MOUNT PLEASANT – Waldorf College came back from an 11-point deficit in the second half and Iowa Wesleyan College lost to the Warriors 77-69 in the Tigers’ final home game of the season at Ruble Arena on Saturday.
The Tigers dropped their eighth straight game and finished the regular season with an 8-19 record, 3-13 in the Midwest Collegiate Conference. IWC tied Clarke College for eighth in the conference but loses a tiebreaker with the Crusaders and will travel to Dubuque on Monday to face Clarke in the MCC Tournament First Round Game.
Wesleyan held control against Waldorf for the game’s first 27 minutes but struggled down the stretch, missing a good opportunity for its first win since Jan. 13. The Warriors outscored the Tigers 42-23 over the final 13 minutes, shooting 48.1% over the entire second half and also making 33 trips to the free throw line in the second half, making 25.
The Tigers did not trail in the first half and led 34-23 at the halftime break. IWC held Waldorf to 33.3% shooting in the first half, with Jared Callanan (Sr.-Bennington, Vt.) scoring 13 points and the Tigers grabbing 10 offensive rebounds on the way to a 25-16 rebounding edge in the half.
Iowa Wesleyan pushed the lead to 13 points early in the second half and still led by 11 when Callanan’s layup made it 46-35 with 12:51 to play. However, the Warriors would score the next 12 points as turnovers started catching up with the Tigers, and Chris Holloway’s three-pointer made it 47-46 with 10:52 to go.
IWC would take the lead back and would hold a slim margin the next few minutes until Karl Dehesa made a jumper for the Warriors, making it 56-55 with 7:04 left. Waldorf would not trail again, taking advantage of 18 free throws in the final four minutes as well as 15 Wesleyan turnovers in the second half.
Callanan led four players scoring in double figures with 19 points. Brett Azinger (Fr.-Montrose, Iowa), Mike Lowe (Sr.-Panora, Iowa) and Reggie Shipp (Jr.-Aurora, Ill.) also all finished with double-doubles, with Azinger posting 16 points and 10 rebounds, Lowe scoring 11 points and grabbing a career-high 13 rebounds, and Shipp adding 14 points and 11 rebounds. The Tigers shot 38.1%, making 24 of 63 shots, but hit ten three-pointers and out-rebounded the Warriors 46-33.
Dehesa and Holloway led Waldorf with 21 and 20 points, respectively. The Warriors finished the game making 22 of 54 shots (40.7%) but made 29 of 37 from the free throw line (78.4%). Waldorf finished the regular season 9-16 overall, 6-10 in the MCC, and will be the seventh seed in the upcoming conference tournament.
The game was the final at home for three Wesleyan seniors, including Callanan, Lowe and Patrick Macki (London, England). IWC will face Clarke at 7 p.m. Monday night in the MCC tourney opening round game. The winner will advance to a quarterfinal game on Wednesday at top seed Grand View University in Des Moines.
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 Waldorf 77 IWC 69
MCC Men's Basketball Tournament Bracket
