MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Titan Q]

Illinois Wesleyan (1-1) vs Wilmington (0-1), 7:30pm

Wilmington (0-1)
G - D.J. Iles, 5-10/155 So.
G - Christian Jones, 6-0/170 So.
G - Will Patrick, 6-2/175 Fr.
F - Andrew Russell, 6-6/200 Fr.
F - Zach McCorkle, 6-7/220 Sr.

G - Kevin Lewis, 5-11/150 Fr.
G - Travis Gleason, 5-7/160 So.
F - Jordan Hecker, 6-4/175 Fr.
F - Nathan Scott, 6-3/195 So.

Illinois Wesleyan (1-1)
G - Brady Rose, 6-2/190 So.
G - Bryce Dolan, 6-1/165 Sr.
F - Andy Stempel, 6-4/192 Jr.
F - Alec Bausch, 6-6/210 Jr.
C - Trevor Seibring, 6-8/235 Jr.

G - Colin Bonnett, 6-3/195 Fr.
G - Joel Pennington, 6-0/180 Sr.
F - Jaylen Beasley, 6-6/180 So.
G - Brian Nelms, 5-11/170 Sr.
F - Rob Mahlke, 6-8/220 Sr.

Pantagraph - http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/basketball/men/iwu-inside-depth-tested-by-coyle-injury/article_04c7dad5-a1d8-50f1-baa4-61435a1a9a4b.html

Live video/stats - http://portal.stretchinternet.com/iwu/

WJBC radio - http://portal.stretchinternet.com/wjbc/

[Titan Q]

IWU has lost starting PF Ryan Coyle to an ankle injury.  The Titans are now without 3 of their originally projected top 10:
- Ryan Coyle, 6-6 F (ankle)
- Mike Marietti, 6-8 F/C (knee)
- Kevin Connelly, 6-5 F (hand)

[Titan Q]

Millikin 65
Westminster 56
(T.J. Sims - 16 pts, 5 reb; Tommy Pilackas - 15 pts, 8 reb)

Elmhurst 123
Greenville 111
(Kyle Wuest - 23 pts, 3 reb; Bryant Ackerman - 23 pts, 6 reb)

North Central 83
#7 Mount Union 68
(Alex Sorenson - 27 pts, 11 reb; Kevin Honn - 17 pts, 7 reb)

Wheaton 83
George Fox 73
(Ricky Samuelson - 23 pts, 9 reb; Michael Berg - 21 pts, 14 reb)


The league now has two wins over D3hoops.com Preseason Top 25 teams:
* North Park over #17 Chicago
* North Central over #7 Mount Union

[Titan Q]

A look at CCIW rotations in the early going...

Augustana
Starters:
   G - Hunter Hill, 5-9/165 Sr.
   G - Jawan Straughter, 6-0/186 Sr.
   G - Griffin Pils, 6-4/216 Sr.
   F - Tayvian Johnson, 6-6/196 Sr.
   F - Ben Ryan, 6-5/216 Sr.

Bench:
   G - Dylan Sortillo, 6-3/175 So.
   F - Jacob Johnston, 6-5/194, Jr.
   G - Chrishawn Orange, 6-2/178 Fr.
   F - Brandon Motzel, 6-7/210 Sr.
   F - Michael Hoekstra, 6-7/204 Jr.

Carthage
Starters:
   G - Jordan Kedrowski, 6-3/185 Fr.
   G - Myles Olsen, 6-1/190 Sr.
   F - Drew Joiner, 6-4/185 Fr.
   F - Mike Stevenson, 6-4/195 Jr.
   F - Scott McNellis, 6-5/190 Jr.

Bench:
   F - Brad Kruse, 6-4/195 So.
   G - Mike Kjeldsen, 6-3/195 Jr.
   G - Kevin Kozil, 6-1/180 Sr.
   F - Sean Valentine, 6-4/200 Sr.
   G - Derek Mason II, 5-10/175 So.

Elmhurst
Starters:
   G - Pat Coleman, 6-2/195 Sr.
   G - Kyle Wuest, 6-1/175 Sr.
   G - Bryant Ackerman, 6-2/205 Sr.
   F - Erik Crittenden, 6-7/215 Sr.
   C - Will Nixon, 6-7/210 Sr.

Bench:
   G - Eric Leonard, 6-0/185 Sr.
   F - Brandon Schwebke, 6-4/195 Sr.
   F - Jaylen Loving, 6-6/190 Jr.
   C - Kenny Payonk, 6-6/225 Sr.
   G - Peyton Wyatt, 5-11/195 So.
   G - Tucker Harlan, 6-2/180 Jr.

