MOUNT PLEASANT – Reggie Shipp (Jr.-Aurora, Ill.) and Jared Callanan (Sr.-Bennington, Vt.) both scored 18 points and Iowa Wesleyan College came back from 11 points down in the second half to shock #11 ranked Grand View University 63-59 in Midwest Collegiate Conference play Wednesday night at Ruble Arena.
The Tigers bounced back from the program’s worst loss in over nine years with a win over a Viking team rated just outside the top 10 in the most recent NAIA Division II coaches’ poll. IWC scored 43 second half points against the stingiest defensive team in the conference and made one big play after another down the stretch in a tight game to snap a three-game losing streak and improve to 7-10 overall, 2-4 in the MCC.
Iowa Wesleyan held Grand View (15-4 overall, 4-2 MCC) to 30.3% shooting for the game and took advantage as the Vikings hit just 3 of 23 three-point tries (13.0%). IWC also hung with the much bigger visitors on the glass in picking up its first win over a ranked team since defeating GVU 91-90 in the MCC Tournament championship game in March.
Coming off a 44-point loss at Mount Mercy College on Saturday, the Tigers’ largest margin of defeat since a 132-65 loss to Northwestern (Iowa) College on Nov. 10, 2000, Wesleyan put up a spirited effort early on against the Vikings, hanging around despite a cold-shooting first half. IWC hit just 9 of 28 shots in the first 20 minutes but held GVU to 32.4% shooting as the Vikings took a 29-20 halftime lead.
Grand View built the margin to 31-20 early in the second half before the Tigers suddenly began to heat up. Shooting just 28% from the field to that point, IWC made its next seven shots. Callanan capped a 21-8 run with 11 straight points, and his three-pointer with 12:08 left gave Wesleyan a 41-39 lead, its first lead since being ahead 2-1 in the game’s opening minute.
The rest of the game was a nip and tuck affair, but the Tigers would never trail again. IWC led by as many as six and as few as one, but the Tigers continued to come through with big shots and clutch defensive stops against the experienced Grand View team. Brett Azinger (Fr.-Montrose, Iowa) hit a big three-pointer with 5:24 to play for a 51-47 lead, and Shipp scored 10 points in the final eight minutes, including a jumper in the lane with 28 seconds to play to put Wesleyan ahead 59-56.
The Vikings did not go quietly, as Matt Banzhaf hit a pair of three-pointers in the final minute. Callanan wrapped it up with four free throws in the final eight seconds, though, in all scoring 15 points in the second half.
Azinger added 11 points and tied Weldon Miller (Jr.-San Rafael, Calif.) for the team lead with seven rebounds. The Tigers shot 48.3% in the second half, making 14 of 29 shots, and hit 23 of 57 field goals for the game (40.4%). Grand View was 20 of 66 from the field and was led by Banzhaf with 18 points.
IWC will next face Viterbo (Wis.) University on Saturday at 3 p.m. in another conference game at Ruble Arena. The game will be broadcast live on the IWC Web site at www.iwc.edu/onlinemedia.
For more information regarding the IWC basketball programs or any of the Tiger athletic teams, contact sports information director Adam Glatczak (319-385-6306 phone; 319-385-6384 FAX; aglatczak@iwc.edu e-mail) or log on to IWC's athletics web site at www.iwc.edu/athletics. Midwest Collegiate Conference news, results and statistics at www.midwestcollegiateconference.com.
Box score IWC 63 #11 GVU 59
