The Indiana Wesleyan University men’s basketball team came out on top in the Grant County rivalry with a blowout win against Taylor University Tuesday night with a 75-51 victory.
Despite the third straight absence of Jonny Marlin (jr) from the lineup due to a thigh injury, the Wildcats tacked on another satisfying win against the Trojans.
Bob Peters (so) led all scorers with 17 points. Photo by Becka Roth.
Starting the game off right, Lane Mahurin (so) tipped the ball right to Bob Peters (so) who went for a lay up, sinking the first basket of the night within seven seconds of tipoff.
Despite an average of 15 points a game, Kyle Stidom (jr), the Trojans’ leading scorer, was limited to three points largely due to Zac Vandewater’s (sr) intense defensive effort.
Head Coach Greg Tonagel said Vandewater has always been an elite athlete and plays a huge part in what they are able to do as a team.
“Zac is one of those kids who is fully bought into his roles — his role to guard people,” Tonagel said. “He relishes that role, he doesn’t complain or ask for more shots, he just says, ‘this is my role and I’m going to do well,’ and he’s done that for four years now.”
IWU kept the energy up the entire first half, never giving TU a chance to get ahead and maintaining the lead on into the second half.
Peters topped all players with 17 points for the evening, along with 7 assists.
photo by Becka Roth.
Head Coach Greg Tonagel was proud of the team effort the Wildcats presented.
“We had better rotations than we’ve ever had, much more intensity and it showed in the stat sheet,” Tonagel said.
Taylor falls to 11-16 on the year, including nine straight losses. Indiana Wesleyan has won five in a row and sits atop the Crossroads League standings with a 25-2 record. The Wildcats face Spring Arbor at home Saturday at 3 p.m.