BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - A buzzer-beating three-pointer was off the mark as the Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team held on for an 87-85 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin win over North Central College Saturday night, Dec. 10, inside the Shirk Center. With the win, the Titans remain perfect in CCIW play at 3-0 (5-3 overall). NCC moved to 4-5 on the year and 1-2 in league play.

The Green and White came back from as many as nine to upend the Cardinals behind the strong play of the senior duo of Lucas Heflen (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North) and Cody Mitchell (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles East). Heflen poured in a career-high 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting, including four three-pointers, while Mitchell posted a 22-point, 12-rebound double-double. Sophomore Hakim Williams (Round Lake, Ill.-Round Lake) added 12 points and five boards.

Illinois Wesleyan used a 42-36 rebounding advantage to manufacture 12 more shots than North Central. The Titans finished 34-for-75 from the floor, 8-for-32 from three, and 11-for-21 at the free throw line. Meanwhile, the Cardinals hit 32-of-63 attempts, including 12-of-26 (46.2 percent) three-pointers. NCC made the most of its trips to the stripe, converting 9-of-10 FT attempts.

The Green and White committed a season-low six turnovers in the contest, while the Cardinals tallied 11. IWU held a 9-2 edge in points off miscues, a 46-30 lead in points in the paint, and an 11-5 advantage in second-chance points. In all, Illinois Wesleyan hauled in 16 offensive rebounds, five of which came courtesy of sophomore Marko Anderson (Park Ridge, Ill.-Maine South). 

It was all threes early on, as the first five buckets of the game all came from beyond the arc. North Central had the hot-hand early, jolting out to a 17-8 lead to force an IWU timeout with 15:54 on the clock.

The Titans warmed up from the long line out of the regrouping session as Heflen and Williams connected from distance. With IWU trailing by five, 21-16, Heflen drilled back-to-back triples to give the Green and White its first lead of the night, 22-21.

North Central used a step-back three to break a 35-35 deadlock and kickstart a seven-point Cardinal run. The streak brought about another Illinois Wesleyan timeout, this time with just over three minutes to go in the half.

With momentum in favor of the visitors, a heady pass from junior Ryan Sroka (Lake in the Hills, Ill.-Huntley) to Mitchell at the buzzer trimmed NCC's lead to four, 49-45, at the break.

Illinois Wesleyan wasted little time out of halftime, using a 6-0 run to take a 51-49 lead on a Williams bucket.

Heflen sparked an IWU run with a layup, before his and-one gave IWU a six-point lead midway through the second half. NCC used a pair of three-pointers and a cold streak by the Titans to trim the lead to one with 6:47 to play.

Three and-one buckets from Mitchell gave the Titans an eight-point cushion, but with IWU unable to ice the game at the free throw line NCC kept things tight into the final seconds.

After missed free throws by IWU, North Central reclaimed possession and got off a well-contested three-ball from the wing. The game-winning shot attempt was off the mark and quickly corralled by junior Evan Schneider (St. Louis, Mo.-Ladue) as the buzzer sounded to preserve the win.

Illinois Wesleyan puts its perfect start to conference play on the line next Saturday, Dec. 17, as the Titans host Wheaton College for a 4:15 p.m. tipoff inside the Shirk Center.