BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (Duhawks.com) - The Loras men's basketball team had its offense put on ice Saturday against Illinois Wesleyan, falling to the Titans, 85-64. After starting the season with back-to-back 100-point-plus games, the Duhawks were limited to 23-of-66 shooting in the loss. Senior
Justin VanWambeke led the offense with 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
First Half
- The Titans jumped out to an early 9-0 lead thanks to three straight 3-pointers on their first three possessions.
- A jumper by sophomore Jake Toman and two made free-throws from senior Christian Mathis brought the Duhawks to within five, which was Loras' closest margin of the half.
- Over the next six minutes, Illinois Wesleyan operated at a high rate, scoring 12 unanswered points to take a 21-4 lead.
- With 3:09 to play, the Titans engineered a 20-point lead after a 3-pointer from Andy Stempel.
- Despite a 25-point deficit, Loras showed signs of life as Mathis drained a 3-ball with six seconds remaining on an assist from sophomore Jake Toman.
- Senior Justin VanWambeke finished the opening half with a team-high eight points on 4-of-9 shooting.
Second Half
- Illinois Wesleyan continued right from where the first half ended, nearly matching Loras point-for-point.
- The Titans' Colin Bonnett tallied seven points in the first five minutes of the half, opeining a 62-35 lead for the home side.
- With the game in hand, head coach Chris Martin emptied his bench where he saw quality minutes out of sophomore Will McClaughry. In his first game action of the year, McClaughry provided a healthy spark off the bench, finishing with 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting, including a 3-pointer, while adding five rebounds.
FRIEDMAN GROUP PLAYER OF THE GAME
Will McClaughry | In eight minutes of game play, McClaughry made the most of his time, hauling in a team-high three offensive rebounds and a total of five. The traditional forward even showed a flash of an outside game, draining a 3-pointer for his first points of the season.
UP NEXT
The Duhawks continue their non-conference schedule after the holiday break, traveling to face Ripon on Saturday, Nov. 26. The Redhawks are the home to D3Hoops.com Preseason All-American Ty Sabin, who is averaging 24.5 points per game throughout his career. Ripon opens its season on Tuesday against Wisconsin Lutheran.
