POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. – (Box Score)- No. 5 Indiana Wesleyan earned an 87-75 win over unseeded Oklahoma Wesleyan in the second round of the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball National Championship. The 2014 event is being played at the Keeter Gymnasium on the campus of College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Mo.
Jordan Weidner put in game-high 23 points and was one of three IWU players who scored in double figures. R.J. Mahurin added 15 points and eight rebounds while Bob Peters also chipped in 15. Zac Vandewater totaled nine points and reached double digits on the boards with 12.
Indiana Wesleyan trailed by one early but used an 11-3 run to pull ahead 20-13 after a jumper by Weidner at the 10:51 mark. OWU answered with a 9-2 spurt to get within two and the teams exchanged baskets over the next 4-5 minutes before IWU closed the half on a 7-2 run to take a 36-28 lead at the break.
The Wildcats led for the entire second half but OWU kept it within striking distance most of the way. Leading by five (62-57), Indiana Wesleyan outscored OWU 8-2 for its first double-digit lead of the game with 4:30 left to go and then clinched it by going 16-for-20 from the charity stripe down the stretch.
Indiana Wesleyan shot 46% for the game and held a huge 59-27 advantage on the boards, tying for the third most rebounds in a single game at the national championship. The Wildcats went 35-for-57 from the free throw line (61%), tying the record for most free throw attempts in a game set in 1992.
Oklahoma Wesleyan was led by Tyler Woods with 19 points and Devin Harris added 17 but the Wildcats shot 37% for the game, well below their season average. The Eagles close the year with a 25-10 mark.
Improving to 28-6 on the season, Indiana Wesleyan advances to play in its fifth national quarterfinal on Saturday, March 15 at 3pm against either No. 4 Cornerstone (Mich.) or Friends (Kan.).
