MOUNT PLEASANT – Trent Schlautman made two free throws with 1.5 seconds left in the game and a tying basket by Iowa Wesleyan College came just after the buzzer as Doane (Neb.) College claimed a 73-71 win over IWC Wednesday afternoon at Ruble Arena.
IWC’s Keenan Stanbridge (Jr.-Quincy, Ill.) hit a leaning 10-foot bank shot that was initially ruled just before the final buzzer, but after an official’s conference the shot was waved off, giving Doane a sweep of the season series between the two teams and a win in a game initially scheduled for Dec. 20 but postponed to New Year’s Eve because of bad weather in the Midwest.
Doane, a member of the Great Plains Athletic Conference, also won for the fourth straight time in the series in the past three years between the schools and improved to 7-9 overall while IWC dropped to 6-7. The win was also the second just before the buzzer for Doane in two years over IWC. Last year Doane defeated Wesleyan 84-81 in the season opener for both teams when Doane’s Dane Cruz hit a three-pointer with 00.4 seconds remaining in the game.
Once again the game between the Tigers and Tigers was competitive throughout. Doane led by as many as 10 points in the first half and then by nine points in the second half, but IWC came back on several occasions.
IWC led just once in the opening 20 minutes, and Doane closed the first half with the final four points to take a 36-29 halftime lead. Wesleyan shot just 38.5% in the first half but quickly scored seven straight points out of the break to tie the game. The teams then went back and forth until Doane went on a 12-2 run to take a 63-54 lead with 5:27 left.
IWC chipped away, though, and Stanbridge scored seven straight points to cut the deficit to 68-67 with 2:17 left in the game. Doane went back ahead by four points after two free throws by Brett McFarland with 1:13 left, but Brett Humpal (Sr.-Decorah, Iowa) scored on a lay-up to get Wesleyan within two, and then banked in a short baseline jumper with six seconds left to tie the game. Doane pushed the ball ahead, though, and Schlautman was fouled on a 17-foot jumper with 1.5 seconds left and made the two winning free throws.
Da’kari Shelby (Sr.-O’Fallon, Ill.) had 26 points for IWC before fouling out with 2:26 left in the game. Humpal added 19 points, nine rebounds, six assists and eight steals and was the only other Wesleyan player in double figures. The Tigers came back to shoot 60.9% in the second half and made 24 of 49 shots for the game (49.0%) but were just 2-for-14 from three-point range (14.3%).
The Doane Tigers were led by McFarland with 14 points. Tyler Weatherholt and Jake Johnson both added 13 points with Schlautman also chipping in 11 points off the bench. Doane shot 24 of 60 for the game (40.0%) but out-rebounded IWC 39-29. Doane also defeated IWC 70-56 on Nov. 14 on the Tigers’ homecourt in Crete, Neb.
Wesleyan returns to Midwest Collegiate Conference play on Saturday when it hosts Ashford University at 3 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.
