MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Titan Q]

Illinois Wesleyan 70
North Park 56

Karl Polk, Jr.: 19 pts, 6 rebs
Toby Marek: 12 pts
Matt Szuba: 11 rebs, 4:1 a:to

Doug Wallen: 16 pts, 9 rebs
Luke Yoder: 15 pts, 6 rebs, 4:2 a:to
Keondre Schumacher: 15 pts
Charlie Bair: 11 rebs
Matt Leritz: 6 rebs

Didn't get to watch this one, of course, but I kept glancing at the live stats tab while I called the NPU women's game, and it appeared that the Vikings were very competitive before fading late. Another impressive night for Karl Polk.

North Park took a 17-15 lead with 8:24 in the 1st half and led all the way until 8:33 in the 2nd half, when Keondre Schumacher made a 3 to tie the game.  IWU took its first lead, 49-47, at 8:15.  The Titans never trailed after that, but it remained close.  The Titans led just 55-52 with 4:58 to play before finally opening up a 5-point lead on a Luke Yoder 3 at the 4:21 mark.

Luke Yoder scored 11 points in the final 4:21 of the game.

IWU shot 27% FG in the 1st half, including 3-19 3-point.  It was ugly.

Freshman Karl Polk, Jr. looked really good for the Vikings.

[Titan Q]

North Central 6-1
Elmhurst 5-1
Augustana 4-2
Illinois Wesleyan 4-2
Wheaton 4-2
Carthage 2-4
Carroll 2-4
Millikin 1-6
North Park 0-6

5 teams can win it.

[iwu70]

Ypsi, you should have gone to KC . . . what a kick it was.  I think I went twice, if not three times . . . don't remember clearly.  We all piled into Grady Skaggs' big Olds and all shared one motel room, at least 7-8 of us in one room, "sleeping" on the floor.  The Coors was flowing . . . and we cheered on our TITANS.  Great times.  Also went to Salem a few times, later, with my parents, once with Spence Sauter . . . and we played golf out there in those beautiful "mountains" near Salem, and watched our TITANS in the Final Four.  I drove down there once when living in NYC too -- to watch the Titans in the Final Four.  Think I drove to Hampden-Sydney once too, for a Elite Eight game . . . not sure of the year.   Some fun road trips, in support of our TITANS. 

Hope to see more pictures of the Team of 1970 reunion and the celebration of "The Last Game," Tommy's "last shot."  Good fun too.

IWU'70

[Greek Tragedy]

KC and the NAIA tourney is a good time, maybe because I was a kid and got to skip school for a week. Stevens Point went three years in a row (my dad taught at Point and was the pep band director). 1st year the pep band stayed at a church and showered at the local YWCA. The following year we stayed in a real hotel and had to keep calling and asking the university for more money because Point unexpectedly made it to the Final where we lost to Fort Hays St. The 3rd year we were expected to have a long stay (high seed) and got bounced in the 2nd round. We were lead by some guy named Terry Porter, who had a pretty good NBA career with the Portland Trailblazers.

[79jaybird]

Well it certainly wasn't pretty, but for Elmhurst to eek out a road win,  we'll take it.  Every time it appeared Carthage was going to surge ahead in that 2nd half,  Elmhurst had an answer.  I especially liked the way Rohde would continue driving to the basket doing his part to make sure the Jays could stay focused down the stretch.  Another tough one on Saturday.  Hoping the Jays can get a better start at King.  Starting slow and (then) having to play catch up, usually is not a winning formula.

[bbfan44]

Wheaton...3 for 20 from beyond the arc.  One of those nights...

[voxelmhurst]

Well it certainly wasn't pretty, but for Elmhurst to eek out a road win,  we'll take it.  Every time it appeared Carthage was going to surge ahead in that 2nd half,  Elmhurst had an answer.  I especially liked the way Rohde would continue driving to the basket doing his part to make sure the Jays could stay focused down the stretch.  Another tough one on Saturday.  Hoping the Jays can get a better start at King.  Starting slow and (then) having to play catch up, usually is not a winning formula.

