinhardt@pantagraph.com
DECATUR -- Maybe it was the numerous times an Illinois Wesleyan player found himself on the Griswold Center floor and not hearing an official whistle a foul.
Maybe it was IWU basketball coach Scott Trost yanking point guard Adam Dauksas from the game in the first half and replacing him with seldom-used Matt Arnold.
But the message finally sank in for Wesleyan like the sweat into their green uniform tops.
The Titans were in for a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin fight Wednesday and the only thing missing was the gloves.
Playing with a snarl that had been lacking the past two and a half games, IWU scored 15 straight points in a sterling second-half performance while disposing of Millikin, 85-69, before a crowd of 850.
"It was definitely a game we had to have," said Dauksas, who hit three of the five 3-pointers during IWU's pivotal second-half spurt. "We were definitely a different team the second half. Coach (Scott Trost) has been challenging us all week, and we didn't respond really until the second half."
The Titans (10-6, 3-2 in the CCIW) avoided a swing and a miss on their three-game road swing after dropping their previous two games to Wheaton and North Park.
"It's a big win. We found a way," said Trost, whose team led just 33-32 at halftime. "We got some stops and pushed the ball. We got out and ran and we weren't tentative."
Millikin, which suffered its first home loss in seven games while dropping to 11-6 and 3-3 in league play, led 41-38 early in the second half after a Chuck Williams 3-pointer.
Dauksas answered with a 3-pointer just 15 seconds later to ignite an arc assault. He quickly followed with another three from the corner.
Keelan Amelianovich connected from the key, and Jason Fisher joined in with a 3-pointer before Dauksas closed the 15-0 blitz with yet another 3-pointer that gave IWU a 53-41 edge at the 13:41 mark of the second half.
"We worked the ball around and got open looks. Nobody really forced any shots in that spurt," said Dauksas, who scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half. "It definitely motivated us. When you hit five threes in a row, you're not going to lose too many games."
Millikin held IWU to 1 of 3 first-half shooting from beyond the arc only to see the Titans bomb home 7 of 8 in the second half.
"The problem was they beat us on uncontested threes," Big Blue coach Tim Littrell said. "They are a team of shooters, not just one. They all can shoot the ball. We didn't defend like we need to defend. We have to keep people in the 60s."
The Titans led by at least 10 points the rest of the way, holding off Millikin with three momentum-crushing dunks -- two from Zach Freeman and one from Cory Jones.
"There was a lot of back screening and a lot of physical screens," Freeman said. "We just had to play. The officials weren't calling too much so we knew we had to step it up and change the way we played."
A change was exactly what Trost had in mind when he sent Arnold in for Dauksas immediately after Dauksas had the ball stolen at midcourt by Carlon Butler.
"Adam knows. He knows my body language. We're on the same page," Trost said. "I thought he in particular was very non aggressive the first half. We need Adam to be aggressive but smart aggressive. I thought Adam really responded the second half."
Dauksas reentered the game 1:20 later.
"It was just a wake up call," said the sophomore. "I looked at him (Trost) and said 'put me back in. I can do it.' He said 'you better.' That's the kind of relationship we have. I'm going to do what he asks me to do. If it takes a kick in the butt ... then I'm trying to get rid of those."
Shooting 63 percent in the second half and 58 percent overall, IWU was led by the 19 points of Amelianovich. Freeman added 11 and a team-high seven rebounds, while Cory Jones had 10 points.
Jim Lehan chipped in nine points and six assists, while Jason Fisher scored nine in 16 minutes. Millikin's Jason Fisher had one more point in 19 more minutes.
The Titans, who return to Shirk Center to meet North Park Saturday, had just five second-half turnovers after committing 12 before the break.
"We tried to get our confidence back on track," said Dauksas, "and we did so."
Williams was 6 of 10 from 3-point range and paced the Big Blue with 23 points. Kevin Causley contributed 15.
The victory means IWU has won at least 10 games in 44 consecutive seasons.
Late three-point play leaves IWU stunned
By Randy Reinhardt
rreinhardt@pantagraph.com
CHICAGO -- Lamar Townsend's pump fake left Illinois Wesleyan's Jim Lehan -- and quite possibly the Titans' hopes for College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin title contention -- up in the air.
When Townsend, Lehan and the basketball came back to earth, North Park was 1.4 seconds from a CCIW shocker.
Townsend banked in the unlikely shot after being fouled hard by a descending Lehan and converted the three-point play as the Vikings stunned IWU, 77-74, Wednesday at North Park Gymnasium.
As if the North Park backer clad in roller skates, goggles and white briefs worn outside pink tights wasn't disturbing enough to the visitors, IWU (9-6, 2-2 in the CCIW) saw the Vikings (6-9, 1-3) claim their first conference victory.
"They deserved to win," said visibly shaken Wesleyan coach Scott Trost. "There's not much I can say. We haven't played well on the road. We don't do what we need to do on the road."
After Townsend's heroics, IWU tossed a long inbound pass to Zach Freeman, who tried to direct a quick pass to Adam Dauksas that did not find its target as time expired.
"We had a play set up for Lamar. We know he can rise a little bit," said North Park coach Rees Johnson. "We asked him to make a little pump and take it up because Wesleyan had been going for a lot of fakes. It was icing on the cake that it went in."
Failing to secure a must win against the conference cellar dweller, IWU allowed the Vikings 52 second-half points.
"It's a lot of things ... effort, energy," Dauksas said. "We have to learn to play as hard as we possibly can and not hold anything back. Half speed is not going to work."
The Titans led by as many seven points in the first half at 23-16 before settling for a 29-25 halftime edge.
IWU appeared to be on its way to the spirit-crushing spurt it had been seeking with a 42-34 advantage after a Cory Jones rebound basket.
But North Park would not give in, and the Titans eventually gave out.
The Vikings claimed a 52-52 deadlock on a Dewon Byrd shot at the 10:51 mark and proceeded to step confidently to a 64-57 margin after a Cal Ecker rebound basket with 6:04 remaining.
Steve Schweer nailed a crucial 3-pointer for IWU and added a baseline shot with 3:18 to go that pushed the Titans perilously in front, 67-66.
Townsend's 3-pointer with 42 seconds left handed the Vikings a 74-71 lead.
Lehan then hit one free throw and missed the second. Freeman rebounded and Keelan Amelianovich forged a 74-74 tie on an off-balance shot with 18.5 seconds showing.
With North Park holding for the final shot, Lehan deflected a pass out of bounds with four seconds left.
Townsend, who finished with 15 points, took it from there.
"We let them hang around and make plays," Trost said. "The way we played was ... frustrating."
North Park got 21 points from sophomore Brett Mathisen and 16 points and eight rebounds from Javier Sanchez.
The considerably smaller Vikings grabbed 10 offensive rebounds and limited IWU to a 33-29 edge on the boards.
"We worked hard on defense and did a better job on the boards. That was huge for us," Johnson said. "We played harder and more intense the whole game. The mental toughness was there."
Amelianovich paced Wesleyan with 22 points and eight rebounds as the Titans wasted 58 percent second-half shooting.
Dauksas added 17 points, while Lehan and Jones had 10 each.
"We had opportunities if we had a killer instinct," Dauksas said. "But we don't have it yet. A killer instinct comes with working hard."
The Titans have a week to stew over Wednesday's shortcomings before returning to the court next Wednesday at Millikin.
Titans can't weather Wheaton's hot shooting
By Randy Reinhardt
rreinhardt@pantagraph.com
WHEATON -- It could be argued Illinois Wesleyan lost its poise along with a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin game Saturday.
The way Wheaton shot the basketball, the Thunder weren't losing anything.
Wheaton closed the first half with an 11-2 surge and nailed 11 of its first 12 second-half shots to slap the Titans, 88-64, before a King Arena crowd of 2,332.
"I don't know how to explain it," said Wheaton coach Bill Harris, whose team was shooting 69 percent from the field with 12:12 remaining. "We hit some big shots and executed very well."
The No. 10-ranked Thunder (13-1, 2-1 in the CCIW) turned what was shaping up to be a classic battle into a seven-point halftime lead at 43-36.
Wheaton scored the first eight points of the second half and IWU (9-5, 2-1) was en route to its worst loss of the season.
"They took us out to the woodshed," said Wesleyan coach Scott Trost. "They played really well and we played bad. We didn't play with toughness. They manhandled us in every aspect of the game."
After a Cory Jones basket got the Titans on the second-half scoreboard at the 17:03 mark, the Thunder struck for a 16-4 spurt that buried IWU at 69-42.
"We couldn't do anything right," Wesleyan guard Jim Lehan said. "We didn't rebound, we didn't get back on defense and that resulted in a lot of easy baskets. The next thing you know, you're down 20.
"We tried to stay composed, but they kept hitting shots."
After a 27 of 39 shooting start, Wheaton cooled somewhat to finish at 56.6 percent (30 of 53). IWU shot 28 percent in the second half and 38 percent (25 of 66) overall.
"The last two or three possessions of the first half were crucial," said Harris, whose team matched a season high for points. "The second half we got it in double figures, made a couple of stops and got in transition. It went real quick from 11 or 12 to 22 or 23."
Reigning CCIW Most Outstanding Player Joel Kolmodin scored his average of 13 points in each half for a game-high 26.
Jonathan Steven added 16 and Jon Nielson 13 for the Thunder, who were 9 of 15 from 3-point range.
"Going on the road in the conference is tough," said IWU sophomore Jason Fisher, who had 11 points off the bench. "We finally realized it for sure today."
Lehan paced the Titans with 16 points, while Adam Dauksas chipped in 11. Dauksas and Zach Freeman each grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
Dauksas and Keelan Amelianovich, IWU's top two scorers on the season, combined to make only 7 of 24 shots.
"They've got to learn they're marked men," Trost said. "They have to play with that understanding and work that much harder."
Amelianovich was held to a season-low eight points and no 3-pointers after nailing at least two from beyond the arc in each of IWU's first 13 games.
Wesleyan led 24-19 after a Fisher 3-pointer at the 9:14 mark of the first half, which featured five ties and eight lead changes.
Nielson emerged from a wild scramble to hit a jumper with one second left for the Thunder's seven-point halftime edge.
"I hope this will be a positive learning experience for us that on the road we need a different mindset," said Trost. "We didn't play with enough intensity defensively. We didn't do all the things we've done up to this point."
Wheaton snapped a four-game losing streak to the Titans.
Illinois Wesleyan (9-4, 2-0) @ Wheaton (12-1, 1-1)
Saturday January 17, 2004 - 7:30pm
Click here to listen to WJBC Broadcast - coverage starts at 7:05pm
Click here to listen to WETN Broadcast
Click here to watch live WETN-TV Broadcast
Probable Starters:
|
||
G |
Adam Dauksas (6-3/190, Soph) 14.9 pts, 3.7 reb, 6.1 assists, 59-65 FT (.908) |
Jon Nielson (6-0/178, Jr) 11.5 pts, 2.9 reb, 4.6 assists, 19-60 3-pt (.317) |
G |
Jim Lehan (6-0/175, Sr) 5.7 pts, 1.3 reb, 8-13 3-pt (.615) |
Jonathan Steven (6-5/215, Jr) 15.1 pts, 3.3 reb, 18-46 3-pt (.391) |
F |
Keelan Amelianovich (6-6/215, Soph) 18.1 pts, 3.3 reb, 42-80 3-pt (.525) |
Martin Trimiew (6-3/205, Jr) 12.4, 4.5 reb, 64-110 FG (.582) |
F |
Zach Freeman (6-7/190, Fresh) 12.2 pts, 7.5 reb, 56-112 FG (.500) |
Will Landry (6-5/210, Sr) 6.5 pts, 7.1 reb, 27-54 FG (.500) |
C |
Cory Jones (6-6/213, Soph) 8.8 pts, 6.3 reb, 46-86 FG (.535) |
Joel Kolmodin (6-8/235, Sr) 13.1 pts, 9.3 reb, 58-127 FG (.457) |
Top Reserve |
Jason Fisher, G (6-2/204, Soph) 7.0 pts, 17-31 3-pt (.548) |
Tony Bollier, G (6-0/160, Soph) 7.4 pts, 15-32 3-pt (.469) |
Team Averages:
|
Illinois Wesleyan (9-4) |
Wheaton (12-1) |
Points Scored Per Game |
79.5 |
75.8 |
Points Allowed Per Game |
68.8 |
58.6 |
Field Goal % Avg FG Attempts Per Game |
.464 59 |
.499 54 |
Opponent's Field Goal % |
.415 |
.373 |
3-point % Avg 3-pt FG Att/Game |
.455 17 |
.376 16 |
Opponent's 3-point % |
.341 |
.316 |
Free Throw % |
.771 |
.738 |
Rebounds Per Game |
37.3 |
38.3 |
Rebounds Allowed Per Game |
33.2 |
28.0 |
| Assist to 1 T.O Ratio | 1.1 | 1.1 |
| Opponent's Assist to 1 T.O. Ratio | 1.0 | .70 |
Illinois Wesleyan/Wheaton Rivalry is Division III Basketball at its Best
by Bob Quillman, IWUHoops.com
January 15, 2004
------------------
Illinois Wesleyan's annual basketball series against Wheaton College has developed into one of the best rivalries in the CCIW over the course of the last decade. It's not what you'd call a "heated rivalry" where tempers flare and things get ugly on the court. Rather, it is simply a rivalry in the truest sense of the word - it's about great competition. Expect more of the same Saturday night when the 9-4 (2-0) Titans travel north to face the 12-1 (1-1) Thunder.
