BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan men's basketball team held off a determined Carthage Red Men squad to earn a 76-71 win at the Shirk Center in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin tournament semifinal on Friday, Feb. 28.

No. 4-nationally ranked IWU improved to 23-3 overall and will face Wheaton (18-8) for the tournament title and the automatic NCAA tournament berth at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Shirk Center.

In a game that saw 13 ties and nine lead changes, Illinois Wesleyan fell behind by as many as seven points at 31-24 with 5:34 to play in the first half. A 7-0 Titan run tied the game at 31-31 with 3:30 to go in the first and IWU had a 36-34 lead at the break.

The game was tied at 50-50 with 11:00 left in the game when IWU had a 13-4 run to grab a 63-54 lead with 7:09 remaining and held on the rest of the way, leading by as many as 11 on two occasions, the latest at 70-59 with 4:06 left. Carthage clawed back to within three points at 74-71 with 23 seconds left and had the ball, but an errant 3-point shot gave the ball back to IWU.

IWU held a commanding 35-26 lead in rebounds and IWU had 12 turnovers to 11 for Carthage.

Illinois Wesleyan Statistics and Leaders
Field Goal Percentage - .609 (28 of 55)
3-Point Field Goal Percentage - .368 (7 of 19)
Free Throw Percentage - .684 (13 of 19)
Junior Jordan Nelson (17 points)
Senior Andrew Ziemnik (16 points)
Junior Dylan Overstreet (10 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists)
Senior Victor Davis and senior Brady Zimmer (each 5 rebounds)

Carthage Statistics and Leaders
Field Goal Percentage - .480 (24 of 50)
3-Point Field Goal Percentage - .294 (5 of 17)
Free Throw Percentage - .783 (18 of 23)
Marlon Senior (19 points, game-high 9 rebounds)
Malcom Kelly (16 points)
Donte Logan (10 points)

What's Next?
Wheaton outscored Augustana 35-22 in the second half to earn their 66-55 win. Peter Smith had 19 points and Tyler Peters scored 16 to lead the Thunder. The Titans swept Wheaton this year in the regular season, winning 78-71 in Bloomington (Jan. 18) and 97-88 in Wheaton (Feb. 22).