WHEATON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan claimed its second straight and 23rd outright men's basketball championship and the right to host the conference tournament next weekend with a 97-88 win at Wheaton on Saturday, Feb. 22.

It is IWU's 29th overall league title as the Titans improved to 22-3 and 12-2 in the in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, while Wheaton has a 17-8 record overall and finished 10-4 in the conference.

The win over Wheaton sends the CCIW tournament to the Shirk Center for the second consecutive season. Wheaton will meet Augustana in the first semifinal game Friday, followed by Illinois Wesleyan against Carthage.
Since the men's tourney began in 2006, it has been at Augustana three times (2006, 2007, 2008), at North Central twice (2011, 2012), and at IWU (2013), Wheaton (2009) and Carthage (2010) once.

Wheaton battled back from being down 11-2 to take a 31-30 lead with 4:15 to play in first half, and it was their only and last lead. IWU got a 14-4 boost going into halftime and led 44-35 at intermission.

IWU had a 17-point advantage at 56-39 with 16:58 to play in the game and the Thunder battled back to within three points at 75-72 with 6:40 left but got no closer. Wheaton was also within three points at 77-74, 79-76, 80-77, and 82-79 but IWU sealed the issue with key free throw shooting down the stretch. IWU made 34 free throws and attempted 43, both game-highs for the 2013-14 season.

IWU outrebounded Wheaton 32-31 and scored 40 points in the paint compared to 30 for the Thunder.

IWU head coach Ron Rose told WJBC Radio in a postgame interview, "It was a great college atmosphere with two teams that played their hearts out. We were fortunate to be playing from ahead most of the game. I am really proud of our guys – they made a number of big plays."

Illinois Wesleyan Statistics and Leaders
Field Goal Percentage - .547 (29 of 53)
3-Point Field Goal Percentage - .556 (5 of 9)
Free Throw Percentage - .791 (34 of 43)
Junior Dylan Overstreet (career-high 21 points)
Senior Victor Davis (19 points, 10 rebounds)
Junior Jordan Nelson (18 points, 5 assists)
Senior Andrew Ziemnik (16 points)

Wheaton Statistics and Leaders
Field Goal Percentage - .509 (28 of 55)
3-Point Field Goal Percentage - .455 (10 of 22)
Free Throw Percentage - .667 (22 of 33)
Tyler Peters (27 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists)
Brandon Teuscher (19 points)
Caleb Demoss (15 points, 6 rebounds)

Who's Next?
IWU plays at home again at 7 p.m. on Friday (Feb. 28) against Carthage (16-9, 9-5 CCIW) in the semifinals of the CCIW tournament. The two teams split this season with each winning on its home court - Carthage by a 80-73 score in Kenosha on Jan. 25 and IWU won 80-66 at the Shirk Center on Feb. 15.