IWU Mens Basketball Cruises Past Spring Arbor

MARION, Ind. -- Indiana Wesleyan University shot 70.8-percent (17 of 24) in the first half en route to a 79-61 victory over Spring Arbor (Mich.) University in the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Game of the Week.
The battle of ranked opponents went to No. 6-ranked Indiana Wesleyan as the Wildcats never trailed throughout the game. No. 19-ranked Spring Arbor forced one tie at 2-2 in the second minute of the game but Indiana Wesleyan scored the next 11 points for a 13-2 advantage.
Spring Arbor (19-8) fought back over the next six minutes of play and cut the deficit to four points (23-19) midway through the half.
The Wildcats responded in a big way with a 17-2 run over the next four minutes to stretch a four point lead into a 19 point cushion at 40-21. Senior center Ryan Hetrick and sophomore guard Derrick Troyer each connected on 3-point shots during the spurt as IWU drilled six 3-point shots in the opening 14 minutes.
Spring Arbor junior guard DJ Baisden kept the Cougars in the game with his play over the last five minutes of the half. He penetrated to the basket often and tallied 11 points in the final five minutes to bring Spring Arbor to within 12 as Indiana Wesleyan led 46-34 at the half. Baisden headed into the locker room with 15 points.
Following a Cougar bucket to open the second half, the Wildcats scored on their next four possessions to lead 54-38. Martin scored six of his 14 points during the stretch.
Indiana Wesleyan (22-4) led 59-44 with 13:53 left on the clock when Spring Arbor scored six unanswered points to find themselves down just nine points (59-50) with 10:39 remaining. SAU cut the IWU advantage to seven points on two different occasions, with the final one coming at 63-56 following a pair of free throws by Baisden.
But on the next Wildcat possession, senior guard Ryan Hetrick drilled a 3-pointer with 5:05 in the game to boost the lead back to double digits, and the Cougars would not get any closer.
IWU senior center Zach Coverstone iced the game away with five points on back-to-back possessions for Indiana Wesleyan. He dropped in a pair of free throws at 3:14 and hit an old fashioned 3-point play at 2:35 as Indiana Wesleyan increased the advantage to 73-58.
The Wildcats finished the afternoon shooting 55.8-percent (29 of 52) from the floor and 50.0-percent (8 of 16) from deep. IWU out-rebounded SAU 36-to-25 and had 19 assists with only 10 turnovers.
Coverstone led Indiana Wesleyan with 15 points, six rebounds, six assists and four blocked shots. Junior forward Will Hubertz added 13 points and eight boards. Senior guard Spencer Harris had nine points and four assists while Troyer contributed eight points and four assists.
Baisden led all scorers with 21 points for the Cougars. He shot 6-of-16 from the field but was 9-of-9 from the free throw line.
Spring Arbor completed the afternoon at 43.6-percent (24 of 55) shooting and 25.0-percent (3 of 12) from beyond the arc.
Indiana Wesleyan remains atop the Mid-Central College Conference with a 10-2 record and is half a game up on No. 9-ranked Bethel (Ind.) College (10-3) and a full game up on No. 8-ranked University of Saint Francis (9-3). Spring Arbor falls off the pace of the leaders with a mark of 8-5.
The Wildcats will hit the road on Tuesday, February 9 in another critical MCC contest as Indiana Wesleyan will play at Saint Francis. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Fort Wayne, Indiana.