OSKALOOSA – Jared Callanan (Sr.-Bennington, Vt.) scored 19 points but the Iowa Wesleyan College men’s basketball team couldn’t keep up after strong starts to both halves and lost 103-78 to William Penn University Tuesday night.
The Statesmen hit 12 three-pointers in the game and shot 57.1% in the first half in building a 23-point halftime lead and went on to defeat the Tigers for the second time this season. IWC dropped to 8-12 overall, 3-6 in the Midwest Collegiate Conference.
Wesleyan got off to a good start to the game, taking a 22-11 lead six minutes in. Callanan hit three three-pointers early and the Tigers hit nine of their first 13 shots before going ice cold the rest of the half. IWC made just three of its final 19 shots over the first 20 minutes, falling off to 37.5% shooting by halftime.
William Penn took full advantage, outscoring IWC 46-12 over the rest of the half. The Statesmen (17-6 overall, 6-3 MCC) also scored the final 12 points of the half, taking a 57-34 lead into the break.
The Tigers fought hard in the second half and early on cut Penn’s lead to 14. Callanan hit two early threes, and his layup made it 59-45 with 17:13 remaining in the game. IWC missed several good chances to get even closer, though, and eventually William Penn pulled away again, leading by as many as 32 points late in the game.
Mike Lowe (Sr.-Panora, Iowa) was the only other Wesleyan player besides Callanan to hit double figures, scoring 11 points. Reggie Shipp (Jr.-Aurora, Ill.) was held to nine points and had a team-best five assists. Weldon Miller (Jr.-San Rafael, Calif.) led the Tigers with seven rebounds off the bench.
IWC shot 36.1% for the game (22-for-61) and was out-rebounded 53-42. William Penn finished 38 of 82 (46.3%) from the field and hit 12 of 31 three-point tries (38.7%).
The Tigers now get ready to take on Clarke College on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. at Ruble Arena. The game will be broadcast live on KILJ FM 105.5 in Mount Pleasant or online at www.kilj.com.
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.
Box score WPU 103 IWC 78