When IWU and Wheaton square off, it brings two very talented groups of young men from outstanding universities together for what always turns out to be a hard-fought, well-played basketball game. And a game that usually has a big say in the final CCIW standings. Illinois Wesleyan and Wheaton are the two winningest programs in the conference over the course of the last 10 seasons.
CCIW Cumulative Standings - Last 10 Seasons
| School | CCIW Record | Winning % | Titles |
| Illinois Wesleyan | 108-32 | .771 | 5 |
| Wheaton | 89-51 | .636 | 2 |
| Augustana | 78-62 | .557 | 1 |
| Carthage | 77-63 | .550 | 3 |
| Elmhurst | 76-64 | .543 | 1 |
| Millikin | 52-88 | .371 | 0 |
| North Park | 43-97 | .307 | 0 |
| North Central | 37-103 | .264 | 0 |
I'll never forget the mid-'90s battles between the Matt Nadlehoffer/Wesley Pitts/Jason Senick/Tim Seniff led Crusaders (now "Thunder") and the Chris Simich/Bryan Crabtree/Jon Litwiller/Brady Knight/T.J. Posey group of Titans. When Wheaton visited IWU on January 14, 1996 the overflow crowd got to see what is still regarded by most Illinois Wesleyan fans as the best game ever played in the Shirk Center. On a miracle free throw rebound by Brady Knight and a reverse layup finish by All-American Chris Simich, the Titans somehow pulled out a 68-67 victory. When the two teams met at Wheaton in February, it pitted national #1 (20-0 IWU) vs national #2 (19-1 WC). Fans had to arrive at Memorial Gym at the start of the JV game to be assured a seat. Wheaton won in another absolute classic on their way to a 13-1 league finish and CCIW title. 12-2 IWU found its way to Salem, Virginia and the D3 Final Four.
The games at Wheaton, especially, have really been classics. The 1996-97 national championship Titans (29-2) needed overtime to defeat Wheaton. With Bryan Crabtree graduated, it was Brent Niebrugge's turn to star for the Titans the next season. The senior from T-Town scored 37 points on January 17, 1998 in a heart-stopping 88-85 double overtime Wheaton victory. It was IWU's only conference loss in 1998.
After the 1997 and 1998 overtime games at Wheaton, the January 16, 1999 contest did not go to extra minutes…it was decided with 2.5 seconds to play. All-CCIW performer Luke Moo make two free throws to seal the 83-81 Wheaton win. Just 9 seconds before that, IWU senior Nathan Hubbard stood at the free throw line in front of 3000 fans and made 3 free throws to tie the game.
Korey Coon and Todd Wente led IWU to a rare Titan blowout victory in 2000, before things got back to normal in 2001. John Helm drained a 3-pointer with 1:55 on the clock to seal a Thunder win, dropping IWU to 6-4 in the league. "It's tough to sit here. We've got four games left, and basically our season is over," Adam Osborn told the Pantagraph. The Titans ended up running the CCIW table, earning a Pool C bid to the tournament, and making it back to Salem for the third time. Adam still hears about that quote every now and then.
The last two seasons have produced Titan victories at Wheaton. On January 26, 2002 Chris Silagi hit a 12-foot jump shot late and Shawn McGuire made two big free throws to seal the win vs #21 ranked Wheaton. Last year, Seth Hubbard scored 16 points to lead the way over All-American Joel Kolmodin's squad.
The Illinois Wesleyan/Wheaton rivalry is one where the players exchange hugs and handshakes immediately after the final horn sounds. It's one where the coaches are good friends who have a mutual respect for each other's program.
If you want to see one-on-one basketball, pampered athletes, and players who might take a play off every now and then, go to the United Center Saturday for the Knicks/Bulls game. If you want to see basketball as it is meant to be played, make plans to be at King Arena. Joel Kolmodin, Jon Nielson, Jim Lehan, Adam Dauksas and their friends will give you all they have for 40 minutes.
Maybe even 45 or 50.
Freeman saves Titans in OT
Freshman's shot with 2.1 on clock sinks Augustana
By Randy Reinhardt
rreinhardt@pantagraph.com
Photo of game winning shot (courtesty of Jeff Findley)
BLOOMINGTON -- And he's only a freshman.
After scoring two critical rebound baskets late in regulation, Illinois Wesleyan freshman phenom Zach Freeman banked in a shot off an inbounds pass with 2.1 seconds remaining Monday to hand the grateful Titans a heart-stopping 78-77 overtime victory over Augustana.
"I didn't even know if I was going to be able to get off a shot," said Freeman, who ascended high to snare a pass over rush hour traffic in the lane. "But I knew they didn't really want to foul me. I knew I could take it up pretty strong. I guess I drew some contact and luckily made the shot."
Freeman's heroics gave the Titans their first victory of less than 10 points all season and moved IWU to 9-4 overall and 2-0 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin before a spirited Shirk Center crowd of 2,700.
"They knew what we were going to run. Keelan (Amelianovich) was our first option coming off (a screen)," Wesleyan coach Scott Trost said. "I said 'let's look for the lob to Zach.' I didn't think they had anybody who could go get it like Zach can. Zach made a heckuva play. I'm proud of him for a freshman to step up."
Freeman was fouled on the shot and unintentionally missed the free throw. Augustana's Brad Novak grabbed the rebound and his three-quarters court heave at the buzzer did not connect.
The preseason conference favorite Vikings (7-7, 1-2 in the CCIW) trailed 67-62 after a Freeman rebound basket with 1:53 left in the second half. Senior All-American Drew Carstens then drained a 3-pointer at the 1:23 mark and a jumper with 39 seconds remaining for a tie as part of his game-high 29 points.
IWU's Jim Lehan could not convert a driving shot in the lane, Augustana rebounded and called timeout with 2.7 seconds showing. Carstens got an inviting look at the hoop from two steps inside halfcourt, but his shot rimmed out.
"We played our tails off and it was terrific game," said Vikings' coach Grey Giovanine. "We got down in front of a tough environment, battled back and took the lead. You have to be quite a bit better than your opponent on the road. We were just a little better than they were tonight, and that's not enough."
Titan Adam Dauksas scored the first four points of overtime, but Augustana led 75-74 after a Jim Thomas free throw at the 44-second mark. Dauksas converted a driving shot before Bill Goehrke gave the Vikings a 77-76 edge with 15 seconds left.
Dauksas then missed but IWU forced a held ball on the scramble for the rebound to set up Freeman's game-winner.
"I've said it all along, Zach is one of the best players in this league already. And he's going to be the best by the time I leave here," said Dauksas, who matched Freeman and Cory Jones with 13 points. "I'm happy for Zach. He did well for us tonight. We've got confidence in him."
Playing their third game in six days and facing an Augustana team that delves much deeper into its bench, Freeman, Amelianovich, Lehan and Dauksas all played 40 of 45 minutes.
"I give our guys all the credit. We were dead tired. We were out on our legs," Trost said. "In the league, finding a way to win those close games is going to be the difference between 7-7 or 11-3."
"I'm dead. I'm beat. I had a huge cramp in my leg the first half and couldn't do anything," Dauksas said. "I just saw the look in everyone's eyes and that inspired me. We fought and did what we had to do to win."
Amelianovich led the Titans with 17 points as all five Wesleyan starters scored in double figures for the second straight game. Lehan contributed 16 points and career highs of seven assists and six steals.
Augustana's suffocating man-to-man defense limited IWU to a season-low 11 3-pointers attempted and a season-low matching four 3-pointers made.
"I can't be discouraged with our players' effort, intensity, enthusiasm," said Giovanine. "Those things were all there."
Shaun Clements had 13 points and Brad Novak 14 rebounds for the Vikings, who earned a 41-29 margin on the boards.
Cory Jones keys IWU
By Randy Reinhardt
rreinhardt@pantagraph.com
BLOOMINGTON -- As his minutes rose to uncharacteristic heights, so did the fatigue for Illinois Wesleyan sophomore Cory Jones Saturday.
"I just had to fight through it," Jones said.
In a rugged College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin basketball opener Saturday, Jones had the most fight at the most important time.
IWU's 6-foot-6 center scored seven straight points in the final 2:30 as the Titans pulled away from stubborn Elmhurst to claim an 84-74 victory before a standing room only Shirk Center crowd of 2,800.
"Cory played like a beast in there," said Wesleyan coach Scott Trost. "That's the Cory Jones we know."
Partly because his twin brother Chris is out with a foot injury, Jones played a career-high 33 minutes. He responded with 15 points and eight rebounds as the Titans moved to 8-4 and 1-0 in the CCIW.
"Coach told me he needed 30 to 35 minutes. I don't usually get that many," Cory Jones said. "It was a physical game, but that's the kind of game I love. It came down to who wanted it the most. Our whole team wanted it. Fortunately, I was the one to go get it."
Elmhurst (8-4, 0-1) last led at 47-45 but pulled within one three times after that.
A Keelan Amelianovich basket gave IWU a 75-71 lead before Jones grabbed a tipped pass, scored and completed the three-point play for a seven-point lead with 2:30 remaining.
Jones then gave the Titans a commanding 80-71 edge at the 1:38 mark with a rebound basket.
"We made some huge plays and executed down the stretch," said Trost. "This was our most complete game so far."
The Titans placed all five starters in double figures as senior guard Jim Lehan scored a career-high 16 in his first start of the season.
"Once it's conference season, there's no choice. Every game is a battle," said Lehan. "We're a young team and we're still learning. But we learned a lot. We won a close game. Now we can move on from there."
Amelianovich also had 16, while Zach Freeman added 15 and Adam Dauksas 12. Dauksas matched a career high with eight rebounds and handed out seven assists.
Elmhurst got 16 points from Reuben Slock and 13 from Gabe Kirstein off the bench. Eureka High School graduate Chris Martin chipped in 12.
"I thought we played a great game. We played hard and played well," Bluejays' coach Mark Scherer said. "Wesleyan played us soft and gave us the three, but we didn't shoot a good enough percentage (5 of 20 in the second half).
"And the second thing was Wesleyan shot 29 free throws and we shot six. I don't know how you play a game this physical and shoot six free throws. That's unbelievable to me. I purposely didn't foul at the end (down 10 with 33 seconds left) because I didn't want to skew the foul situation."
IWU nailed 10 of 19 from 3-point range and finished at 53 percent from the field (26 of 49). The Titans outrebounded Elmhurst, 23-13, in the second half and 40-29 overall.
"Wesleyan played very hard. They were the better team tonight," said Scherer. "Scott has done a great job with a young team. They don't play like a young team. They play with great poise and experience."
Wesleyan meets conference preseason favorite Augustana Monday in a 7:30 p.m. contest at Shirk Center.
Coon leads younger alums
Korey Coon scored 37 points to lead a team of former IWU players from the 2000s to a 106-104 win over a squad of pre 2000 Titans in the preliminary game.
Paul Petersen scored 23 points and Mark Aubry 22 for the pre 2000 team.
