MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[GoPerry]

Carthage  88
Wheaton  96

Soren Richardson  31 pts  4 rebs
Devin Martin  19 pts 5 asst, 0 tos
Carson Grier  12 pts  9 rebs, 3 stls
Kyan VanderWoude 12 pts 6 rebs

Riley Brooks  26 pts  10 rebs
Ryan Johnson  23 pts 5 rebs 5 asst

Wheaton really needed one like this after 5 straight tough losses.  The Thunder led by as many as 13 pts with 7 mins left, saw the Firebirds chip away to get it down to 4 with 2 mins left, but was able to make enough plays down the stretch to hang on for the upset.  Several Thunder players had their best all around game of the year – none more than Devin Martin taking care of the ball, scoring on medium jumpers and hitting 4 crucial free throws down the stretch.  His perimeter shooting had left him for long stretches this season.  But tonight he found all sorts of ways to contribute and lead his team.

A bitter loss for Carthage playing without AJ Johnson and now very much on the Pool C bubble?

[Stertorous Thunder]

The Thunder hold off the Firebirds 96-88 for the upset at home, a great win over a Top 25 team.  Carthage obviously missed AJ Johnson's presence tonight, but this game should still be a confidence booster for the young Wheaton team.

Freshman quarterback guard Luca Carbonaro had his best collegiate game with 9 points in 13 minutes and Soren Richardson poured in 31 points, but Devin Martin was the Wheaton player of the game tonight.  Martin typically plays in the shadow of Richardson, Kyan VanderWoude, and/or Carson Grier, so it was nice to see him show that he can carry the team if needed, and doesn't always have to play a supporting role.

Wheaton went 11 deep tonight: 2 seniors, 1 junior, 2 sophomores, and 6 freshmen.  Somehow it's possible that this is a team that can improve even when all-conference first teamer Richardson graduates.  But that's looking way too far ahead.  Right now I'm ready to see if this year's team can pull off another upset in the CCIW tournament.

#LetsRoll

[Gregory Sager]

Illinois Wesleyan 76
North Park 71

Kolden Vanlandingham: 19 pts, 8 rebs, 3 stls
Mike Vuckovic: 16 pts, 6:2 a:to
William Bates: 12 pts

Mason Funk: 33 pts (14-22 FG), 8 rebs, 5 blks
Karlo Colak: 13 pts, 7 rebs
Brady Kuehl: 12 pts
Casen Lawrence: 10 pts

Sometimes the attempt to dictate tempo can lead to forcing the issue, and that's what happened to North Park tonight. In trying to rush the ball up the floor to push the pace, the Vikings needlessly turned the ball over again and again -- and when you get bulldogged the way the Vikings were by IWU's tough halfcourt D, that's a recipe for a loss.

I'm sure that a lot of people were thinking that this might be the Park's night when Noah Cleveland walked into the gym in a full-arm cast. (Word we got is that his arm is broken.) But I've seen too many occasions where a team loses a star player and everybody raises their level and rallies, and that's exactly what the Titans did tonight, to their credit. Nobody raised his game more than Mason Funk, who, aside from his wretched FT shooting (a failing he seems to share with a lot of young gentlemen in green), absolutely dominated this game at both ends of the floor and played like an All-CCIW first-teamer and a legitimate bell cow for his now-Clevelandless team going forward.

In a familiar refrain from NPU's five-game losing streak last month, the Vikings found themselves down big at the half. They trailed by 16 at intermission, and fell behind by as many as 21 before they rallied, but they couldn't get any closer than five down in the last few minutes.

The good news is that North Central's win over visiting Augie clinched NPU's tourney spot, even with tonight's loss. The field of six is set ... we just don't know who'll be seeded what.

[Gregory Sager]

Elmhurst went on a 16-2 run over a nine-minute span early in the second half to break open a tight game, and ended up winning comfortably over Carroll, 81-69, at Faganel. Dominic Trelenberg led the way with 19 for the 'jays, and he was joined in double figures by Aidyn Boone (15), Luke Smith (14), and Vinnie Adjahoungbeta (12 and 8). Carroll was paced by Michael McNabb's 21 points, with Jacob Naber contributing 14, Lamar Smith mustering an impressive 12 and 15, and Evan Bland pumping in an even 10 for the Pioneers, who shot an unimpressive .403/.259/.522 line for the night.

North Central ended Augustana's slim postseason hopes with an 83-76 win in the hangar. James Bullock was high man for the Cards with 18, as Alejandro Diaz added 16 and NCC's two-headed monster at center, Ethan Marlowe and Justin Sveiteris, each scored 10, Sveiteris grabbing 11 boards to lead the way in that category for the hosts. Jaydon James had an additional eight rebounds for NCC. Augustana got 17 points and three steals out of Dom Rhodes, Jake Willems had an outstanding 16 and 11 night, and Andre Klaver contributed 13 for Augie.

Fun fact of the night: Dave Cronin, Sr. was one of the officials calling the AC @ NCC game, while Dave Cronin, Jr. was part of the three-man crew officiating the IWU @ NPU contest.

