MOUNT PLEASANT – The Iowa Wesleyan College basketball teams both won in similar fashion in defeating Culver-Stockton (Mo.) College in a doubleheader Tuesday night at Ruble Arena.
The Tiger women opened the night with an 89-57 win over the Wildcats, improving to 2-2 on the season and rebounding from a pair of losses over the weekend against nationally ranked teams. The IWC men followed with a 78-58 win over CSC, moving to 4-2 on the year and earning a sweep against the Wildcats this season.
Both Wesleyan teams won with big second half performances that turned competitive games into convincing wins. The Tiger women started the second half with a 22-6 run to blow the game open after leading 40-29 at halftime. IWC eventually led by as many as 37 points in the final minutes, taking over a game that was close for the first 20 minutes even as the Tigers never trailed in the contest.
Brittany Okland (Sr.-Kelley, Iowa) scored 16 points while Megan Couch (Jr.-Mooresville, Ind.) and Rachel Mitchell (Sr.-Des Moines, Iowa) both added 11 points each. Mitchell added five assists. Twelve different players scored and 13 different players grabbed rebounds as IWC shot 46.9% for the game (30-for-64), including 17 of 33 in the second half (51.5%), and out-rebounded the Wildcats 51-36.
The Iowa Wesleyan men also needed time to put away Culver-Stockton, as the teams swapped the lead four times in the first half until the Tigers put together a 15-2 run late in the half and pulled out to a 40-29 halftime lead. Josh Hogue (Jr.-Oxford, Iowa) and Michael Coons (Sr.-Hannibal, Mo.) helped keep Wesleyan afloat in the first 20 minutes with 11 and nine points, respectively.
IWC still led by just nine points before going on a 14-0 spurt midway through the second half to take control for good. Hogue, Jason Garber (Sr.-Emden, Ill.) and Brett Humpal (Sr.-Decorah, Iowa) all hit three-pointers and Coons hit two free throws to make it 64-41 with 10:04 left in the game. The Tigers eventually would lead by as many as 26 down the stretch.
Five players scored in double figures led by Hogue with 14 points and Garber and Jared Callanan (Jr.-Bennington, Vt.) both with 12. Humpal also added 11 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists. IWC shot 41.7% for the game (25 of 60) but made 13 of 32 three-point tries (40.6%) while also limiting the Wildcats to just 3-for-19 three-point shooting and 32.8% shooting for the game (19-for-58).
Both IWC teams will be in action again this weekend in tournaments. The Tiger men will be home Friday and Saturday hosting the Kiwanis Classic, which begins Friday evening at 5:30 p.m. with Bethel (Ind.) College facing Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) College and Wesleyan facing Briar Cliff University at 7:30 in the second game. The Tiger women will be in Sterling, Kan. for the Warrior Classic starting Friday with a game against nationally ranked Sterling (Kan.) College at 6 p.m.
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.