Illinois Wesleyan
Starters:
   G - Brady Rose, 6-2/180 So.
   G - Bryce Dolan, 6-1/165 Sr.
   F - Andy Stempel, 6-4/192 Jr.
   F - Ryan Coyle, 6-6/210 Sr.
   F - Trevor Seibring, 6-8/235 Jr.

Bench:
   F - Alec Bausch, 6-6/210 Jr.
   G - Joel Pennington, 6-0/180 Sr.
   G - Colin Bonnett, 6-3/105 Fr.
   F - Jaylen Beasley, 6-6/180 So.
   G - Brian Nelms, 5-11/170 Sr.
   F - Rob Mahlke, 6-8/200 Sr.

Millikin
Starters:
   G - T.J. Griffin, 6-0/168 Sr.
   G - T.J. Sims, 5-8/156 So.
   G - Jack Simpson, 6-0/182 Fr.
   F - Elijah Kinmon, 6-5/195 Sr.
   F - Tommy Pilackas, 6-4/210 Sr.

Bench:
   G - Tyler Pygon, 6-0/160 Fr.
   F - Zach Long, 6-5/185 So.
   F - Leighton Lark, 6-5/180 So.
   F - Bryn Agnew, 6-8/200 Jr.
   G - Nick Novak, 6-1/185 So.

North Central
Starters:
   G - Jayme Moten, 6-0/175 Sr.
   G - Jagger Anderson, 6-0/175 Jr.
   F - Connor Raridon, 6-5/185 Fr.
   F - Kevin Honn, 6-4/190 Sr.
   F - Alex Sorenson, 6-8/240 So.

Bench:
   G - Aiden Chang, 6-3/175 Fr.
   G - Jaquan Phipps, 6-3/205 Fr.
   G - Erwin Henry, 6-2/195 So.
   F - Jeremy Ireland, 6-6/215 So.

North Park
Starters:
   G - Juwan Henry, 5-10/165 Jr.
   G - Colin Lake, 5-7/145 So.
   G - T.J. Cobbs, 5-10/165 Jr.
   F - Jordan Robinson, 6-3/205 So.
   F - Michael Hutchinson, 6-4/205 Sr.
   
Bench:
   G - Trevor Pye, 6-0/170 So.
   G - Cam Burnett, 5-5/140 Jr.
   G - Armahn Mooring, 6-2/180 Jr.
   F - Matt McNamara, 6-6/250 Jr.
   F - Joe Biko, 6-8/225 Jr.
   
Wheaton
Starters:
   G - Jonathan Bernsten, 6-0/190 Sr.
   G - Ricky Samuelson, 6-3/185 So.   
   G - Murad Dillard, 6-4/195 So.
   F - Trae Masten, 6-6/185 Fr.
   F - Michael Berg, 6-6/210 Sr.

Bench:
   G - Riley Teuscher, 6-3/185 Sr.
   G - Troy Morrison, 5-11/165 Fr.
   G - Luke Peters, 6-3/170 Fr.

[GoPerry]

Wheaton over George Fox, 83-73.  Big game for Ricky Samuelson going 6/10 from the 3 point line, 23 points to lead all scorers, added 9 rebounds.  Michael Berg with 21 and 14, Berntsen 16 and 10.  George Fox utilized a full court trapping press for at least ½ the game.  The Thunder were able to break it early but had more trouble in the 2nd half with it, turning the ball over.  Wheaton actually led by 16 early in the 2nd but then outside shooting went cold, failed to score on 8 straight possessions and the Bruins scored 11 straight in the stretch to get within 5 and later cut it to 3.  But that was as close as it got.

Another welcome addition is 5'11" freshman point guard Troy Morrison (Stone Mountain, GA).  Lots of poise, can drive the basket with quickness and very good ball-handling skills.  Nice that Jonathan Berntsen doesn't have to shoulder all the primary ball-handler responsibilities by himself.

[iwu70]

Due to the injury to Ryan Coyle, I get my wish of Alex Bausch into the IWU starting line up.  I'm sure we'll see much more of Jaylen Beasley this weekend now too.  He had an excellent game vs. Greeneville in the 150-117 scoring fest game last weekend.  Wilmington looks to be a tough challenge of speed and pressure, not all that unlike the Greenville game.

IWU70


Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow . . . first 2-3 inches covering the Quad.  So peaceful and beautiful.  IWU'70

[Gregory Sager]

Elmhurst 123
Greenville 111
(Kyle Wuest - 23 pts, 3 reb; Bryant Ackerman - 23 pts, 6 reb)

This score is a very big surprise. I didn't think that EC would have any trouble whatsoever with Greenville, System or not.

North Central 83
#7 Mount Union 68
(Alex Sorenson - 27 pts, 11 reb; Kevin Honn - 17 pts, 7 reb)

Solid debut for Sorenson, but not a very efficient one. He went 13-27 from the field, so he scored a point per shot. That's not what you'd expect from a 6'8, 240 center. Of course, he didn't shoot a free throw until there was two and a half minutes left, which had something to do with that.