[Gregory Sager]

The docket for the end of the regular season on Saturday is:

Illinois Wesleyan @ Augustana
Carthage @ Carroll
North Park @ Elmhurst
Millikin @ Wheaton

Illinois Wesleyan has clinched a share of the CCIW title, and it appears to me that the Titans have also clinched the #1 seed, since even if they lose to Augie and Carthage gets a W at Van Male, the tiebreaker will work its way down to Wheaton first, where IWU registers a 2-0 mark and CC is only 1-1. Third-place Elmhurst split with both IWU and CC, and the other two teams currently in the fourth-place tie besides Wheaton, NPU and CU, were both swept by the Titans and Firebirds.

Speaking of the fourth-place tie, we're right back where we were going into last Saturday, with those three teams all a game under water -- this time at 7-8 rather than 6-7. They're currently seeded:

4. Wheaton
5. Carroll
6. North Park

Wheaton's win over Carthage tonight becomes the Thunder's ace in the hole as far as tiebreakers are concerned. That, and getting home court on Saturday against a Jimmy Millikin team that may or may not have its heart into playing spoiler, leads me to believe that WC has the inside shot at being the other team besides Elmhurst that will host a quarterfinal game next Tuesday. And Carroll has the tiebreaker over NPU regardless of whether both teams win on Saturday or both teams lose.

[lmitzel]

Illinois Wesleyan has clinched a share of the CCIW title, and it appears to me that the Titans have also clinched the #1 seed, since even if they lose to Augie and Carthage gets a W at Van Male, the tiebreaker will work its way down to Wheaton first, where IWU registers a 2-0 mark and CC is only 1-1.

Yep, this is confirmed. Men's tournament will be in Bloomington. Carthage is still the most likely recipient of the other bye, but Elmhurst would steal it with a win and a Firebird loss to Carroll.

Speaking of the fourth-place tie, we're right back where we were going into last Saturday, with those three teams all a game under water -- this time at 7-8 rather than 6-7. They're currently seeded:

4. Wheaton
5. Carroll
6. North Park

Wheaton's win over Carthage tonight becomes the Thunder's ace in the hole as far as tiebreakers are concerned. That, and getting home court on Saturday against a Jimmy Millikin team that may or may not have its heart into playing spoiler, leads me to believe that WC has the inside shot at being the other team besides Elmhurst that will host a quarterfinal game next Tuesday. And Carroll has the tiebreaker over NPU regardless of whether both teams win on Saturday or both teams lose.

Wheaton's path to the 4 seed is to either beat Millikin (at 8-8, they have it over NPU with tonight's win and over CRL by virtue of edge in road wins.) Those tiebreakers would also come into play with a three-way tie at 7-9.

Carroll needs a win AND a Wheaton loss to move ahead of them, and by beating Carthage would own the tiebreaker over NPU.

North Park needs to be alone at 8-8 in order to get the home quarterfinal (so they need a win and both Wheaton and Carroll to lose.)

[lmitzel]

North Central ended Augustana's slim postseason hopes with an 83-76 win in the hangar. James Bullock was high man for the Cards with 18, as Alejandro Diaz added 16 and NCC's two-headed monster at center, Ethan Marlowe and Justin Sveiteris, each scored 10, Sveiteris grabbing 11 boards to lead the way in that category for the hosts. Jaydon James had an additional eight rebounds for NCC. Augustana got 17 points and three steals out of Dom Rhodes, Jake Willems had an outstanding 16 and 11 night, and Andre Klaver contributed 13 for Augie.

We nearly had a repeat of the refrain for much of the year in Naperville, as the Cardinals nearly blew a couple double digit leads. NCC led 22-10 at one point in the first half, but Augie responded with a nice run and even led 27-26 late in the first half, but NCC rallied to go back up two by the break. The Cardinals would lead by as many as 15 and were up 14 with about four minutes to go, but the Vikings managed to make it a one score game a couple times in the final minute but never had the ball with a chance to tie.

On the whole, a pretty rough year in Naperville, but I'm always happy to go out with a win. And a big thanks to Sean Molloy, who closed out his career with a 7 point, 6 rebound effort in the victory.

[iwu70]

Congrats to Ron Rose and the Titans on a share of the CCIW regular season crown and hosting the CCIW tournament.   IWU over NPU 76-71.

Yes, Greg, Cleveland has a broken bone in the left wrist, suffered at the Millikin game earlier.  He's likely out for at least 2-3 more games.  I've heard different interpretations of the injury and how long it might take to heal, whether he could play with some soft cast and be back earlier if he's a fast healer.  Sure looks like he's out for the CCIW tournament, so Kuehl will be starting. 

Others have to step up . . .and Mason Funk surely did that tonight. An awesome game.

For NPU:
Vanlandingham 19 and 8
Vukovic 16
Bates 12

NPU at 45%/26% from three/64% FTs.   NPU had 18 TOs.

For IWU:
Funk 33 and 8, with 5 blocks and 2 steals. 
(As I've said earlier, he's an outstanding defensive player)
Colak 13 and 7
Kuehl 12
Lawrence 10
Niego and David Williams running the show.

IWU will have to rely on different weapons, work harder on the boards.

IWU moves to 20-4, with one game to go @ Augustana on Saturday.

Congrats to the Titans on the regular season championship, hosting the CCIW tournament at The Shirk, and getting to a 20-win season.

IWU'70