FOREST CITY – Iowa Wesleyan College made 11 of 14 three-point field goals in the second half alone and drained 17 three-pointers in the game for a 99-72 win over Waldorf College Saturday in the Tigers’ regular season finale.
The Tigers clinched the second seed in the Midwest Collegiate Conference postseason tourney by shooting 63.8% from the field for the game and an astonishing 70.8% from three-point range. IWC made 17 of 24 three-point tries for the contest and 37 of 58 field goals overall to improve to 17-10 overall, 13-3 in the MCC.
Seeing the final stats, one might not believe the Tigers actually trailed the Warriors at halftime. Yet that’s exactly the scenario IWC found itself in after an opening 20 minutes in which Wesleyan shot 59.3% but trailed Waldorf 43-42 after the hosts hit 51.7% of their shots in the first half and connected on seven three-pointers.
As well as the Tigers shot in the first half, though, they were even better in the second half. Coupled with improved defense in the second half, IWC quickly turned the game around with a 26-3 run to take a 71-50 lead with 11:41 left in the game.
The Tigers never cooled down, either, in all outscoring Waldorf 57-29 in the second half. At one point Wesleyan made 18 of 21 shots, and the Tigers also had streaks of seven and eight shots made in a row, the latter making it 91-62 with 5:30 remaining in the game. Josh Hogue (Jr.-Oxford, Iowa) had 16 points in the second half alone, including four three-pointers, and Keenan Stanbridge (Jr.-Quincy, Ill.) added four three-pointers in the second half as well on his way to 15 points in the game.
Brett Humpal (Sr.-Decorah, Iowa) led IWC with 19 points, 10 assists and six rebounds. Da’kari Shelby (Sr.-O’Fallon, Ill.) added 17 points and Michael Coons (Sr.-Hannibal, Mo.) also had 11 to give the Tigers five players in double figures. IWC finished three triples off the school single-game record of 20 three-pointers, set Feb. 19, 2001 against Marycrest International University in the final game in the old Wesleyan Gymnasium.
Michael Granucci led the Warriors (8-17 overall, 2-14 in conference) with 17 points. Waldorf finished shooting 26 of 55 for the game (47.3%), including 9 of 24 from three-point range (37.5%).
The Tigers finished in a tie with William Penn University for second in the MCC but earned the second seed in the conference tournament based on defeating the Statesmen twice in the regular season. IWC now gets ready for its tourney opener Wednesday against seventh-seeded Ashford University, to be played at 7 p.m. at Ruble Arena. Wesleyan would also host a possible semifinal game Friday night at 7 p.m., and the tournament championship game is scheduled for 6 p.m. Sunday. All games will be played at the home site of the higher seeded team.
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 IWC 99 Waldorf 72