Wheaton 83
George Fox 73
(Ricky Samuelson - 23 pts, 9 reb; Michael Berg - 21 pts, 14 reb)

I watched much of the second half of this one, and Wheaton really had trouble with that George Fox trapping press.

Do any of the Wheaton posters know why WC now uses the west bench at King rather than the east bench? It's hard to get used to seeing that.

The league now has two wins over D3hoops.com Preseason Top 25 teams:
* North Park over #17 Chicago
* North Central over #7 Mount Union

A lot of the luster was taken away from North Central's win last night by the fact that the Raiders were without their leading returning scorer, DeAllen Jackson, and their starting point guard, Kyle Scelza, both out with foot injuries. That had a lot to do with their ugly 100-78 loss to William Paterson, too. On the other hand, UMU handily beat Chicago today at the airplane hangar, 74-58, so I suppose that both of the CCIW's wins over preseason Top 25 teams have lost some luster.

[Gregory Sager]

Carthage 69
Northland 66

The Red Men did a nice job of staving off the Lumberjacks at the end of an extremely tight game that stayed within four points either way from 5:11 of the first half onwards. Mike Stevenson led the Red Men with 18 points.

Elmhurst 81
Westminster (MO) 58

EC cruised to an easy win in the battle of Bluejays vs. Blue Jays. Kyle Wuest scored 18, Erik Crittenden had 17 and 10, and Kenny Payonk chipped in 10, as nobody for Elmhurst played more than 22 minutes in this one.

[AndOne]

North Central--83
#7 Mt. Union--68

Starting only two, and playing a total of only three players for more than 2 minutes who saw a meaningful amount of PT last season, the NCC Cardinals molded a dash of old with a large measure of new into a recipe for a 15 point win over the nation's currently #7 ranked team. In reality, the final margin of victory felt even wider as the Cardinals, who built a 21 point lead 2/3s of the way through the 1st half, still led by 15 at the break, and were never seriously threatened in the second stanza. Full disclosure requires reporting that the Raiders top player did not dress due to injury. His presence would likely have resulted in a tighter score, but it's highly doubtful it would have resulted in a different outcome.
In his first game as a Cardinal, soph transfer Alex Sorenson dominated throughout to finish with a double-double of 27 points and 11 rebounds. If not for  a few too quick in the offensive pattern outside shots, Sorenson likely would have exceeded the 30 point mark. In addition to his 27 and 11, Alex added 2 blocks and 3 steals. He was excellently supported by senior Kevin Honn who totaled 17 points on 6 of 9 shooting, and added 7 rebounds. Leading only 26-17 about 2/3s of the way through the 1st half, the Cards blew things open with an 11-0 run over the next couple of minutes, 9 of the 11 points being tallied by Honn. With a strong showing in his first collegiate game, freshman Aiden Chang was the Cards third high scorer with 10 points on 2 of 4 from beyond the arc, and a perfect 4 of 4 from the line.
While NCC did not shoot well as a team, they did clamp down defensively when needed, holding UMU starters Jake Jacubec to 2 points under his previous 3 game average, Jarrett Ruffin to 5+ under, and Cody Dillon to 14+ under. I was surprised that Ruffin, who looks to be able to play the middle linebacker position for the UMU powerhouse football team, was not more dominate. The one UMU player that no one or nothing could stop was JJ Kukura who put on an All-American performance with 33 points and 11 rebounds on better than 50% shooting from the field, and a perfect 10 of 10 from the line. It's hard to believe he is not a starter for the Raiders.
Besides the contributions of those already mentioned above, newcomers Jagger Anderson, Connor Raridon, and Jaquan Phipps blended into the lineup well, adding 3,4, and 3 points respectively. Verterans Erwin Henry, with 6 points, and Jeremy Ireland, with 4, lent strong support, with each of their baskets coming when the visitors appeared ready to make a run.
Perhaps both the most satisfying and telling thing about the cohesiveness of a team with so many new faces was the team total of 21 assists (on 30 made baskets), combined with only 7 turnovers, unusually low at any time of the season, but especially noteworthy in the first game of the year against quality competition. PG Jagger Anderson was a magician at times, handing out 7 helpers, several of a spectacular quality. Honn, Raridon, and Phipps all had 3 assists with zero turnovers. The Cards also combined for 8 steals on the night.
They will face additional quality competition when they take on #17 U of Chicago tomorrow at 2:00.

[Titan Q]

This score is a very big surprise. I didn't think that EC would have any trouble whatsoever with Greenville, System or not.

3-point game with 0:51 to play...Greenville missed a 3 to tie it.

