Men’s basketball drops second consecutive CCIW game

Matthew Noguez, Sports Editor

​​Illinois Wesleyan’s Men’s Basketball team lost their second consecutive conference game on Saturday, Jan. 28 against the Augustana College Vikings. The Titans lost 89-80, moving them down to 5th in the conference with an overall record of 10-9 (5-5) in the CCIW. 

The Titans debuted a new black uniform which was the first time in program history they wore that color. The new uniforms weren’t enough to spark a win but the Titans continued to show their presence down low by outscoring Wheaton 38-34 in the paint. IWU grabbed a total of 30 rebounds, 10 of those being on the offensive side leading to 11 second-chance points. The team identity has seemingly been grittiness in the paint and the boards which have prevailed on the stat sheet. 

Senior guard Lucas Helfen led the Titans with a game-high 23 points. Heflen shot 7-15 from the field in the game while going 5-12 from beyond the arc. Heflen’s shooting paced the rest of the team who shot a combined 47.5 percent (28-59). The veteran guard also contributed on the defensive side with a game-high three steals. Heflen received CCIW player of the week for his stellar performance. 

Sophomore guard Hakim Williams dropped a career-best 17 points. Williams shot an impressive 7-10 from the field while going 3-4 from the charity stripe.

Senior forward Cody Mitchell continues his all-around great play contributing 15 points and going 5-7 from the field. Mitchell also came down with a team-high nine rebounds, four of those being on the offensive side. 

Sophomore forward Harrison Wilmsen also added 15 points of his own coming off the bench. Shooting 6-12 from the field, Wilmsen continues to provide a much-needed spark for the Titan’s second group. 

The Vikings never let go of the lead, starting the game off fast with a 7-0 run in the first couple of minutes. Augustana led by 15 going into the half with the score being 40-25. 

The Green and White never fully recovered from the poor shooting performance of the first half shooting a mere 31% (9-29) from the field. 

Sophomore guard Trey Bazell continued to show his sharp-shooting abilities as he added six points on back-to-back three-pointers which sparked a 15-6 Titan run and cut the lead down to 11. 

IWU’s final push wasn’t enough to crawl back from the deficit as they dropped their second consecutive CCIW loss. 

The Vikings had four of their starters tally 14 or more points. As a team, Augustana shot an impressive 54.4 percent (31-57) from the field and 81.8 percent (18-22) from the charity line. 

 

The Green and White look to bounce back and continue their CCIW campaign as they return home to Shirk Center. The Titans will host Elmhurst University on Wednesday, Feb 1.