Illinois Wesleyan University Wins Nationally Ranked Battle Of Titans
UW-Oshkosh had a pair of attempts at a go-ahead 3-pointer with under 10 seconds remaining, but Illinois Wesleyan University held on for a 65-63 home win during a battle of nationally ranked men's basketball teams in the championship game of the inaugural Jack Sikma Hall of Fame Invitational on Saturday (Nov. 13) in Bloomington, Ill.
Illinois Wesleyan (3-0), ranked fourth in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, extended its lead to 64-61 over 17th-ranked UW-Oshkosh following a pair of free throws from Cory Noe with 52 seconds remaining. UW-Oshkosh pulled within 65-63 on a Hunter Plamann basket 11 seconds later and collected the rebound off a missed hook shot by Illinois Wesleyan's Matthew Leritz with eight ticks left.
Plamann then misfired on a 3-pointer as a shot clock error led to the buzzer sounding prematurely. After the officials gathered to sort the issue, 8.8 seconds were put back on the clock. UW-Oshkosh's Eddie Muench had his shot at a go-ahead 3-pointer carom off the rim, and Illinois Wesleyan gathered the rebound and ran out the final seconds to escape with the victory.
UW-Oshkosh (3-1), which trailed by a 37-29 score at intermission, claimed its lone leads of the second half at 47-46 on a Muench layup with 9:19 to play and again at 54-52 after a deep Eric Peterson 3-pointer with 6:32 left before tying the score at 56 on a Plamann layup at the 4:51 mark. Illinois Wesleyan went on to take a 58-56 advantage it would not relinquish following a Peter Lambesis layup with 4:33 to go.
Plamann led all players with 24 points and four assists for the Titans, who also received 18 points and 13 rebounds from Levi Borchert, and 11 points from Muench. Borchert, a 2021 D3hoops.com Third Team All-American, produced his second double-double of the season and 10th career.
Leritz, a 2021 D3hoops.com Second Team All-American, paced Illinois Wesleyan with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Noe added 13 points, seven rebounds and a pair of steals for Illinois Wesleyan while Luke Yoder chipped in nine points and a team leading four assists.
A day after shooting 61.5% from the field during an 89-55 rout over Saint John's University (Minn.), UW-Oshkosh went 23 of 68 (.338) from the floor against Illinois Wesleyan, including 8-for-31 (.258) from 3-point range, and 9-for-14 (.643) at the free throw line. UW-Oshkosh had advantages of 44-36 in rebounds, 7-9 in turnovers and 5-4 in steals.
Illinois Wesleyan shot 44.8% (26-58) from the field, 33.3% (6-18) from beyond the 3-point arc and 100% (7-7) at the foul line while holding edges of 11-6 in assists and 2-1 in blocks.
UW-Oshkosh jumped out to an 11-5 lead after scoring nine unanswered points, but Illinois Wesleyan responded with eight unanswered points of its own to turn a 17-13 deficit into a 21-17 advantage on a Noe jumper with 8:13 left in the first half.
A Plamann free throw at the 5:39 mark of the opening period provided UW-Oshkosh a 26-25 lead that turned out to be its last advantage until Muench's layup that capped an 11-2 run for a 47-46 edge with just over nine minutes to play in the game.
Illinois Wesleyan owned the largest lead by either team when it increased its advantage to 42-33 at the 17:55 mark of the second half.
Saturday's game was the first ever meeting between the teams.
UW-Oshkosh's Plamann was one of five players named to the Jack Sikma Hall of Fame Invitational All-Tournament Team.
UW-Oshkosh plays at Lawrence University on Wednesday (Nov. 17).