Elmhurst (8-3) @ Illinois Wesleyan (7-4)
Saturday January 10, 2004 - 7:30pm
Click here to listen to WJBC-2 Webcast - coverage starts at 7:15pm
Probable Starters:
|
||
G |
Adam Dauksas (6-3/190, Soph) 15.4 pts, 3.6 reb, 6.3 assists, 55-59 FT (.932) |
Chris Martin (6-6/215, Jr) 19.5 pts, 9.5 reb, 5.6 assists, 75-133 FG (.564) |
G |
Keelan Amelianovich (6-6/215, Soph) 18.4 pts, 3.3 reb, 37-71 3-pt (.521) |
Wayne Bosworth (6-1/190, Sr) 12.3 pts, 2.6 reb, 18-51 3-pt (.353) |
F |
Steve Schweer (6-6/205, Soph) 5.5 pts, 2.9 reb, 11-31 3-pt (.355) |
Adam Abdul-Haqq (6-2/210, Jr) 6.5 pts, 5.1 reb, 30-63 FG (.476) |
F |
Zach Freeman (6-7/190, Fresh) 11.8 pts, 7.5 reb, 46-91 FG (.505) |
Reuben Slock (6-6/220, Jr.) 11.6 pts, 3.2 reb, 50-100 FG (.500) |
C |
Cory Jones (6-6/213, Soph) 7.9 pts, 6.3 reb, 36-74 FG (.486) |
Nick Michael (6-8/210, Fresh) 10.7 pts, 5.5 reb, 49-81 FG (.605) |
Top Reserve |
Jason Fisher, G (6-2/204, Soph) 7.3 pts, 14-25 3-pt (.560) |
Gabe Kirstien, F (6-6/215, Jr.) 8.1 pts, 3.7 reb, 36-66 FG (.545) |
Team Averages:
|
Illinois Wesleyan (7-4) |
Elmhurst (8-3) |
Points Scored Per Game |
79.3 |
80.6 |
Points Allowed Per Game |
67.5 |
70.1 |
Field Goal % Avg FG Attempts Per Game |
.459 59.3 |
.512 59.5 |
Opponent's Field Goal % |
.407 |
.449 |
3-point % Avg 3-pt FG Att/Game |
.453 17.5 |
.351 17.4 |
Opponent's 3-point % |
.339 |
.340 |
Free Throw % |
.782 |
.704 |
Rebounds Per Game |
37.8 |
37.6 |
Rebounds Allowed Per Game |
32.9 |
27.8 |
| Assist to T.O Ratio | 1.14 to 1 | 1.12 to 1 |
| Opponent's Assist to T.O. Ratio | .93 to 1 | .94 to 1 |
Before the IWU/Elmhurst game, there will be a Titan alumni game at 5:15pm. Based on the particpants, possible starting lineups are:
Team Shirk Center:
G Korey Coon (2000)
G Nathan Hubbard (1999)
F John Camardella (2003)
F Todd Wente (2001)
C Luke Kasten (2003)
Reserves: Chris Silagi (2003), Eric Starkey (2003), Marty Eich (2003)
Team Fred Young Fieldhouse:
G Eric Bridges (1987)
G Mark Aubry (1995)
F Mark Edmundson (1990)
F Steve Kuehl (1993)
C Mike Thomas (1991)
Reserves: Chad Hutson (1995), Jeff Hay (1991), Jason Jones (1992), Matt Swingler (1996)
Dauksas delivers 29 as IWU rips Wabash
By Randy Reinhardt
rreinhardt@pantagraph.com
BLOOMINGTON -- Adam Dauksas adopted a what, me worry?" attitude to his flagging shooting percentage Tuesday.
Wednesday, the Illinois Wesleyan sophomore proved there was nothing to worry about.
Dauksas scoffed at his 35.8 percent shooting mark by nailing 10 of 14 shots from the field and scoring a career-high 29 points as IWU manhandled Wabash, 94-67, before a Shirk Center crowd of 1,600.
"I don't read the stats too much. I just play the game day by day," Dauksas said. "I had a good week of practice, and it kind of carried over today. It wasn't really anything special, it was just guys getting me open looks and knocking them down."
Dauksas was 4 of 5 from 3-point range and handed out six assists as the Titans improved to 7-4 in their final nonconference game of the season.
"I don't worry about Adam. I know he's going to play," said IWU coach Scott Trost. "He's going to make some shots and take some shots people are going to question. But he's got free rein to play."
Dauksas, Keelan Amelianovich and Jim Lehan combined to connect on an amazing 10 of 11 from beyond the arc as Wesleyan led by as many as 44 points in the second half.
"I thought for the first five or six minutes we were fine. We were playing right with them," Wabash coach Mac Petty said. "Then all of a sudden they got some fast breaks and some easy baskets. We tried too hard and started turning the ball over too many times."
IWU actually trailed 10-8 after Wabash's Matt Shook hit a 3-pointer. But the Titans responded with an awe-inspiring 48 points over the half's final 14:45.
With Lehan contributing two baskets and two steals, Wesleyan scored 11 straight points for a 26-12 lead.
IWU reeled off another 10 consecutive points later in the half during a spurt capped by a Lehan 3-pointer at the 52-second mark, and Wabash was feeling Wabashed with an oversized 55-25 deficit.
"The first half I hit a couple shots and got it rolling from there," said Lehan. "When you get to be in the game for a little bit longer and get in the flow of it, things come a lot easier.
"I really like the way we were pushing the ball with Adam and Keelan and I in the game. We had a really nice flow. We were getting open looks and knocking them down. If we do that in the conference season, we're going to be one heckuva ough team to beat."
The senior captain, Lehan finished with career highs of 13 points and five rebounds and added three steals in a season-high 19 minutes.
"He played great. It was great to see. We need Jimmy to play like that in the conference season," Trost said. "That's a great boost for us."
The Titans continued to squeeze the life out of the oxymoronic Little Giants (5-7) with precision shooting in the second half. Three Amelianovich 3-pointers helped IWU assume a whopping 77-33 margin with 12:44 to go.
IWU finished at 53 percent from the field (33 of 62), 61 percent from 3-point territory (11 of 18) and 85 percent from the free throw line (17 of 20).
"We played well for 28 to 30 minutes, but we're looking for 40. Again we didn't get it," said Trost, who was peeved his reserves allowed Wabash 34 points over the final 12:07. "That's what we're searching for.
"We need everybody on this team, one through 15. You never know when the opportunity is going to present itself. Guys want to play more, they have to play better."
Amelianovich scored 12 points, while Cory Jones chipped in 10 points, seven rebounds and four steals.
Petty gave 12 players at least 11 minutes of court time. Caleb Lyttle led Wabash with nine points. Zeljko Gavranovic and Mark Bower had eight each.
The Titans open their College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin schedule Saturday against Elmhurst in a 7:30 p.m. tipoff at Shirk Center.
(January 2, 2004)
IWU hot shot
Sophomore Amelianovich uses firepower to lead Titan scorers
By Randy Reinhardt
rreinhardt@pantagraph.com
BLOOMINGTON -- Keelan Amelianovich has yet to meet a shot he didn't expect to make.
More importantly, Illinois Wesleyan basketball coach Scott Trost has yet to meet an Amelianovich shot he doesn't like.
After playing sparingly as a freshman, Amelianovich has impressively stepped in as IWU's leading scorer to no Titan's surprise largely because of his uncanny ability to shoot the basketball.
"I've been basically a good shooter all my life," said the sophomore from Naperville. "I guess I could really tell my freshman year in high school. I got moved up to the sophomore team and started hitting those threes and taking it to the basket."
The 6-foot-6 off guard averages 19.0 points and is connecting on 49 percent of his shots from 3-point range.
"He's got a free pass," Trost said. "He can shoot the ball extremely well, and I want him to shoot it. At times, I've told him to shoot it more. At times, he's almost too unselfish."
Amelianovich, who scored 27 points in 18 games as a freshman, nearly hit that figure in his first game as a starter with 25 in IWU's season-opening win over the University of Chicago.
He has scored at least 13 points in every game for the 6-4 Titans.
"He's everything I thought he would be, and he's going to continue to get better and better," Trost said.
That belief is based partly on Amelianovich's willingness to drive to the basket when opponents deny him a 3-point try.
"We've talked to him a lot about not just being a jump shooter," said the IWU coach. "We're working on his ability to get the ball to the rim and, put the ball on the floor and create something for himself. He's getting there."
And when "getting there" means the free throw line, Amelianovich leads the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin with 93.5 percent (29 of 31) success.
Fellow sophomore starter Adam Dauksas and Amelianovich met as high school seniors when visiting IWU and have become good friends.
"I knew Keelan was going to be a great player the day he committed here," Dauksas said. "He's one of the hardest workers on the team. He's really focused on what he wants to do. He's a great player and a great kid all-around, too."
While Amelianovich's form is textbook, Dauksas' is unconventional.
"His shot is the exact opposite from mine," said Dauksas. "It's perfect. And it pays off for him."
With 33 3-pointers, Amelianovich is on pace for 82 for the season. That would snap Mark Edmundson's school-record of 79 in 1987-88.
Firing that 3-point attempt is no easy task with opponents well aware of his shooting touch.
"It's definitely expected," said the Neuqua Valley High School product. "I just have to work a lot harder to get open. It's nothing I haven't seen. It's a lot like my senior year in high school."
Amelianovich's pre-practice shooting routine is a bit reminiscent of former Titan sharpshooter Korey Coon in that both worked on many different kinds of shots that could occur in a game.
For Amelianovich, that includes off-balance and fadeaway shots that most players would be discouraged from attempting.
"I practice them enough I could pull those off in a game," he said. "In a game, I make a read on how the defense is playing me."
"With kids like him sometimes it's 'no, no, great shot,'" said Trost.
Amelianovich is grateful the frustration of sitting on the bench as a freshman has passed.
"Overall, it was pretty difficult," he said. "I tried to get better in JV (junior varsity) games and improve in practice while learning from the seniors. I knew if I could score against them, it was going to be a lot easier to score the next year."
Still, 19 points per game in his first chance at significant playing time would be hard to predict.
"I knew I could score, but I didn't really have a goal," said Amelianovich. "I had no clue where I would be. I never really expected to start out like this."
Randy Reinhardt: IWU center Cory Jones lets his points be known
By Randy Reinhardt
rreinhardt@pantagraph.com
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- He knows it's not going to happen. But Cory Jones wants his two points back.
Illinois Wesleyan's sophomore center sank two free throws in the second half of a 109-97 loss to Florida Gulf Coast Tuesday.
But the officiating crew decided after Jones made the foul shots that his twin brother Chris should have attempted the free throws. The points were taken off the board and Chris missed twice.
"I was the one who got fouled. I told them 'ref, you know we're twins, right?,'" Cory said. "He looked at me and then he looked at my brother. He didn't even realize we were twins.
"Things happen. You have to keep playing. But I'm two points shy of what I really got."
Technically speaking
Wesleyan (6-4) picked up its first three technicals of the season in the loss to Division II Gulf Coast (9-0).
Coach Scott Trost was whistled for two quick technicals and was ejected at the 17:40 mark of the second half.
The officials had told Trost his players were "running through" Gulf Coast players to pick up charging fouls.
"What do you mean running through their man? He's set or he's not set. And he's not set," Trost said. "I didn't agree with some of their calls. I will fight for my players."
Trost's ejection left assistant Dennis Martel as the only remaining coach on the Wesleyan bench. Assistant David Steinbrueck did not make the trip.
Sophomore guard Adam Dauksas, who picked up a technical just six seconds later, said Trost "was just doing his job trying to motivate us. He shouldn't have to apologize for anything. That really lit a fire under us."
Dauksas said he was nailed for responding to a comment made by a Gulf Coast player.
"One of their players, I swear, said something to me," he said. "I just said something back trying to fire my teammates up. I'm not going to stand down to anyone. I'm going to have any of these guys' back, coach included."
Zach attack
Perhaps the most enduring image from IWU's loss to Gulf Coast will be Eagles' 6-8 senior Roman Brown sitting under the basket rubbing his cheek.
Brown had been unable to stop 6-7 IWU freshman Zach Freeman on an inside shot and had taken an unintentional blow to the face from Freeman's forearm in the process.
Freeman scored a career-high 24 points and handled 11 rebounds against quite possibly the best inside players IWU will face all season.
"He's just amazing and he's in there against guys who physically could probably break him in half," Martel said. "He just goes out there and battles and battles."
Freeman is averaging 12.1 points and is on pace for 302 points. That total would rank eighth all-time for IWU freshmen.
Titan tidbits
• IWU will head to the San Antonio, Texas, area for its Christmas break trip next season.
The Titans will face Trinity and Southwestern at Georgetown, Texas.
• LPGA tour player Michelle McGann took in IWU's win over Johnson and Wales Sunday at Miami Shores.
McGann is a friend of the family of IWU sophomore Mike McGraw.
• The Titans will meet Wabash Wednesday at Shirk Center in the team's last nonconference game. IWU begins its College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin schedule Jan. 10 at home against Elmhurst.
