MOUNT PLEASANT – Joe Evans (Jr.-Jackson, Tenn.) came off the bench for 17 points and seven steals and Iowa Wesleyan College easily defeated Ozark Christian (Mo.) College 104-38 Saturday in the Kiwanis Classic at Ruble Arena.
The Tigers finished 2-0 in their annual November tourney and were one of two teams to win both of their games in this year’s 10th edition of the Kiwanis Classic. Grand View University defeated Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) College 71-51 in Saturday’s opening game to also finish 2-0 in the tourney.
Evans was one of three Wesleyan players to lead the team in scoring against Ozark Christian, as Keenan Stanbridge (Sr.-Quincy, Ill.) and Davis Warner (Jr.-Murfreesboro, Tenn.) also scored 17 points each. The Tigers also set a new school single-game record with 25 steals, breaking the old mark of 21 steals set twice, most recently in 2006.
IWC shot 58.2% for the game, often getting out on the fast break for easy layups. The Tigers finished with 42 fast break points, but also shot 13 of 25 from beyond the three-point arc (52.0%).
Jeff Harper (Jr.-Whiteside, Tenn.) also added 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, and all 12 IWC players in uniform scored. Eleven of the 12 also had steals, and only two players played more than 19 minutes in the game.
Jacob Seaton and Ryan Milliken scored six points each for the Ambassadors, who dropped to 0-5 this year. Ozark Christian shot just 25.8% for the game (16 of 62) and committed 29 turnovers.
IWC improved to 5-1 and had three players on the all-tournament team, including Evans, Warner and Nate Fuqua (Sr.-Maywood, Ill.). Grand View’s Kevin Smith was named the tournament MVP, and Brad Burton of GVU and Tomas Trujillo of Hannibal-LaGrange rounded out the all-tourney team.
Wesleyan will return to action Monday night for its final home game of 2010 when it faces Emmaus Bible College of Dubuque at 7 p.m. at Ruble Arena. The Tigers then will not be home again until Jan. 8th for a Midwest Collegiate Conference doubleheader against Waldorf College.
Kiwanis Classic All-Tournament Team
MVP: Kevin Smith, Grand View
Brad Burton, Grand View
Joe Evans, Iowa Wesleyan
Nate Fuqua, Iowa Wesleyan
Davis Warner, Iowa Wesleyan
Tomas Trujillo, Hannibal-LaGrange
Box score IWC 104 OCC 38
Box score GVU 71 HLG 51
Tournament Summary
