MOUNT PLEASANT –Brett Humpal (Sr.-Decorah, Iowa) scored 34 points and Iowa Wesleyan College hit nine three-pointers in the first half on its way to an 88-73 win over Ashford University in a Midwest Collegiate Conference Tournament quarterfinal game at Ruble Arena.
The second-seeded Tigers continued their torrid shooting from the outside, in all making 11 of 22 three-point tries in advancing to the conference tournament semifinals. IWC (18-10 overall) will meet #3 seed William Penn University in the semis, hosting the Statesmen Friday night at 7 p.m. at Ruble Arena.
IWC did its best to put away the seventh-seeded Saints in the first half, jumping out to an early 34-12 lead and leading 52-29 at halftime. One game after hitting 17 of 24 three-point tries in a win at Waldorf College, the Tigers hit nine of 17 triple attempts in the first half in building a 23-point halftime lead.
The Tigers ended up needing some of that cushion in the second half as the Saints refused to go away. Ashford pushed the pace and made the game sloppy, hanging around and getting as close as 71-58 with 7:50 left in the game.
Wesleyan finally put it away in the final minutes, answering with a 12-2 run that made it 83-61 with 3:25 left. Humpal had eight points in the run en route to his third 30-point game of the season. The senior also surpassed the 1,700-point mark for his career at IWC, finishing the game with 1,708 points, fourth on the all-time Tiger scoring list.
Humpal shot 10-for-16 from the field and hit four three-pointers. He also finished with six rebounds and six assists. Keenan Stanbridge (Jr.-Quincy, Ill.) complemented him with 14 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Da’kari Shelby (Sr.-O’Fallon, Ill.) also added 16 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots.
As a team the Tigers shot 27-for-58 (46.6%) and out-rebounded Ashford 43-39. IWC also held the Saints to 39.2% shooting (29 of 74).
Marvis Kidd led the Saints with 25 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out midway through the second half. Ashford finished its season at 11-19.
The Tigers will now get ready to host William Penn, a 109-79 winner over #6 seed St. Ambrose University Wednesday night. Wesleyan defeated the Statesmen twice in the regular season, including a 97-81 win at Penn on Dec. 3 and a 92-85 victory at Ruble Arena on Jan. 26. IWC is looking for its first trip to the MCC title game since defeating William Penn 78-76 in the 2006 conference tournament final.
The top four seeds in the MCC Tournament all won on Wednesday night, as in other action #1 seed Grand View University defeated #8 seeded Clarke College 76-64 and fourth seed Viterbo (Wis.) University topped #5 Mount Mercy College 73-59. Grand View will host Viterbo in the other semifinal game Friday night 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 #2 IWC 88 #7 Ashford 73
MCC Tournament Bracket