Titans rally, but fall short
By Randy Reinhardt
rreinhardt@pantagraph.com
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- First, Florida Gulf Coast's Ryan Hopkins sizzled, then Illinois Wesleyan coach Scott Trost boiled and lastly IWU rallied Tuesday at Alico Arena.
The first ultimately doomed the Titans, the second inspired them and the third served as a source of pride.
IWU whittled a 29-point deficit to eight, had two points taken off the scoreboard and overcame the early second-half ejection of Trost before succumbing, 109-97, to Division II power Florida Gulf Coast.
"I'm proud of the way our kids fought back and made it very, very respectable," said Trost. "I thought we weren't competing the first half. We were back on our heels."
The wacky contest before a crowd of 2,652 moved Gulf Coast, ranked No. 8 nationally, to 9-0 and 22-0 all-time at Alico Arena.
Hopkins, who didn't start because he had been late to a practice, helped drop IWU to 6-4 with 9-of-11 shooting on 3-pointers all launched from 25 feet or more.
With Hopkins scoring 21 of his 29 points in the first half, the Titans were being throttled 48-19 before a 13-5 spurt cut the Eagles' bulge to 57-39 by halftime.
The real drama, however, was still to come.
Upset by a charging call on Zach Freeman, Trost picked up two rapid-fire technicals and an ejection with 17:40 remaining.
"I want to apologize for my actions. That was inexcuseable" Trost said. "I have to keep my emotions in check better."
Titan guard Adam Dauksas got another technical just six seconds later, and Gulf Coast led 66-41 when its procession to the free-throw line ended.
"That was definitely the boiling point," said Freeman, who scored a career-high 24 points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds. "Everybody was upset with the officials."
With assistant Dennis Martel in charge, the Titans began their comeback from an 81-58 crater on a Jim Lehan three-point play at the 11:01 mark.
Lehan, the senior captain who scored a season-high 10 points, got the Titans within 82-67 on a basket. A Cory Jones driving shot dropped the squirming Eagles' lead to 85-75.
Two Jones free throws with 6:41 to play put the score at 87-77 before the officiating crew decided Cory's twin brother Chris should have taken the free throws and disallowed the points.
Cory maintained the officials were right the first time to no avail, and Chris missed both of his foul shots.
The Titans got as close as 102-94 on a Keelan Amelianovich 3-pointer with 2:28 left.
"We played real soft the first half. We knew we had to pick up the defensive intensity," Freeman said. "We kept getting stops, rebounding and pushing the ball just like they were doing to us the first half."
"I think they respect us a lot more now," said Dauksas, who scored 20 points. "They know we can play with them."
Former College of Charleston standout Leighton Bowie made sure there would be no miracle comeback with 22 of his 37 points in the second half. Bowie was 19-of-20 at the free throw line.
"We kept hammering at them 'no lead is safe, no lead is safe.' I think we said that every timeout," said Gulf Coast coach Dave Balza. "I wasn't surprised at all they fought back. That is a good ballclub we beat."
The Titans were getting outrebounded, 17-6, at one point but shaved the final margin on the boards to 29-26 as Gulf Coast shot 57.6 percent from the field.
"Against a team that good, I felt really good we got it back to eight," Martel said. "Maybe it's one of those things where you spend so much time and energy getting back into a game that you don't have enough to finish."
Amelianovich added 18 points for IWU, which returns to Shirk Center to face Wabash Jan. 7.
Robinson Tisme contributed 17 points and Bryan Crislip 11 for the Eagles, who connected on 12 of 18 from beyond the arc.
Titans adjust in win
By Randy Reinhardt
rreinhardt@pantagraph.com
MIAMI SHORES, Fla. -- No national anthem was played, Illinois Wesleyan basketball manager Jake Sheley served as the offical scorer and the Titans' statistics were kept by a committee of Illinoisans.
Adjustments brought on by unusual circumstances had to be made on several fronts Sunday.
Yet once the ball was put into play, Keelan Amelianovich could still shoot and twins Cory and Chris Jones could still rebound as Wesleyan disposed of Johnson and Wales, 73-54, at Miami Country Day High School.
"I knew it would be kind of sloppy coming down here, playing in a place we've never played in and playing a team we had never seen," said Amelianovich. "It was sloppy, but it was still a victory."
The estimated crowd of 150 was almost entirely IWU backers and saw Amelianovich score 23 points as the Titans improved to 6-3.
"They had great execution. You can't give their shooters much," Wildcats' coach David Graham said. "They can extend a lead pretty quick."
The Titans did just that most of the first half. IWU led 17-13 after Johnson and Wales' Angel Martinez hit a 3-pointer before Wesleyan scored 21 of the next 23 points.
Two Chris Jones rebound baskets, five straight points from Jason Fisher and an Amelianovich 3-pointer highlighted the spurt.
"I thought we were really solid the first half," IWU coach Scott Trost said. "We contested their shots, limited them to one shot and got out in transition and got some fast break baskets."
Despite 12 first-half turnovers, IWU led 43-23 at halftime.
"They were just outworking us transition-wise," said Graham. "Their bigs were beating us down the court."
Johnson and Wales (4-8) played its best ball early in the second half, and scored the first seven points to move within 13.
IWU did not score until Amelianovich nailed a 3-pointer at the 16:25 mark. With a noticeable increase in energy, Johnson and Wales cut its deficit to 52-42 on two Martinez free throws with 9:48 left.
"The second half they turned up their defensive intensity. They won the hustle plays," Trost said. "I thought they outfought us, but we hung around and executed when we had to."
Senior Jim Lehan nailed a critical 3-pointer and Amelianovich scored nine points in a 14-2 spurt that put the Wildcats away, 66-44.
"We just ran out of gas," said Graham. "We scratched and clawed to get back into it, but we knew we would have to do everything perfect. It's tough to get it back under double digits."
Lehan played a season-high 16 minutes with starting point guard Adam Dauksas nursing a sore ankle.
"I thought Jimmy gave us some good minutes and quality play," Trost said. "I know he hit a big three."
Averaging 14.6 points, Dauksas scored a season-low three in 21 minutes.
"It was good to see other people step up,,' Dauksas said. "Jim definitely stepped up."
IWU's scoring slack was gathered up by Cory Jones with 14 points, Zach Freeman with nine, Fisher with eight and Chris Jones with seven.
Cory Jones grabbed nine rebounds and his brother eight as the Titans outrebounded Johnson and Wales, 39-27.
"The refs let a lot of stuff go," said Cory Jones. "I kind of like the physical type games."
Daniel Wallace paced the Wildcats with 17 points. Martinez added 12.
Wesleyan meets Division II Florida Gulf Coast, which is 8-0 and ranked eighth nationally, Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. (CST) in Fort Myers.
Illinois Wesleyan (5-3) @ Florida Gulf Coast (8-0)
Tuesday December 30, 2003 - 6:30pm CST
Probable Starters:
|
Illinois Wesleyan (5-3) |
Florida Gulf Coast (8-0) |
G |
Adam Dauksas (6-3/190, Soph) 14.6 pts, 4.4 reb, 6.8 assists, 45-49 FT (.918)
|
Bryan Crislip (6-3/195, Jr) 10.8 pts, 2.8 reb, 6.5 assists, 14-29 3-pt (.483) (Transfer from D1 Arkansas-Little Rock) |
G |
Keelan Amelianovich (6-6/215, Soph) 18.6 pts, 3.6 reb, 24-52 3-pt (.462)
|
Ryan Hopkins (6-5/215, Jr) 15.1 pts, 2.1 reb, 32-89 3-pt (.360) (Transfer from D1 Eastern Michigan) |
F |
Steve Schweer (6-6/205, Soph) 7.3 pts, 3.5 reb, 11-28 3-pt (.393)
|
Brett Fritz (6-5/200, Sr) 12.3 pts, 5.9 reb, 39-62 FG (.629)
|
F |
Zach Freeman (6-7/190, Fresh) 11.0 pts, 7.3 reb, 33-67 FG (.493)
|
Leighton Bowie (6-7/215, Sr) 18.8 pts, 6.3 reb, 39-67 FG (.582) (Transfer from D1 College of Charleston) |
C |
Cory Jones (6-6/213, Soph) 6.9 pts, 6.0 reb, 23-46 FG (.500)
|
Roman Brown (6-8/200, Sr) 11.4 pts, 6.0 reb, 35-63 FG (.556) (Transfer from Florida C.C. - Jacksonville) |
Top Reserve |
Jason Fisher, G (6-2/204, Soph) 7.6 pts, 11-17 3-pt (.647)
|
Robinson Tisme, C (6-8/250, Sr) 12.0 pts, 5.9 reb, 40-76 FG (.526) (Transfer from Santa Fe C.C.) |
Team Averages:
|
Illinois Wesleyan (5-3) |
Florida Gulf Coast (8-0) |
Points Scored Per Game |
76.0 |
99.6 |
Points Allowed Per Game |
64.1 |
71.0 |
Field Goal % Avg FG Attempts Per Game |
.451 59 |
.496 73 |
Opponent's Field Goal % |
.397 |
.383 |
3-point % Avg 3-pt FG Att/Game |
.432 17 |
.409 19 |
Opponent's 3-point % |
.313 |
.319 |
Free Throw % |
.768 |
.696 |
Rebounds Per Game |
39.0 |
42.8 |
Rebounds Allowed Per Game |
33.6 |
26.6 |
'Tis the season for a Titan rout
Dauksas in giving mood as IWU rips Benedictine
By Randy Reinhardt
rreinhardt@pantagraph.com
BLOOMINGTON -- A seven-point performance, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.
And in Adam Dauksas' case Monday at Shirk Center, it also was in the eye of the record-holder.
Matching his modest point total from a disappointing loss last Thursday, Dauksas directed a hurried but not harried Illinois Wesleyan offense with a school record-tying 14 assists as the Titans blasted Benedictine, 89-56, before a crowd of 1,500.
"These guys can score. My job is to get it to them," said Dauksas, who tied the 14-assist game of Brian Martin in 1991. "They did a great job finishing. I really have to give all of them the credit. It's not a big deal for me."
The Titans will open presents with a 5-3 record after humbling a Benedictine team that had won six of its first seven games.
"I'm just really glad we won and won big. We had to avenge that loss to Hanover," Dauksas said. "That was one of my worst games and these guys felt pretty down, too."
The level of play was a bit too Hanover-like for IWU in the early going. Benedictine led 17-8 after a Bryan Uselding basket at the 12:52 mark shortly after Wesleyan coach Scott Trost brought Dauksas to the bench.
"About the first six minutes we were sluggish. That was upsetting because we addressed that since that game," Trost said. "After that we played a good 34 minutes of basketball."
The Titans erased a 20-15 deficit with eight straight points from Chris Jones off the bench.
"Coach kept telling us the bench needed to step up," said Jones, who finished with a career-high 13 points. "I felt like I had to play a little harder and give a little bit better effort than I did against Hanover."
With Dauksas handing out assists like Christmas presents on IWU's lethal fast break, Zach Freeman's dunk off a Dauksas pass put the Titans ahead 37-24 with 3:36 left in the opening half.
"He's the catalyst," Trost said of Dauksas, who had 10 first-half assists. "When he does that, then we're really good."
"Coach has tried to light a fire under me," Dauksas said of his earlier than usual first trip to the bench. "He wanted me to do some more things. He wanted a response. I knew how to respond."
Outscoring the Eagles 38-11 over the final 13 minutes of the first half, Wesleyan shot 58 percent while amassing a 46-28 halftime bulge.
"We hit some perimeter shots early. Then we started falling in love with the perimeter shot and kind of lost our balance a little bit," said Benedictine coach Keith Bunkenburg. "We knew we had to stop Dauksas off the transition. We didn't do a great job. He got in the lane too many times. He just had a great game."
IWU sophomore Keelan Amelianovich connected on 9 of 13 shots from the field and led all scorers with 20 points. Freeman had three dunks on his way to 13 points, and Jason Fisher added a career-high 13 off the bench.
"It was a good win for everybody and a much-needed win," said Fisher. "The bench did their job. Everybody contributed. I think they got tired. A couple guys said they could hear their man huffing and puffing."
"Fish and Chris were fantastic off the bench," Trost said. "That's great to see."
Uselding paced Benedictine with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Adam Hansen added 11 points and Mahomet native Matt Harrison 10.
Freeman helped Wesleyan to a 39-28 margin on the boards with nine rebounds.
