Washington Evening Journal
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Iowa Wesleyan men fall 1 second short
Andy Krutsinger
Mar. 29, 2021 1:00 am
MT. PLEASANT - Trailing by one point as the time wound down, Iowa Wesleyan's Jarryd Fernandes hit a contested layup that would have given the Tigers a thrilling St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory. The only problem was, it came one second too late.
Fernandes had his defender sealed at the block, but the ball found his hands just a bit too late. The buzzer sounded right as the senior big man received the ball in a frantic attempt to steal the game from the SLIAC-leading Blackburn Beavers, and the Tigers fell 77-76.
Iowa Wesleyan had scrapped back after trailing for the vast majority of the second half. The Tigers saw a double-digit lead disappear in the first half but still took 41-40 advantage into halftime. Blackburn took over the lead early in the second, and had to cling on till the bitter end.
Kaleb Cresswell had 15 points in the second half, most of which came in the final minutes. He helped will the Tigers back into the game, hitting shot after shot, including a potential 3-point play with 9.5 seconds left. His layup cut a three-point Beaver lead to 77-76, but his game-tying free throw rolled off, and Blackburn star Chanz Aldridge was sent to the line with 6.8 seconds remaining.
Aldridge, the SLIAC'S second-leading scorer at 21.4 points per game, had lit up the scoreboard for 38 points, but the front end of his single bonus free throw rimmed out. Cresswell pushed the ball up, but the Beaver defense slowed him down just enough before the entry pass to the post.
'I told the guys, if he misses the free throw, let's push it up the court,” said Tiger men's basketball coach Alex Huisman. 'Blackburn did a decent job of corralling Kaleb and not letting him get down hill.”
Despite the loss, Cresswell was money for most of the night. He finished the game with 27 points to lead the Tigers.
'Kaleb is a gamer,” Huisman said. 'He has the ability to score a lot of points, and he was in that attack mode today.”
Alex Dentlinger scored 16 points on the night, 14 of which came in a furious first-half run. Fernandes had 13.
Marvin Saintolien scored seven points. Carver Locke and Jett Tjaden finished with six each, and David Seber had one.
The Tiger men are now 4-8 overall and 3-5 in SLIAC play. They will host high-octane Greenville (4-10, 4-3) on Wednesday.
The Panthers, per usual, score well over 100 points per game thanks to their unique style of hyper-paced play and mass substitutions. Greenville leads the SLIAC with 116.1 points per game, and gives up 143.3 points per game on the defensive end. Greenville swept Iowa Wesleyan last season, defeating the Tigers 131-125 and 136-119.
With just two regular season games to play, the game is a must-win for the Tigers if they want to pass Greenville for fourth place and host a game in the eight-team SLIAC tournament at the end of the season.
'It has been a long year, and I know it is mentally draining,” Huisman said. 'But there still is a lot to play for.”
Iowa Wesleyan's Kaleb Cresswell drives past the 3-point line on Saturday. (Andy Krutsinger/The Union)
Iowa Wesleyan's Jett Tjaden handles the ball during the Tigers' 77-76 loss to Blackburn College on Saturday. (Andy Krutsinger/The Union)
Carver Lock launches a 3-pointer during the first half of the Tigers' one-point loss to Blackburn College on Saturday. (Andy Krutsinger/The Union)