In a game against the top two teams in the entire nation, Indiana Wesleyan University pulled out a win against the number one ranked Cornerstone University Golden Eagles in front of a packed Luckey Arena.
The first points of the season for the Wildcats came from Lane Mahurin (jr) on a pair of made free throws. Jonny Marlin (sr) was the hero of the first half, as he had 14 of the first 21 points for Indiana Wesleyan, giving them a lead of 23-11. Cornerstone was struggling to get anything going against the Wildcat’s defense for the better part of the half.
While the Wildcats offense was full steam ahead, the defense and rebounding started to stumble towards the end of the half, allowing Cornerstone to make a comeback. IWU had a 13 point lead with just 3:30 remaining in the half, but the lead didn’t last long.
Cornerstone was able to hit a switch, and just like that, they were back in the game after going on a 10-0 run to end the half. The Wildcats lead was just three at 42-39.
Marlin led the team with 18 points in the half. The Wildcats were able to shoot 58.3 percent from the field, including 46.2 percent from three. Cornerstone, on the other hand, shot 40.2 percent from the floor, and 37.5 percent from behind the line.
What was once a commanding lead was no more as Cornerstone was able to tie the game 45 apiece to open the second half. Indiana Wesleyan was able to regain a lead, though, with a flurry of threes. Both team’s offenses were rolling, as they continued to go back and forth.
Josh Mawhorr (sr) came alive in the half, hitting four three-pointers and dominating the boards, helping his team to a 77-69 lead with 7:13 remaining in the game.
“He has a huge heart, he’s a great leader,” said Coach Greg Tonagel. “He cares more about his teammates than he does about himself. He’s the kid we want representing our program and having a lot of success.”
With seven minutes to go, Cornerstone was in the bonus, leading to a lot of free throws, leading to 19 in the half. With all the free throws, the Golden Eagles were able to bring the lead back down to four with six minutes left.
The game came down to the wire, and the difference was Indiana Wesleyan making some clutch free throws. Marlin hit four free throws in the last minute, while Bob Peters (jr) hit three, keeping the lead to two possessions for most of the final minute.
Indiana Wesleyan beat Cornerstone 95-90. Marlin ended the game with 33 points, six assists, and five rebounds. Mawhorr had 24 points and 14 rebounds and Peters contributed 15 points.
Tonagel had many good things to say about the students and fans after the game.
“Best crowd, best atmosphere we’ve ever had,” Tonagel said. “The community was awesome, the students were awesome. This was a fun game, it was a fun atmosphere.”
Tonagel also talked about how big of a game it was and had compliments for Cornerstone.
“It’s a big game cause it’s your home opener,” said Tonagel. “It’s a big game cause it’s a measuring stick. You don’t win anything for it. They probably have the two best shooters in the country. They’re an extremely well-coached basketball team.”
Indiana Wesleyan’s next game is against Aquinas on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 3 p.m. in Luckey Arena.