Benedictine (6-1) @ Illinois Wesleyan (4-3)
Thursday December 22, 2003 - 7:30pm
Click here to listen to WJBC broadcast - coverage starts at 7:05pm
Probable Starters:
|
||
G |
Adam Dauksas (6'3/190, Soph) 15.7 pts, 4.3 reb, 5.7 assists, 43-47 FT (.915) |
Zachary Ramey (6-3, Jr) 7.7 pts, 2.1 reb, 4.0 assists, 6-21 3-pt (.286) |
G |
Keelan Amelianovich (6'6/215, Soph) 18.4 pts, 4.0 reb, 22-49 3-pt (.449) |
Chris Hebeler (6-2, Soph) 10.4 pts, 2.9 reb, 10-26 3-pt (.385) |
F/G |
Steve Schweer (6'6/205, Soph) 7.7 pts, 3.7 reb, 11-28 3-pt (.393) |
Matt Harrison (6-3, Soph) 9.1 pts, 4.6 reb, 11-32 3-pt (.344) |
F |
Zach Freeman (6'7/190, Fresh) 10.7 pts, 7.0 reb, 28-57 FG (.491) |
Bryan Uselding (6-5, Senior) 10.7 pts, 5.9 reb, 33-70 FG (.471) |
C |
Cory Jones (6'6/213, Soph) 6.6 pts, 5.9 reb, 19-36 FG (.528) |
Adam Hansen (6-7, Jr) 5.4 pts, 3.0 reb, 14-33 FG (.424) |
Top Reserve |
Jason Fisher, G (6-2/204, Soph) 6.7 pts, 9-14 3-pt (.643) |
Jimmy Franklin, F (6-4, Soph) 10.5 pts, 8.2 reb, 24-34 FG (.706) |
Team Averages:
|
Illinois Wesleyan (4-3) |
Benedictine (6-1) |
Points Scored Per Game |
74.1 |
66.7 |
Points Allowed Per Game |
65.3 |
58.4 |
Field Goal % Avg FG Attempts Per Game |
.425 58.0 |
.437 58.9 |
Opponent's Field Goal % |
.320 |
.427 |
3-point % Avg 3-pt FG Att/Game |
.425 18.1 |
.321 20.0 |
Opponent's 3-point % |
.320 |
.223 |
Free Throw % |
.779 |
.670 |
Rebounds Per Game |
39.0 |
32.7 |
Rebounds Allowed Per Game |
34.4 |
34.7 |
IWU can't overcome Hanover
By Randy Reinhardt
rreinhardt@pantagraph.com
BLOOMINGTON -- Neither razzle nor dazzle accompanies the Hanover College basketball team.
The Panthers never seem to be in a hurry, yet always end up where they need to be.
And while deliberate but diligent Hanover offered up a textbook example of team play, Illinois Wesleyan could only absorb the lesson of a 63-54 nonconference defeat Thursday before a Shirk Center crowd of 1,600.
"I thought we did a poor job executing against that matchup zone they were running. We didn't get the ball inside. We got very few fast-break baskets," said IWU coach Scott Trost. "It was just a whole list of things. This will be a great teaching tool for us. We need to get better."
Third-ranked Hanover moved to 8-0 with its 23rd consecutive regular-season victory. The Titans (4-3) lost for just the 10th time in 124 Shirk Center appearances since the building opened in 1994.
"They were a good team. We knew that coming in," said IWU guard Keelan Amelianovich. "They slowed the game down well. They prevented us from getting out on the break, but we still have to find ways to get around that."
The Titans led 19-16 before Hanover went on a 13-2 spurt. IWU, which scored just six points over the final 8:15 of the first half, closed to within 29-24 on an Amelianovich 3-pointer at the 28-second mark.
"We're not scoring as much as last year. Our tempo has been slow because we're playing more zone," Panthers' coach Mike Beitzel said. "We played zone tonight, and I thought it was a factor. We slowed them down.
"We will play up and down (the court), but I'm not sure we can win the game (that way). They've got a lot of good, young players who can go up and down."
After shooting a miserable 27 percent in the first half, the Titans got a 3-pointer from Jason Fisher and two Adam Dauksas free throws to pull within 46-43 with 10:24 remaining.
Hanover responded with a 10-2 run that included 3-pointers from Matt Moore and Ryan Lanning. Wesleyan got no closer than eight points over the final seven minutes.
"Their matchup zone was throwing us off a little bit, putting us out of rhythm for inside and outside," said IWU freshman Zach Freeman, who contributed 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. "They hit some real big shots when they needed to. They got the ball inside and finished, and we didn't."
Amelianovich led the Titans with 18 points, while Dauksas had a season-low seven points while connecting on just 1 of 9 shots from the floor.
"Adam had an off night, but he'll bounce back," said Trost, whose team finished at 38 percent shooting. "We tried a bunch of different things, but we didn't execute very well. When it's a low-scoring game, we have problems."
The Panthers were typically balanced as Lanning and Ben Lye led the way with 14 points. Tommy Dennis chipped in 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Brian Chrin had 10 points.
"I thought we had a lot of big baskets by a lot of different players throughout the game," Beitzel said. "It was a real good team effort. You're not going to win many games here at the Shirk Center."
IWU returns to its home court Monday for a 7:30 p.m. nonconference game against Benedictine.
#3 Hanover (7-0) @ Illinois Wesleyan (4-2)
Thursday December 18, 2003
Click here to listen to WJBC broadcast - coverage starts at 7:15pm
Probable Starters:
|
||
G |
Adam Dauksas (6'3/190, Soph) 17.2 pts, 4.7 reb, 6.0 assists, 39-43 FT (.907) |
Thad McCracken (5-10/160, Sr) 8.9 pts, 2.0 reb, 2.0 assists, 13-43 3-pt (.302) |
G |
Keelan Amelianovich (6'6/215, Soph) 18.5 pts, 4.0 reb, 20-44 3-pt (.455) |
Matt Moore (6-0/185, Jr) 10.4 pts, 3.1 reb, 3.7 assists, 13-33 3-pt (.394) |
F |
Steve Schweer (6'6/205, Soph) 8.0 pts, 4.2 reb, 11-26 3-pt (.423) |
Ryan Lanning (6-5/205, Jr) 11.1 pts, 3.1 reb, 31-57 FG (.544) |
F |
Zach Freeman (6'7/190, Fresh) 10.7 pts, 6.2 reb, 24-47 FG (.511) |
Ben Lye (6-4/205, Soph) 9.6 pts, 5.3 reb, 29-57 FG (.509) |
C |
Cory Jones (6'6/213, Soph) 6.7 pts, 6.5 reb, 16-32 FG (.500) |
Tommy Dennis (6-5/220, Jr) 11.1 pts, 8.4 reb, 35-64 FG (.547) |
Top Reserve |
Jason Fisher, G (6-2/204, Soph) 7.0 pts, 8-13 3-pt (.615) |
Brian Chrin, F (6-3/195, Soph) 12.1 pts, 5.0 reb, 32-44 FG (.727) |
Leading scorer Brian Chrin
Team Averages:
|
Illinois Wesleyan (4-2) |
Hanover (7-0) |
Points Scored Per Game |
77.5 |
72.9 |
Points Allowed Per Game |
65.7 |
51.0 |
Field Goal % Avg FG Attempts Per Game |
.440 60.2 |
.477 58.1 |
Opponent's Field Goal % |
.389 |
.368 |
3-point % Avg 3-pt FG Att/Game |
.439 19.0 |
.333 18.9 |
Opponent's 3-point % |
.308 |
.317 |
Free Throw % |
.808 |
.634 |
Rebounds Per Game |
40.5 |
35.6 |
Rebounds Allowed Per Game |
34.7 |
32.3 |
Wait worthwhile for Titans
By Randy Reinhardt
rreinhardt@pantagraph.com
BLOOMINGTON -- Even before Saturday's basketball game was delayed over an hour, Illinois Wesleyan sophomore Cory Jones felt he was overdue.
"I don't think I've been playing up to my potential," said the 6-foot-6 Jones. "I thought it was my time."
He was right.
Jones scored a career-high 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds as IWU used an overpowering second half to dispose of nonconference foe Olivet Nazarene, 85-66, before a patient Shirk Center crowd of 1,300.
The NAIA Tigers were delayed in Kankakee because of a minor traffic accident. The game was scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. start but began at 8:52.
"I've been coming down here for years, and I've always been impressed with the support the Wesleyan people give their team," said Olivet coach Ralph Hodge. "I see why with a team that plays so hard for 40 minutes. Wesleyan kept pushing and pushing and putting the heat on. And we had nothing to give back to them."
The Tigers (5-7) took a 39-38 edge in the first minute of the second half before IWU (4-2) took off behind the high-wire act of Jones and Zach Freeman.
The pair combined for five dunks and connected on 14 of 18 shots. Freeman scored 12 points, half of which came on three dunks.
"Cory played big," IWU coach Scott Trost said. "He battled inside and made it tough for them to score. And he scored when we got in inside to him."
Wesleyan led 46-42 before reeling off nine straight points on a Steve Schweer 3-pointer, a Jones layup off an alley oop pass from Adam Dauksas, a Dauksas driving basket and a Jones fast break dunk.
Keelan Amelianovich scored eight consecutive points to cap a 19-4 Titan surge that produced a 65-46 advantage.
"We kept up the defensive intensity from the first half. What we did differently was we matched their intensity on offense," said Amelianovich, who was 4 of 6 from 3-point range and matched Jones with 19 points. "We got to the basket and we got open shots."
IWU shot 59 percent in the second half and 57 percent overall.
"We played a really good second half," Trost said. "We did a better job getting the ball inside, executing our stuff and playing a smart ballgame. We got the ball inside to Zach and Cory, and they were able to do something with it."
Dauksas chipped in 13 points and Schweer nine as Wesleyan narrowly missed placing all five starters in double figures.
IWU also outrebounded Olivet, 34-26, nailed 10 of 16 3-point attempts and handed out 21 assists led by five from Schweer.
"This is a big, big step to see what we did," Trost said. "A lot of people helped out."
The Titans led 36-26 after a Jason Fisher 3-pointer at the 3:45 mark of the first half. Olivet responded with 10 straight points before a Jones basket sent IWU into halftime with a two-point lead.
"I let the game come to me. I usually try to make something happen," said Jones, who averaged 4.2 points over Wesleyan's first five games. "We knew we could play a lot better. We were out to show we can play two good halves of basketball."
Jeremy Riddle paced the Tigers with 19 points. Brad Barr added 14, while Erik Rhinehart and Marcus Lyte chipped in 11 apiece. Normal West High School graduate Stan Chismark had four points.
"We gave them a good run the first half," said Hodge, "but the second half they did whatever they wanted."
The Titans return to Shirk Center Thursday to meet third-ranked Hanover in a 7:30 p.m. contest.
Olivet Nazarene (5-6) @ Illinois Wesleyan (3-2)
Saturday, December 13, 2003
Click here to listen to WJBC broadcast - coverage starts at 7:15pm
Probable Starters:
|
||
G |
Adam Dauksas (6'3/190, Soph) 18.0 pts, 4.8 reb, 6.4 assists |
Aaron Hird (5'9/163, Sr) 3.6 pts, 1.9 reb, 4 assists |
G |
Keelan Amelianovich (6'6/215, Soph) 18.4 pts, 4.0 reb |
Jeremy Riddle (6'3/180 Sr) 14.6 pts, 2.6 reb |
F |
Steve Schweer (6'6/205, Soph) 7.8 pts, 4.4 reb |
Stan Chismark (6'5/200. Fresh) 7.0 pts, 4.3 reb |
F |
Zach Freeman (6'7/190, Fresh) 10.4 pts, 7.2 reb |
Bradley Barr (6'5/220, Jr) 9.2 pts, 5.5 reb |
C |
Cory Jones(6'6/213, Soph) 4.2 pts, 6.0 reb |
Marcus Lyte (6'5/202, Sr) 8.5 pts, 5.3 reb |
Team Averages:
|
Illinois Wesleyan (3-2) |
Olivet Nazarene (5-6) |
Points Scored Per Game |
76.0 |
74.5 |
Points Allowed Per Game |
65.6 |
69.7 |
Field Goal % |
.417 |
.444 |
Opponent's Field Goal % |
.386 |
.417 |
3-point % |
.408 |
.335 |
Opponent's 3-point % |
.313 |
.291 |
Free Throw % |
.840 |
.778 |
Rebounds Per Game |
41.8 |
35.9 |
Rebounds Allowed Per Game |
36.4 |
36.9 |
Hosts hold off Titans for title
By Randy Reinhardt
rreinhardt@pantagraph.com
ST. LOUIS -- During the lengthy season, the Illinois Wesleyan basketball team could very well learn how to prevail in tight games.
