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01.09.07 -
In a match-up between
two NAIA Division II powerhouses, it was the NAIA #2-ranked Foresters
(17-3, 5-1) defeating #9 Indiana Wesleyan (17-2, 5-1) 85-71.
HU opened the game
with an 10-1 run, but a feisty Wildcat squad was able to claw its way
back to within one at 24-23 with just over five minutes to play in the
half. The Foresters' Doug Sheckler answered with a baseline
jumper and Alex Kock scored a layup in transition and two free throws
to push HU's lead back to seven at 30-23. Over the final four
minutes, Indiana Wesleyan got a traditional three-point play from
Antonio Murrell and a trey from Joel Tonagel, but HU answered both
with long balls from Kyle Ganton and Jared Yoder to keep its
seven-point edge at the break.
In the second half,
Indiana Wesleyan kept things interesting for a little while and were
as close as 47-43 with 13 minutes to go. The Foresters then
scored nine unanswered points to break the game open and pushed their
advantage to as much as 19 points at 69-50 with 7:33 left on the
clock. But the Wildcats would not go away. They put
together an 11-4 run over the next three minutes to pull within 12,
but it was as close as they would get. The Foresters left very
little room for error as they went 19-24 from the field in the half
for a sizzling 79%.
Huntington’s Kock led three Foresters in double figures with 22.
Sheckler finished with a double-double with 20 points and a game-high
10 boards and Ganton added 18 points. Indiana Wesleyan’s Murrell
topped all scorers in the game with 23 points. Joining Murrell in
double figures for the Wildcats was Tonagel with 14 and Jon Moon with
13.
With the win, the Foresters reclaim a share of first place in the
Mid-Central Conference standings with two games left in the first trip
through league play.
Box Score
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