Great road win for Elmhurst. I'm not too concerned about the start of last night's game. Carthage came out really hot and their 21-8 lead had more to do with their play than any particular negatives on Elmhurst's side. Jake Rhode finished with 17 points, and 14 assists, which is tied for third in all-time EC single-game history, and a personal high for his EC career. That said, it was another team effort. Doltich with 14, Lavon Thomas with yet another double-double (11 pts 10 boards), Militello back in double digits with 13 points, Jobe back in the lineup adding 7 points, Hubly and Zapinski also with 7 each. Dominic Genco has easily been the Jays 6th man of 2020. 12 points off the bench last night, and averaging close to 10/game in the last 5 contests. Great ball handler with good vision and cool down the stretch. He will factor into whatever success the Bluejays have the remainder of this year.

[BobbyO]

KC and the NAIA tourney is a good time, maybe because I was a kid and got to skip school for a week. Stevens Point went three years in a row (my dad taught at Point and was the pep band director). 1st year the pep band stayed at a church and showered at the local YWCA. The following year we stayed in a real hotel and had to keep calling and asking the university for more money because Point unexpectedly made it to the Final where we lost to Fort Hays St. The 3rd year we were expected to have a long stay (high seed) and got bounced in the 2nd round. We were lead by some guy named Terry Porter, who had a pretty good NBA career with the Portland Trailblazers.

My three trips in the early 70s were some of my best times at Augie.  in 72 a last second basket won the game and they closed the school because of our intent to travel.  The main theme next year was "Back to KC in 73".  Almost screwed that up because we bypassed the first game for classes and nearly got upset in Round 1.  An interesting call by our home town refs game us the win at the end.  74 we didn't wait and went right away.  That was our last trip for KC but in 75 we went to Reading PA for inaugural NCAA D3.  Drove through an Ice storm to get there.

[Gregory Sager]

Well it certainly wasn't pretty, but for Elmhurst to eek out a road win,  we'll take it.  Every time it appeared Carthage was going to surge ahead in that 2nd half,  Elmhurst had an answer.  I especially liked the way Rohde would continue driving to the basket doing his part to make sure the Jays could stay focused down the stretch.  Another tough one on Saturday.  Hoping the Jays can get a better start at King.  Starting slow and (then) having to play catch up, usually is not a winning formula.

Great road win for Elmhurst. Jake Rhode finished with 17 points, and 14 assists, which is tied for third in all-time EC single-game history, and a personal high for his EC career. That said, it was another team effort. Doltich with 14, Lavon Thomas with yet another double-double (11 pts 10 boards), Militello back in double digits with 13 points, Jobe back in the lineup adding 7 points, Hubly and Zapinski also with 7 each. Dominic Genco has easily been the Jays 6th man of 2020. 12 points off the bench last night, and averaging close to 10/game in the last 5 contests. Great ball handler with good vision and cool down the stretch. He will factor into whatever success the Bluejays have the remainder of this year.

Carthage had a pair of double-doubles last night as well. Reigning CCIW POW Brad Perry (why am I the only one talking about his career resurgence?) had 19 and 11, and Crishawn Cook scored 15 with a really impressive 12:2 ratio (and three steals, to boot). Fillip Bulatovic and Jordon Kedrowski added 12 and 11, respectively, for los Hombres Rojos, but if you're a Carthage fan your real consolation from that loss last night has to be an effective return to action for Kienen Baltimore, who scored 14 points in 24 minutes off of the bench. Sure, his shooting was ordinary (6-13, including 2-7 from downtown), and he turned the ball over five times, but the Red Men aren't going anywhere this season without Baltimore, and he does appear to be quickly rounding back into form.

[kenoshamark]

My thoughts from the Carthage - Elmhurst game last night.   

Greg, your point is well taken, Perry looked good last night....he was confident when he got the ball down low and made strong moves and converted consistently.  They should have continued to do that more frequently for the entire game, but it does bode well to have him playing at this level now.