Through five games, however, the lesson remains unlearned.
Washington University used several key offensive rebounds in the final moments to hold off IWU, 65-61, in the title game of the Lopata Classic Saturday night at WU Field House.
The Titans have won their three games by an average of 19 points, while the two losses have come by a total of six points.
"All of us together have to learn," IWU coach Scott Trost said. "It was immaturity down the stretch and bad decisions."
Wesleyan trailed by two at 59-57 after a Keelan Amelianovich 3-pointer with 3:20 remaining.
The Bears (4-3) responded with a free throw and a driving basket from tournament Most Valuable Player Barry Bryant for a 62-57 lead.
After two Zach Freeman free throws with 19 seconds left brought IWU to within three at 64-61, the Titans' pressure defense forced a turnover.
But Washington's Ryan DeBoer picked off a Steve Schweer pass and the Bears were set.
A freshman, Freeman paced IWU with career highs of 17 points and 15 rebounds.
"Zach played a great game," said Trost.
The rebounds that stood out the most, however, were the 20 offensive rebounds pulled down by the Bears.
"We should be working on that the whole (next) practice," Freeman said. "It's really frustrating. We work on it in practice, but we can't do it in games."
The Bears held an overall edge of 41-40 on the boards with DeBoer handling 13 and 7-footer Mike Grunst 10.
"Offensive rebounding killed us," Trost said. "We've done a poor job the first five games controlling the defensive glass. We have to do something about it."
Amelianovich added 16 points and Adam Dauksas 12 for the Titans, who shot below 38 percent for the second straight game at 36.8 percent.
Scott Stone burned Wesleyan with four of his five 3-pointers in the second half and finished with 16 points.
A hard-fought first half ended in a 30-all tie.
After IWU erased a 14-4 deficit with 10 straight points, the Titans took their first lead at 17-16 on a Jason Fisher 3-pointer.
Wesleyan got six points off the bench from John O'Brien in the final 4:34 of the opening half, and Freeman was dominant on the boards with 11 rebounds before the break.
Washington knocked down six shots in the first four minutes while building a 10-point lead and only three in the final 16 minutes of the half.
All-tournament team
Bryant was joined on the all-tournament team by teammate DeBoer, Freeman and Dauksas of IWU, Danny Nawrocki of Johns Hopkins and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps' Bryan Jolly.
John Hopkins-Claremont
Jolly scored on a rebound and completed the three-point play with 1/10th of a second remaining to give Claremont-Mudd-Scripps a 71-69 victory in the third-place game.
Johns Hopkins (3-2) had led most of the contest before falling behind in the final minute and took a 69-68 edge on a Frank Mason driving basket at the 11-second mark.
Jolly paced the Stags (3-3) with 20 points.
Enough shots fall for Titans
By Randy Reinhardt
rreinhardt@pantagraph.com
ST. LOUIS -- When shots don't fall, the opponent still can.
The Illinois Wesleyan basketball team was happy to prove that Friday with a 77-64 triumph over Johns Hopkins in the opening game of the Lopata Classic.
The Titans overcame 37 percent shooting by inflicting a similar pox on Johns Hopkins and burning hot from the free throw line at Washington University Field House.
IWU (3-1) meets host Washington today at 8 p.m. in the title game of the 20th annual event. The Bears downed Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 76-59, in Friday's second game.
"We got them out of rhythm. They didn't really have an offensive flow," Wesleyan coach Scott Trost said. "That can be attributed to our press. It helped get us going."
Johns Hopkins coach Bill Nelson said the Titans' pressure defense bothered his team more than the Blue Jays' 12 turnovers would indicate.
"They did a nice job taking us out of the stuff we do," said Nelson, whose team dropped to 3-1. "The score was not indicative of the game. They beat us soundly."
IWU sophomores Adam Dauksas and Keelan Amelianovich each scored 21 points while connecting on a mere 10 of 29 from the field. The pair combined to sink 18 of 20 free throws as the Titans were 27 of 33 overall for 82 percent.
"A point guard's job is to get teammates involved and help pull out the win no matter how ugly it looks," said Dauksas, who also contributed eight assists and five rebounds.
IWU's first sluggish start of the season saw Johns Hopkins surge ahead 7-2. Wesleyan took its first lead at 10-8 as Jason Fisher scored on a back door cut.
"I thought we were not focused the first five or six minutes. Not enough energy, no sense of urgency," Trost said. "I hope we learned from that."
The Titans completed a 14-2 spurt when Steve Schweer connected from the baseline for a 16-9 margin.
IWU assumed its biggest lead of the opening half at the 41-second mark when Amelianovich banked in a short shot to send the Titans into halftime with a 38-28 advantage.
"We had a little more concentration and were finding the guys we wanted to hit," Amelianovich said. "The first five minutes we were flat. We took bad shots."
Two Schweer 3-pointers in the first 3:01 of the second half boosted the Titans to a 47-30 bulge.
Johns Hopkins fought back within 11 at 59-48, but five straight Amelianovich points gave Wesleyan unquestioned control again.
Cory Jones' nine rebounds sparked Wesleyan to a 44-37 edge on the boards. Zach Freeman chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds.
Matt Righter and Danny Nawrocki scored 13 points each to pace Johns Hopkins, which shot 37 percent. Eric Toback added 11 points and blocked seven shots.
"Some of our veterans were out there freelancing," Nelson said. "We're not that good to go one-on-one and shoot with a hand in our face."
IWU also won the first game of the Midway Classic in Chicago Nov. 22 only to drop the title game to Trinity (Texas) the next day.
"We have to come out with a lot of intensity," said Dauksas, "and show we've matured since our last loss."
20th Annual Lopata Classic - Washington University, St. Louis
Friday 12/5: 6:00pm: Illinois Wesleyan (2-1) vs Johns Hopkins (3-0) 8:00pm: Wash U. (2-3) vs Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (2-2) Saturday 12/6: 6:00pm: Consolation, 8:00pm: Championship Click for Radio Coverage of IWU's Friday game |
Probable Starters
Illinois Wesleyan Midwest - CCIW |
Johns Hopkins Mid-Atlantic - Centennial |
Washington U. Midwest - UAA |
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps West - SCIAC |
|
| G | Adam Dauksas
(6-3/185, Soph) 19 pts, 5 reb, 6 assists |
Kevin Marquez
(6-2/185, Sr) 8 pts, 2 reb, 3 assists |
Barry Bryant
(6-2/185, Sr) 15 pts, 3 reb, 3 assists |
John Parsons
(6-2/190, Soph) 8 pts, 7 reb, 4 assists |
| G | Keelan Amelianovich
(6-6/215, Soph) 18 pts, 4 reb |
Frank Mason
(6-2/179, Soph) 10 pts, 4 reb |
Scott Stone
(6-2/165, Soph) 9 pts, 3 reb (13-38 3-pt) |
Josh Keough
(6-2/175, Sr) 7 pts, 2 reb (7-17 3-pt) |
| F | Steve Schweer
(6-6/205, Soph) 9 pts, 4 reb |
Matt Righter
(6-5/195, Sr) 13 pts, 6 reb (7-12 3-pt) |
Rob Keller
(6-4/220, Jr) 15.2 pts, 4.4 reb (11-26 3-pt) |
Christian Dundas
(6-3/195, Sr) 11 pts, 3 reb (10-24 3-pt) |
| F | Zach Freeman
(6-7/190, Fresh) 8 pts, 5 reb |
Eric Toback
(6-6/230, Jr) 21 pts, 9 reb (10-21 3-pt) |
Ryan DeBoer
(6-6/210, Sr) 11 pts, 7 reb |
Michael Brandt
(6-4/235, Sr) 6 pts, 4 reb |
| C | Cory Jones
(6-6/213, Soph) 5 pts, 6 reb |
Danny Nawrocki
(6-6/220, Fresh) 12 pts, 10 reb |
Mike Grunst
(7-0/230, Soph) 4 pts, 6 reb, 3 blocks |
Bryan Jolly
(6-7/235, Soph) 15 pts, 5 reb |
Schweer on target as Titans romp
By Randy Reinhardt
rreinhardt@pantagraph.com
BLOOMINGTON -- Two sub par shooting games is hardly enough to be labeled a slump.
After Tuesday's nonconference basketball game at Shirk Center, Illinois Wesleyan's Steve Schweer doesn't have to worry if three is.
Hitting just 2 of 11 shots in his first two games, Schweer nailed 8 of 12 overall and 6 of 9 from 3-point range to spark IWU's freewheeling and high-flying 104-84 victory over Beloit before a crowd of 1,000.
"I was feeling it a little bit, so they (shots) were going up," said Schweer, who led the Titans with 22 points. "That's probably the beauty of our team. Last weekend, Keelan (Amelianovich) and Adam (Dauksas) put up points. Today I got a little hot, so they were finding me. Having more than two threats is a big asset we have."
IWU sank 18 of its first 26 shots and reached 50 points with 3:49 left in the first half while improving to 2-1.
Beloit sophomore Josh Hinz set a Shirk Center record for opponents with 37 points as the Buccaneers slipped to 1-3.
Schweer, a sophomore who had never scored more than two points in a game, had 11 points in each half.
"We need Steve to play like that," said Wesleyan coach Scott Trost. "He rebounded, he was aggressive and his shot was falling. He played with confidence. If we get that from Steve, it makes us that much more dangerous."
Two Schweer 3-pointers helped IWU to a 24-11 lead at the 13:46 mark of the first half. Beloit scored eight straight points to cut its deficit to five, but after Trost called a timeout the Titans went on a 25-9 run for a 49-28 bulge.
"It was fun running up and down the floor," said Titan freshman Zach Freeman, whose 12 points included two dunks. "They had a lot of ball pressure, but we could beat them down the floor every time. We did a good job passing to the wing and getting easy baskets."
IWU shot 56 percent in the first half and led 57-39.
"You score 84 points, you should win games. Our biggest problem is our half-court defense," Beloit coach Cecil Youngblood said. "We left their shooters way too open in their half-court sets. Unfortunately for us, they were hot tonight."
The Titans held a 65-40 advantage early in the second half after an Amelianovich 3-pointer. The Buccaneers fought back within 14 points (71-57) at the 11:57 mark and 13 points (89-76) with 4:07 left.
"I thought we played well the first half. The second half we were lax a little bit," Trost said. "We're not finishing games off. Time and score dictate a little how you play, but that's the way you let teams back in it. If we learn to finish games out, we're going to be a fun team."
Dauksas added 19 points while hitting all 10 of his free throws. Amelianovich had 17 points, while twin brothers Cory and Chris Jones combined for 16 points and 12 rebounds.
"All the guys have a lot of versatility. They all have the ability to score," Schweer said. "Different guys can pick up the slack at different times. It makes us hard to guard."
Freeman and Chris Jones grabbed seven rebounds each as IWU earned a 44-30 margin on the boards.
Hinz was 14 of 21 from the field and 8 of 12 at the free throw line to top the 35 points scored by Millikin's Adam Provance in 1996.
"He can shoot it, he takes you off the dribble, he's strong inside and he has a nice touch around the basket," Trost said of the 6-foot-6 Hinz. "Maybe we should have doubled him a little sooner."
Dejuan Shorter chipped in 14 points and Danny Towns 13 for Beloit, which shot 53 percent in the first half and 45.5 percent overall.
The Titans next meet Johns Hopkins at 6 p.m. Friday as part of Washington University's Lopata Classic in St. Louis.
Takeaways from the Midway Classic
by Bob Quillman, IWUHoops.com
It's always disappointing to lose a close game - even if your team is considered a pretty significant underdog in the contest. Despite the fact that it was against the #12 ranked team in Division III, Illinois Wesleyan fans most likely left the Ratner Center Sunday evening thinking about what could have been in the game against Trinity (Texas). Afterall, "2-0" sounds a whole lot better than "1-1."
I'd be willing to bet, however, that if someone would have told IWU head coach Scott Trost before Saturday's opener that his young team would blowout Chicago in the first game of their new arena, and then lose by 2 points to nationally ranked Trinity, he'd take that and run. Afterall, 4 of Trost's starters and 9 of the 11 players used in the rotation at the Midway Classic had absolutely no meaningful varsity experience. Returning starter Adam Dauksas and captain Jim Lehan are the only two players on the Titan roster that saw time in 2002-03.
So what did Illinois Wesleyan fans learn about their squad last weekend? What can they expect as the season continues to unfold? Who needs to improve?