I don't think Elmhurst is set up as well as IWU to play a System team.  Almost all of IWU's perimeter guys who play can handle the ball well (several combo guards at the 1/2...the wings are G/F types).  And IWU's 4s pass it extremely well, and can handle it a bit too.

IWU had 37 assists to 23 turnovers vs GC.  Elmhurst had 16 assists and 32 turnovers.  The way IWU is configured in 2015-16 fits playing The System very well.

[Gregory Sager]

Bob, I think that Elmhurst would've been much better suited to facing the System if JayQuan Lee was playing. He has not appeared in any of Elmhurst's first three games, and I'm not sure why.

[AndOne]

North Central 83
#7 Mount Union 68
(Alex Sorenson - 27 pts, 11 reb; Kevin Honn - 17 pts, 7 reb)

Solid debut for Sorenson, but not a very efficient one. He went 13-27 from the field, so he scored a point per shot. That's not what you'd expect from a 6'8, 240 center. Of course, he didn't shoot a free throw until there was two and a half minutes left, which had something to do with that.

But the fact of the matter is that scoring 27 points in his very first game while playing under a completely new offensive system, and with an entirely new cast of teammates, might really be the thing you wouldn't have expected from Sorenson last night. 🍸🍸🍸
And of course his measly total of 11 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 3 steals only further contributed a few more degrees of inefficiency to his overall lackluster performance. 😏

[GoPerry]

Wheaton over Defiance 76-61. 

Mike Schauer said after last night's win over George Fox, "We're playing a lot of freshmen and sophomores.  So sometimes we're going to look really really good, and sometimes you're going to wonder what the heck we're doing out there". 

There was definitely a lot of that tonight.  For the first 15 mins, Wheaton's incapacity to make baskets was matched only by their inability to guard anyone.  They finally found some shooting touch, closed out the half on a 14-4 run to pull within 3 at halftime.  After going 12/34(35%) from the field in the first 20 mins, the Thunder flipped to a blistering 68% (15/22) in the 2nd half to run away from a pretty good Defiance team.   A terrific player for the Yellow Jackets is Tyler Alexander, listed at 6'4" but plays more like 6'7". 

Freshman Luke Peters(Tyler's younger brother) had a terrific game, giving lots of energy, rebounding and otherwise solid play.  At what seems like a short 6'3" and looking like 160-165lbs, he showed real skill in slashing to the basket several times to draw fouls or make layups.  All 4 of his field goals tonight were in the paint.  Nice to see Joel Smith back in the lineup, playing limited minutes.  Apparently, 6'7" soph Trevor Leach had been practicing well and looked to play a greatly enhanced role but broke his hand 2 weeks ago.  They hope to have him available sometime in December.

[izzy stradlin]

Wheaton over Defiance 76-61. 

Mike Schauer said after last night's win over George Fox, "We're playing a lot of freshmen and sophomores.  So sometimes we're going to look really really good, and sometimes you're going to wonder what the heck we're doing out there". 

There was definitely a lot of that tonight.  For the first 15 mins, Wheaton's incapacity to make baskets was matched only by their inability to guard anyone.  They finally found some shooting touch, closed out the half on a 14-4 run to pull within 3 at halftime.  After going 12/34(35%) from the field in the first 20 mins, the Thunder flipped to a blistering 68% (15/22) in the 2nd half to run away from a pretty good Defiance team.   A terrific player for the Yellow Jackets is Tyler Alexander, listed at 6'4" but plays more like 6'7". 

Freshman Luke Peters(Tyler's younger brother) had a terrific game, giving lots of energy, rebounding and otherwise solid play.  At what seems like a short 6'3" and looking like 160-165lbs, he showed real skill in slashing to the basket several times to draw fouls or make layups.  All 4 of his field goals tonight were in the paint.  Nice to see Joel Smith back in the lineup, playing limited minutes.  Apparently, 6'7" soph Trevor Leach had been practicing well and looked to play a greatly enhanced role but broke his hand 2 weeks ago.  They hope to have him available sometime in December.

Luke Peters sure does look and play like Tyler did as a freshman.  Good athlete, shoots with the right, finishes with the left, 6'3", 165.   

[Titan Q]

IWU 84
Wilmington 61

http://www.iwusports.com/boxscore.aspx?id=3475&path=mbball

http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/basketball/men/dolan-finds-range-leads-iwu-to-victory/article_49680933-f5ee-5acd-9a81-028e9bc60dfa.html


* Bryce Dolan: 19 pts (5-5 3-point), 2 reb, 3 assists
* Trevor Seibring: 15 pts (6-8 FG), 7 reb
* Andy Stempel: 12 pts (5-7 FG), 2 reb, 3 assists
* Alec Bausch: 7 pts (3-3 FG), 9 reb, 2 assists

Rebounds: IWU 42 WC 27
FG: IWU 57.4%