Rhode was amazing last night as evidenced by his 14 assists vs 1 turnover (if I recall correctly, I think he got fouled, but they didn't call it when he got stripped).   What I liked was how much he drove the baseline and once he got by the rim, one of his teammates found the open angle to get to the rim and he would make a pass for an easy layup. 

Elmhurst really passes the ball well and has a purpose with their sets.  As an experienced group, they really know where to go with the ball whether its for a jumper or a drive to the basket.  With Carthage being even more experienced (primarily playing seniors) there are still too many times of just one on one drives to the basket vs. how Elmhurst runs their offense. 

One of the key factors last night was the bench play of Elmhurst, they got really great production from everyone they brought in and they contributed 33 points alone.  Carthage only went 8 deep as Laketa was in street clothes and all of a sudden, Josh Washburn is not playing.   He had recently been starting at PG for at least five games and getting about 15 to 20 minutes and now he hasn't played the last few games.

Carthage shot the ball really well last night as a team so they will be able compete against anyone especially with Baltimore back, but they have to find a way to win these games that come down to the wire....same problem they have had over the past few years.   

[Titan Q]

Illinois Wesleyan (10-5, 4-2) at Carroll (9-6, 2-4), Saturday 1/18, 4:00 pm...

Illinois Wesleyan (10-5, 4-2)
G - Luke Yoder, 6-0/170 Fr.  8.9 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.9 apg
G - Keondre Schumacher, 5-11/175 So.  14.1 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 2.1 apg
G - Pete Lambesis, 6-4/195 So.  12.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.9 apg
F - Doug Wallen, 6-5/210 Jr.  11.2 ppg, 5.7 rpg
F - Charlie Bair, 6-7/220 Jr.  9.5 ppg, 9.7 rpg
---------
G - Cory Noe, 6-2/175 So.  7.3, 1.7 rpg, 1.5 apg


Carroll (9-6, 2-4)
G - Ryan Clarey, 6-0/180 Jr.  9.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 4.3 apg
G - Nick Penny, 6-2/185 Sr.  13.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.1 apg
F - Charlie Soule, 6-2/190 Sr.  12.3 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.5 apg
F - Kale Maupin, 6-4/210 Sr.  10.7 ppg, 4.9 rpg
F - Blake Williams, 6-6/185 So.  10.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg
----------
G - Tarren Hall, 6-2/185 Jr.  6.4 ppg, 1.9 rpg

Links
IWU Notes - https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/iwusports.com/documents/2020/1/16/Game16_Carrollmbb1.pdf

WEXG Radio - https://portal.stretchinternet.com/iwu/

Video - https://portal.stretchinternet.com/carroll/

Live stats - https://gopios.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary

[Mr. Ypsi]

Final from Waukesha: IWU 71, Carroll 67.  Lambesis and Wallen, 16 each, Yoder 11, Bair 10, Noe 8.  12 rebounds for Bair, 8 for Wallen.  O'Neill never re-entered the game, and had no stats.

[augiefan]

Augie wins 73-54 at North Park, but it was well into the 2nd half before they took charge of the game. NPU led at half time and was up by 8 at around the 14 minute mark of the second half.

[Gregory Sager]

Augustana 73
North Park 54

Izaiah Sanders: 14 pts
Toby Marek: 13 pts
Karl Polk, Jr. 12 pts, 9 rebs
Matt Szuba: 7 rebs

Pierson Wofford: 26 pts
Lucas Simon: 14 pts (4-7 trey), 8 rebs
Micah Martin: 12 pts, 8 rebs

NPU, which had the lead at the half for the second time this week, was up by eight, 44-36, with 14 minutes to go when the Vikings went into the deep freeze on offense, while at the other end of the floor Augie figured out that the best bet was to put the ball in Pierson Wofford's hands and let him do his thing. It took the Park until the 7:43 mark before they scored again on a Polk layup, and by that point Augie had scored 19 straight points and taken control.

[Gregory Sager]

Elmhurst 82
Wheaton 75

Nice road win for the #10 'jays.

Milikin and Carthage are in overtime in Kenosha.