Impressive Play on the Perimeter
As good as Adam Dauksas was a freshman, he looks even better so far as sophomore. Physically, he grew an inch in the off-season and put on 10 pounds of muscle. At 6-3/190 Dauksas has outstanding size for a Division III point-guard.
When Dauksas is on the floor, there is absolutely no question who the leader of this Titan team is. He wants the ball in his hands as much as possible, and he looks to be on the offensive attack at all times. Dauksas dominated the first half of the Chicago game, registering 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists, en route to a 17 point Titan cushion at intermission. The majority of his points resulted from aggressive drives to the basket around Maroon players, and the resulting free throws. Dauksas was 5-5 from the charity stripe in that first half. His final stat line in the opener was extremely impressive - 16 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists.
In the loss to Trinity, Dauksas had 22 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists, but was just 6-17 (.352) from the field. In the Midway Classic championship game, the rest of the Titan cast was inconsistent at best, and Dauksas seemed to force a number of shots. It looked like Adam felt like he had to take that game over, and he may have been right.
When the other key members of the 2003-04 Titan rotation settle in, Dauksas may emerge this season as one of the best point-guards in the country. He's that good.
Saturday's contest against University of Chicago also served as the introduction to Titan fans of a young man who has a chance to be a very special player at Illinois Wesleyan - Keelan Amelianovich. After a 9 point first half, 6-6 Amelianovich put on a show in the 2nd. He scored 16 points on 6-9 from the field (2-4 from 3), including two big baskets to help kill Chicago runs. Keelan also added a spectacular two-handed dunk off the baseline. He finished with 25 points and 5 rebounds.
Against Trinity, Amelianovich had 13 points, 2 rebounds, and 4 assists. He seemed to have a tougher time getting shot opportunities, as Trinity put athletic 6-5 guard Ross Burt on him most of the game. Still, Keelan scored two huge baskets down the stretch. With IWU down 61-60, he made a three-pointer with 4:17 to play to to give the Titans a 2-point lead. With 58 seconds to play and the Titans down 3, Amelianovich drove to the basket and scored, keeping IWU in the game.
Keelan is going to do some things this season to make Titan fans say, "Wow." If he plays as aggressively as he did against Chicago every night out, he will have a huge sophomore season.
A very pleasant surprise emerged from the Midway Classic for Illinois Wesleyan fans - Jason Fisher. The 6-2, athletic guard from Delavan looked outstanding off the bench in both games. In the final 4 minutes of the first half against Chicago, Fisher scored 8 points on 3-3 shooting from the field. These baskets helped give the Titans their 17-point halftime lead.
In the Trinity game, Fisher was perfect from the field again - 3-3. On the young season, he is 7-7 from the field (4-4 from beyond the arc), averaging 10 points per game.
Coming into the tournament, it seemed like Fisher's playing time status was a big question mark...it is now safe to say he is securely part of the 2003-04 Titan rotation. He can make a lot of good things happen on the floor with his athleticism. Fisher strikes me as the kind of player who is at his best when the bright lights of a game come on.
Unanswered Questions in the Post
I believe that as the post players on this team go, so will the Titans go. If starters Zach Freeman and Cory Jones emerge as players who can consistently beat defenders one on one, this Illinois Wesleyan squad will be outstanding. If they don't, it will put a tremendous load on Dauksas, Amelianovich, and the other perimeter players - a load that will be too much to handle in trying to win games in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin...especially on the road.
Combined through 2 games, Freeman and Jones are averaging 10.5 points and 10 rebounds per contest. For the Titans to be a legimate threat this season, I believe this duo needs to average in the neighborhood of 20 points and 15 rebounds per game. Their scoring is important, because it will prevent defenders from cheating to help on Dauksas and Amelianovich. Their rebounding is just as critical, as everything this Titan team wants to do offensively starts with getting the ball and pushing it quickly.
Depth in the post is also very important for the same reasons. Scott Trost got 14 good minutes of defense out of Steve Jeretina in the Trinity game, but Jeretina did not take a shot. The 6-7/240 pound center needs to be more offensively minded when on the floor. Most people forget that Jeretina was the "Player of the Year" in the Mid-Suburban East conference as a senior at Buffalo Grove, averaging 18 points and 12 rebounds per game. Chris Jones and John O'Brien are also critical pieces to the puzzle this season.
Schweer Starts Slow
Steve Schweer was one of IWU's best JV players last season. He averaged 11.6 points per game and really had a knack for knocking down big 3-point baskets. The 6-6 Hinsdale Central product is a big reason the 2002-03 Titan JV squad went undefeated in CCIW play.
Schweer is still on the mend from a May ACL tear and it may take a few games before Titan fans see the same player they did last season. In the Midway Classic, Schweer was just 2-11 (.182) from the field and 0-5 from beyond the arc. Chalk it up to the recovery process or the fact that it was his first real career varsity time, but the fact is that Schweer is a much better shooter than those statistics indicate. The Titans need him to get comfortable and knock down shots. Again, this Illinois Wesleyan team will be too easy to defend by good teams if 55% of the points are coming from two perimeter players (Dauksas and Amelianovich) as they did last weekend. Schweer is capable of scoring 8-12 points per game and pulling down a bunch of rebounds.
-------------
The Titans will face another good post player this week when they host Beloit on Tuesday. 6-7 sophomore Josh Hinz is averaging 27.3 points and 7.7 rebounds for the 1-2 Bucs, including a 31 point, 6 rebound performance against CCIW favorite Augustana last week. Then it is on to the Lopata Classic in St. Louis where the Titans will face Johns Hopkins on Friday night and most likey the host Washington University Bears on Saturday.
These young players are fun to watch, Titan fans. They run, they dunk (4 total through 2 games - is that an IWU record?), and believe me, they are not afraid out there. If things really get clicking on offense, it will be a heck of a season.
Titans take a tumble
By Randy Reinhardt
Pantagraph staff
CHICAGO -- The Illinois Wesleyan basketball team was not afraid in the least to attack the tall Trinity twosome of 6-foot-8 Peter Murray and 6-10 Sean Devins.
Maybe the Titans should have been.
Murray and Devins combined for 11 of Trinity's 13 blocked shots and the Tigers were ferocious from 3-point range in a 67-65 victory over IWU Sunday in the title game of the Midway Classic at the Ratner Athletics Center.
Wesleyan's Adam Dauksas couldn't connect on a floating jumper with five seconds to go that would have given the Titans the lead, and his desperation 3-point try at the buzzer was on line but short.
"We've got to expect these type of games. We're going to be smaller (inside) than most teams," said 6-6 Wesleyan center Cory Jones, who led all rebounders with eight. "When we get back we've got to hit that weightroom."
Trinity's inside presence contributed to IWU's 34 percent shooting as the 13th-ranked Tigers improved to 2-0 and the Titans fell to 1-1.
"We won't play a team as big as Trinity all year," IWU coach Scott Trost said. "We'll learn from this and get better. Other than us winning the tournament, it couldn't have worked out any better."
Devins had 17 points, seven rebounds and six blocks, while Murray chipped in 12 points, five rebounds and five blocks.
Devins even hit a key 3-pointer that gave Trinity a 64-63 lead with 2:38 left. The Tigers sank 11 of 19 (58 percent) from beyond the arc.
"Sean and Peter are pretty big," said Tigers' coach Pat Cunningham, a former Illinois State assistant. "We did a good job pressuring shots and making it tough for them to score inside."
Dauksas scored 16 of his game-high 22 points in the first half and was 1 of 9 from the field in the second half.
"They were more conscious of me getting open shots," Dauksas said. "But I should have converted more."
After a Keelan Amelianovich driving basket with 56 seconds remaining brought the Titans within 66-65, IWU's Steve Schweer rebounded a Murray miss and Trost called timeout at the 23-second mark.
IWU spread the floor for Dauksas, but the sophomore's shot from just inside the free throw line rolled off.
Devins rebounded, was fouled and made one free throw for the final margin.
"It didn't go my way, but that's not going to discourage me from taking those shots again," Dauksas said. "I want the ball in my hands in that situation."
So does Trost.
"Those are good shots," said the IWU coach. "He'll make them more often than not. He'll make it next time."
Wesleyan led 46-35 after a Dauksas three-point play at the 15:13 mark. But Trinity charged back to take its first lead at 51-50 just 5:11 later.
Amelianovich scored 13 points and Jason Fisher had 10 off the bench for the second straight game. Fisher was 7 of 7 from the field in the tournament.
"Jason Fisher has elevated his game," Trost said. "He has earned more playing time."
The Titans zoomed to a 12-0 lead as Amelianovich contributed a 3-pointer and a dunk.
But Trinity scored the next seven points and pulled even at 28-28 by connecting on six of its first nine from 3-point range.
"We've got some experience, but it seems to take us time to get into the flow," Cunningham said. "But once we get into it, we settle in pretty good."
IWU closed the half on a 10-2 spurt for a 38-30 lead as Dauksas and Fisher nailed 3-pointers.
Chicago-Springfield
The University of Chicago defeated Springfield (Mass.), 78-66, in the third-place game.
Justin Waldie paced Chicago (1-1) with 18 points. Springfield (0-2) was led by Jim Mack with 17.
| All Tournament
Team
Kyle Marian, Springfield Scott Fisher, Chicago Keelan Amelianovich, Illinois Wesleyan Ross Burt, Trinity (Texas) Adam Dauksas, Illinois Wesleyan MVP: Peter Murray, Trinity (Texas) |
Amelianovich, Titans roll in opener
By Randy Reinhardt
Pantagraph staff
CHICAGO -- Conventional wisdom suggested -- no, screamed -- Keelan Amelianovich should pass up an open look at the basket to hold for the final shot of the first half.
Yet with 18 seconds showing on the brand new Ratner Athletics Center scoreboard, the Illinois Wesleyan sophomore took and nailed a 3-pointer from the right wing.
After all, the virtues of patience -- especially for a young, eager and obviously talented Titan team -- have their limits.
Amelianovich's 3-pointer sent IWU into halftime with a 17-point lead and the Titans steamrolled the University of Chicago, 73-48, Saturday in the first round of the Midway Classic.
IWU meets Trinity (Texas) in today's 5 p.m. championship game.
In an encouraging season opener for a Wesleyan team that started four sophomores and a freshman, the Titans ruined the Maroons' first game in the Ratner Center before a crowd of 1,292.
"We did a lot of good things," IWU coach Scott Trost said. "We pushed the ball and got some baskets out of transition against a very experienced Chicago team."
Amelianovich, who totaled 27 points in 18 games as a freshman, scored a game-high 25 in his first college start.
"It was outstanding to start out with a decent margin of victory," Amelianovich said. "We knew we were athletic. We might as well use it to our advantage."
That they did as Chicago had no answer for the quickness of Wesleyan sophomore point guard Adam Dauksas.
"We knew what we could do offensively and defensively. Everyone knew we could do that," said Dauksas, who riddled Chicago for 16 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. "We knew we were more athletic than they were.
"Everybody did a good job running with me. You have to push it down their throat if they don't hustle back, and we did that pretty well."
Chicago's only lead of the game came at 10-9, and Wesleyan assumed a 26-18 margin on four straight Dauksas free throws.
The Titans closed the first half on a 13-3 run over the final 3:19 that was capped by Amelianovich's late 3-pointer.
"If I pass out of that he (Trost) probably takes me out. He wants me to shoot that," Amelianovich said. "No way I'm going to pass that one up."
Trost confirmed he was fine with Amelianovich's shot even if a miss would have given Chicago a chance at a final shot.
"People can see the talent he's got," said Trost. "I've urged him to be aggressive. He's got free rein to shoot."
While the Titans were committing just one first-half turnover, Chicago connected on just 5 of 13 first-half free throws and was 9 of 32 from the field.
"I thought we really dug us a hole," Maroons' coach Mike McGrath said. "We didn't shoot the ball well, and we got lost in transition a couple of times."
Chicago sliced its deficit to 11 points (48-37) early in the first half before Amelianovich hit a 3-pointer and then a 15-footer to quickly push the Titan advantage back to 16.
"We definitely noticed that," Amelianovich said of Chicago's surge. "We said we needed to play better defense and keep running. We did that and pulled away."
IWU's starters sat down with 3:34 remaining and a 71-45 bulge.
Chicago finished at 39 percent from the line (7 of 18), 31 percent from the field (19 of 61) and 14 percent from 3-point range (3 of 21).
Scott Fisher paced the Maroons with 16 points and seven rebounds. Clay Carmody added 14 points off the bench.
McGrath was not surprised by the play of Amelianovich and Dauksas.
