Game Notes: (MBK) Illinois Wesleyan University @ North Central College (12/9/17)

Final Score
IWU 68, NCC 66

Game Summary
This one started out okay as the Cardinals (3-4, 1-2) scored the game's first four points and held the Titans (7-1, 2-1) off the board for the first three and a half minutes. But North Central's offense struggled to build off the early momentum, and the Titans shook off any rust they had and built a 16-8 lead just over ten minutes in. They poured it on with an assault from beyond the arc, using an 11-0 run to build a 17 point lead. The Cardinals were unable to really cut into that lead and the Titans took a 39-23 advantage into intermission. Wesleyan would push its lead as high as 19, but the Cardinals made a game of it again with a 9-0 run. The Titans would push the lead back to 17, but the Cardinals wouldn't go away, hitting back to back threes just after the midway point of the half to trim the deficit to seven. They cut it to two with just under six minutes to play, but missed a couple gimme layups that could have tied the game, and the Titans were able to preserve their lead. An Aiden Change three with about a minute to play made it 66-65, and after a Titan miss, the Cardinals got the ball back with 38 seconds to go. Mike Pollack missed a contested mid range jumper from the left wing, but Connor Raridon grabbed the offensive rebound and the Cardinals called timeout to set up a final play. Rather than hold for the last shot though, they got it in quickly to Alex Sorenson by the basket, where he was fouled. He hit his first free throw to tie the game, but missed the second, and Colin Bonnett of the Titans grabbed the rebound, threw it to a teammate before he fell out of bounds, then off a perimeter pass broke through the defense to kiss home a layup at the buzzer to break the hearts of every fan in red.

Key Stats

• Colin Bonnett (IWU): 5-9 FG (1-2 3PT), 4-4 FT; 15 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast. Bonnett isn't the first option on this Titan team, but he's a key piece in the backcourt, and he showed why with a solid outing, leading his team in scoring, and serving as the center of the mob scene after his game-winner. It was a fantastic individual effort that saw him grab a rebound off a missed Sorenson free throw, find Jaylen Beasley to save a turnover, then beat Erwin Henry one on one to save the win for the Titans.
• Jaylen Beasley (IWU): 4-7 FG (3-4 3PT); 11 pts, 5 reb (1 off). It's possible there were other guys I could have gone with here, but Beasley earned the mention with his early work to build that huge lead. He's been kind of an underrated player in the conference for a couple years, but has really turned into a key piece for this Titan team. After his heroics at Wheaton on Wednesday, I was worried every time he launched from deep, and he showed why in this one by hitting his first three attempts from out there.
• Connor Raridon (NCC): 6-14 FG (1-2 3PT), 7-9 FT; 20 pts, 8 reb (3 off), 7 ast, 3 stl. I almost went with Alex Sorenson here (15 points on 6-8 shooting, 14 rebounds, all apparently with the flu), but Raridon had a phenomenal all around floor game. He did most of his damage in the second half, with 13 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals in the final 20 minutes, though the two were probably both just as responsible for keying the comeback. Raridon's key offensive rebound with about 18 seconds left set the stage for Sorenson's potential heroics. Alas.

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• Wheaton 98 (6-2, 2-1), @ Elmhurst 95 (5-2, 2-1) (2OT)
• Augustana 70 (6-1, 2-0),@ Carthage 61 (5-3, 2-1)
• @ Millikin 57 (5-3, 1-2), Carroll 54 (2-4, 0-2)
• @ Coe 77, North Park 69 (1-6, 0-2)

Final Thoughts

I'll start with the fun note first. I've embedded the video from Saturday's doubleheader above (something I've done the last two years so you can watch the full game for yourselves). Obviously, the women's game precedes the men's, so you'll have to skip forward to watch this thriller. But there was a great hustle play captured by NCTV and tweeted out as the short clip by Illinois Wesleyan alum and basketball guru Bob Quillman. Commentary to follow. (You can also skip ahead to it on the YouTube video).

Jason Gregoire’s hustle play pic.twitter.com/lxiZ6AuH56

— Bob Quillman (@IWUhoopscom) December 11, 2017

On a North Central offensive possession with the score 22-10 Illinois Wesleyan, Erwin Henry tried to deliver an entry pass to Kane Wildermuth in the post. Titan defender Jason Gregoire jumped up and knocked it away, then gave chase, saving it before taking a tumble over the scorers' table. The NCTV cameraman did a perfect job following the play and capturing the hustle. What that camera, sadly, can't show you is the reality of being up close and personal to a play like that. I'm right at center court on top of the action. Basketballs come out our way from time to time (I made a nice play on one last year that earned a shoutout on both NCTV and WONC). We've also had players come running full speed towards the table, but in every prior circumstance I've been involved in, they've been able to brace themselves at the table before vaulting over. That did not happen this time. Gregoire was able to use his momentum to catapult over right in between myself and SID Clark Teuscher. We tried to brace his fall as best we could, with the only casualty of the play being Clark's chair. Nothing really prepares you for that moment, and even though a player is coming at you full speed, everything kind of slows down. I knew it was coming, but nothing really prepares you for a 205 pound man coming right at you when there's nothing you can do about it. This is now something I can cross off my bucket list, though.

Big picture, this one hurt. The Titans were figured to contend for a CCIW Tournament spot, but with the CCIW appetizer schedule out of the way, they're in one of the best spots in the conference to this point. Meanwhile, North Central is in a bad 1-2 hole; they beat a bad North Park team they were supposed to beat, but have lost back to back games to contenders in Augustana and the Titans. The fact that North Central put itself in a huge hole early didn't help matters. They did a great job coming back, but they missed a couple open layups that could have completely changed the outcome of this one. I'm also haunted by Sorenson playing defense up in the high post on the final possession and being unable to slide down and help Henry defend Bonnett's game-winner. I don't blame either player for it; it was a perfectly drawn play by head coach Ron Rose, and Bonnett executed that last play perfectly. All you can do is tip your cap.

The Cardinals get a pretty quick opportunity to rebound though, as they head out west of the Fox River for the annual non-conference rivalry game with Aurora University tomorrow at 7. While a win in this one wouldn't help their CCIW situation, it would be a key win in region and also serve as a confidence booster going into the rest of the non-conference slate.