"I saw them in high school," said the Chicago coach. `I thought they would be great college players, but they're going to be even better."
Jason Fisher chipped in 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting for the Titans. Freshman Zach Freeman scored six points in his first college action, and recorded his initial points on a spectacular dunk off an alley oop pass from Dauksas.
Wesleyan shot 47 percent from the field (28 of 60) and sank 11 of 12 free throws.
(November 21, 2003)
Titans set sights beyond 'average'
By Randy Reinhardt
Pantagraph staff
BLOOMINGTON -- With four sophomores and a freshman capable of starting on the varsity level, Illinois Wesleyan would have an outstanding junior varsity basketball team this season.
Yet that talented quintet isn't just capable of starting for the IWU varsity, they are starting for the varsity Saturday when the Titans open their season at the University of Chicago Midway Classic.
"These guys are ready. People don't think so, but I really believe they're ready," said sophomore point guard Adam Dauksas, the lone returning starter from a 22-6 team of a year ago. "I think the talent is there. The experience will come. But no one is very far behind."
The 6-foot-3 Dauksas will be joined as starters by 6-6 sophomore shooting guard Keelan Amelianovich, 6-6 sophomore forward Steve Schweer, 6-7 freshman forward Zach Freeman and 6-6 sophomore center Cory Jones when the Titans meet Chicago Saturday at 6 p.m.
"There is no excuse for us to have an average season," Schweer said. "We have good enough players there shouldn't be any letdown from last year."
Third-year IWU coach Scott Trost sees plenty of athleticism in his team and wants his Titans to utilize the fast break.
"We have guys who can get out and run. We definitely want to push the ball and get transition baskets," Trost said. "But that is all predicated on our ability to defend and rebound. We have proven if we really want to guard every second of every possession, we have the capability to do that. We have to be more consistent."
As IWU enters a season full of both possibilities and questions, here is a positional breakdown of the Titans:
Point guard
Dauksas is a take-charge personality who will have to do exactly that. He averaged 9.3 points and led the Titans with 85 assists as a freshman.
"Physically, I've grown an inch or two and put on a lot of weight, but also mentally I think I know how the game works a lot better now," Dauksas said. "In college, I've had to work on where to go mentally and how to be mentally tough. I've become a completely different player since my senior year in high school."
Trost said he "sees a confidence level in Adam he didn't have last year. Expectations are high. I think he's got the ability to be one of the best point guards in the league (College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) this year."
While senior captain Jim Lehan is the first option off the bench at point, sophomore Matt Arnold has impressed Trost in preseason practice.
"Jim has a lot of experience. He's very quick. He's one of the best athletes on the team. He's provided great leadership," said Trost. "Matt Arnold might be our most improved player. He's shooting the ball extremely well."
Shooting guard
Shooting guard is an apt description of Amelianovich, a deadly 3-point shooter who will be counted on heavily for offense.
"There's very little he can't do. He's strong, big and a good athlete. When he shoots it, you think it's going in," Trost said. "We're harping on Keelan to be more aggressive and play with a sense of urgency offensively and defensively. If he does those things, he can be as good as he wants to be."
Amelianovich admits to a "lot of anxiety" being thrust into such a key role after seeing limited varsity time last season. "I took that role on in high school and pretty much every team I've been on," he said. "I embrace that. I enjoy the challenge."
Either Dauksas or Lehan could play here when both are on the floor at the same time. Other possibilities are sophomores Jason Fisher of Delavan and Mike McGraw.
"McGraw is a very good stationary shooter. Teams have to guard him," Trost said. "Fisher is one of our better athletes. He's got to use that athleticism and turn it into productive minutes. He has a chance to help us a lot."
Small forward
Schweer has recovered impressively from April reconstructive knee surgery.
"I don't really feel any effects of it besides just a little bit elevation wise," he said. "Running is not a problem for me anymore and I'm getting used to this brace."
Trost sees Schweer as his defensive stopper.
"Steve has the size and attitude to be a good defensive player," said the IWU coach. "He plays with a great deal of passion. It will take a little time. He's getting his legs back."
Freshmen Andrew Freeman, Zach's twin brother, and Tyler Smith could spell Schweer.
"Andrew has shown a lot of improvement from day one. I have to find some time to get him some minutes," Trost said.
Power forward
Trost was convinced early on Zach Freeman has the skills and demeanor to handle starting as a freshman.
"Zach is a special talent. He's got all the physical tools," said Trost. "He's going to guard guys older and stronger than him. We have to be patient with him. He'll have to learn and he will. I have all the confidence in the world he's going to be a great player here and a good player this year."
Chris Jones, a 6-5 sophomore and Cory's twin, is the primary back up for Zach Freeman.
"Chris is little undersized," said Trost, "but he jumps well and he's a fighter."
Center
At 6-6, 213 pounds, Cory Jones will be counted on as a defensive presence and rebounder inside.
"Cory is the consummate team player," Trost said. "He's a great rebounder and he's strong. We're working on developing some post moves. He will have to get points off offensive rebounds. He's a relentless rebounder."
Providing depth and bulk on the inside are 6-6, 220-pound senior John O'Brien (a Central Catholic graduate) and 6-7, 240-pound junior Steve Jeretina.
"Those guys play extremely hard," Trost said. "We have to develop some depth and see where we're at the first three or four games."
Contact Randy Reinhardt at rreinhardt@pantagraph.com
(November 2, 2003)
Titans Hang with Division II Lewis in First Scrimmage
by Bob Quillman
Titan fans should be pleasantly surprised with their team's performance this afternoon in Romeoville. Illinois Wesleyan split two varsity halves with Lewis University, a Division II school returning four starters from a 23-8 squad that advanced to the D2 playoffs. The Flyers won the 1st period 31-30 on a 3-point field goal in the closing seconds of the stanza. The scoreboard was reset for the 2nd half, which IWU won 36-34.
Titan coach Scott Trost started five IHSA Class AA products against Lewis, none older than a sophomore:
| G Adam Dauksas (6-3/190 Soph - Homewood-Flossmoor HS)
G Keelan Amelianovich (6-6/215 Soph - Neuqua Valley HS) F Steve Schweer ( 6-6/205 Soph - Hinsdale Central HS) F Zach Freeman (6-7/190 Fresh - Normal Community HS) C Cory Jones(6-6/213 Soph - Thornwood HS) |
Numbers of note from the statistics kept by Lewis include:
The Titans were a bit out-of-sync offensively, but they made up for it athletically against the Flyers. This result against a full scholarship, solid Division II squad is certainly an encouraging start to the 2003-04 season.
(October 24, 2003)
IWU: Expect the unexpected
Senior Lehan says young Titans could surprise people with their talent
By Randy Reinhardt
Pantagraph staff
BLOOMINGTON -- At 6-foot, 175 pounds, Jim Lehan doesn't look much different.
Yet somehow Lehan has been transformed from youngster to the Illinois Wesleyan basketball team's old man in remarkably rapid fashion.
"It did seem like it happened really quick," Lehan said. "I had some great guys to look up to these last three years. I had some good role models."
Those "great guys" have graduated. A group of seven seniors led by Luke Kasten, John Camardella and Seth Hubbard were co-College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin champions and led the Titans to a 22-6 record and an 11-3 CCIW mark last season.
That leaves Lehan and John O'Brien as IWU's only seniors and Lehan as captain of a team that will rely heavily on a precocious sophomore class.
"I don't think anybody really knows what to expect from us," said Lehan, who started five games and averaged 3.1 points last season. "We have a lot of talent, a lot of great players. I don't think being young is an excuse. These young guys haven't been a part of it yet and they want to really quick.
"I think we'll have a lot of motivation. Combine that with good players, and I think we're going to surprise people."
Third-year Titan coach Scott Trost, whose team advanced to the final 16 of the NCAA Division III Tournament last season, is hardly bracing for a rebuilding year.
"I like what I see physically. We're long, we're athletic," Trost said. "They believe and I believe we can win a lot of basketball games. We need to get better every day and have a little bit of patience as we get going. But I think we've got the chance to be very good."
The lone returning starter is 6-3 sophomore Adam Dauksas, a point guard who averaged 9.3 points as a freshman.
"A positive is definitely our athleticism. The team is a lot more athletic than it was last year," said Dauksas. "Guys can get to the rim, guys can rebound a lot better. But nothing makes up for lack of experience in games. What we need is to get some games under our belt and get everyone some experience."
Among those soaking up experience from the beginning figure to be sophomores Keelan Amelianovich, Steve Schweer and Cory Jones. Amelianovich and Schweer could give the Titans a pair of athletic 6-6 players on the wing.
"Looking at the teams (in the CCIW), it's going to be a tough, tough challenge," said Amelianovich. "But everyone embraces that. No one will shy away from competition on this team."
The 6-6, 213-pound Jones will be asked to provide an inside presence and could get help from O'Brien and 6-7, 240-pound junior Steve Jeretina.
"I'm not as big as most of the bigger guys in the league. I have to use my quickness to my advantage and get to the basket as quick as I can," Jones said. "There's no doubt in my mind we can win conference. We have it all. We just have to put it all together."
Chris Jones, Cory's twin brother, and fellow sophomores Jason Fisher and Mike McGraw also are in competition for playing time as are freshman twins and Normal Community High School graduates Zach and Andrew Freeman.
"There's a little bit of space there for us," Zach Freeman said of potential court time. "We'll take what we can get. We are freshmen after all."
O'Brien believes the sophomore class will benefit from being around last year's seniors.
"We had a really good leadership core," said the Central Catholic product. "A lot of the younger guys haven't seen varsity time. But they saw what it takes to win the CCIW. We have to have some younger guys step into leadership roles."
The Titans open their season Nov. 22 against the host team in the University of Chicago Midway Classic.
Youthful Titans open practice
By Randy Reinhardt
Pantagraph staff
BLOOMINGTON -- The Illinois Wesleyan basketball team's senior class held a pretty tight grip on playing time last season.
The remaining Titans will begin trying to prove their departed teammates did not hold a monopoly on talent as well when practice begins today at Shirk Center.
"We'll be a good team," said sophomore guard Adam Dauksas, the lone returning starter from a 22-6 squad that advanced to the final 16 of the NCAA Division III Tournament. "We've got a ton of talent. The experience isn't there, but I think we'll make up for that with our physical ability."
Graduated from last year's IWU squad include first team all-College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin player Luke Kasten, second teamer and team Most Valuable Player John Camardella and third teamer Seth Hubbard. And, Chris Silagi, Eric Starkey, Marty Eich and Laban Cross also played key roles.
"We lost about 85 percent of our scoring and the same number rebounding wise," third-year Titans' coach Scott Trost said. "So we're young and inexperienced, but like I told the guys we're not going to use that as an excuse. We're very physically talented. We'll see where we go. But I like our young guys and I like our team."
IWU has only two seniors on its roster in guard and captain Jim Lehan and forward John O'Brien. The only junior is forward Steve Jeretina. Lehan saw the most playing time last season and started five games.
"We'll change a little in how we practice this year. We may have to slow down and take our time a little more and teach maybe a little bit more," said Trost. "Other than that, we still have to get prepared to play our first game (Nov. 22 at the University of Chicago). We've got a lot of stuff to put in, a lot of stuff to go over."
Dauksas started 23 games last season and led the team in assists with 85 while scoring 9.3 points per game.
Adam is a very good player. But he can't do it himself, and he doesn't have to do it himself," said Trost. "He doesn't have to score a lot of points for us. He needs to lead the team on the floor, play good defense and lead us on the break. He will get opportunities to score."
Last season's much heralded freshman class of Dauksas, Keelan Amelianovich, Jason Fisher, Cory Jones, Chris Jones, Steve Schweer, Mike McGraw and Matt Arnold will be counted on to contribute significantly.
The 6-foot-6 Schweer has been cleared to practice but is still recovering from May knee surgery.
"You worry about rushing him back. Our goal for Steve is to get him ready for Nov. 22," Trost said. "He won't be doing full court stuff right at the beginning, but he feels really strong. He's worked his butt off to get where he's at."
IWU's freshman class includes Normal Community High School graduates and twin brothers Andrew and Zach Freeman.
"Zach and Andrew are really athletic," said Trost. "They have a chance to be really good players here."
McKean will not return
CPCI High School product Mike McKean, a 6-5 sophomore, has decided not to return to the Titans this season.
"He had a bad ankle injury last year, and he didn't feel the ankle was responding the way he wanted it to and he couldn't play to the level he wanted to," Trost said. "I'm sure it was a tough decision for him. We wish him the best."
McKean saw action in five games last season and scored seven points.