IW basketball 1-1 to start season

BELLEVUE, Neb. — The Iowa Wesleyan men’s basketball team opened up its season over the weekend with a pair of games on Friday and Saturday in the Chick-fil-A Classic hosted by Bellevue University.

With a new era upon the Iowa Wesleyan men’s basketball program, under head coach Jordan Ashton, the Tigers put together a couple good performances.

The Tigers split on the weekend, finishing with a 76-62 victory over Dickinson State University on Friday and fell just short in a thriller to (RV) Bellevue University, 71-68, on Saturday.

Against Dickinson State, the Tiger and Blue Hawks battled back and forth through the first half.

Allante Pickens led the Tigers in the first half, as he was able to find his shot in a plethora of ways. He would finish the half with nine points. Henry Shannon followed with eight points and four rebounds.

Heading into the locker room, Iowa Wesleyan clung on to a 31-29 lead.

Everything came together for the Tigers in the second as they put together a 7-0 run and eventually amassed a 22-4 run to take sole control of the contest, while building up a 60-40 lead.

The Blue Hawks would never make up the difference as the Tigers cruised to the 14 point win.

The Tigers outshot the Blue Hawks 50% (28-56) to 41% (25-61) and 35.7% (5-14) to 18.2% (4-22) from beyond the arch. The Tigers also out rebounded the Blue Hawks 43-28. The Tigers had 32 points from their bench while the Blue Hawks had 21.

Pickens and Victor Munoz both finished with 17 points for Iowa Wesleyan. Munoz also added seven rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal. Pickens had four rebounds and two assists as well. Henry Shannon added 14 points and eight rebounds.

Against Bellevue, the Tigers play well to start the game.

Iowa Wesleyan held the largest lead early in the first half, just five points.

The Tigers found their stride in the final two minutes of the first, as they put together a 14-6 run to create some space from the Bruins. Bellevue was able to hit a three-pointer right before the half to cut the Tiger lead to 37-29.

Bellevue cut into the lead early in the second and eventually was able to pull back in front at 54-53. The Tigers were able to keep it close to steal back the lead and building it up to seven, 64-57, on a Gacoby Jones and-one dunk.

The Bruins answered with a 9-2 run of their own to tie it at 66 with 91 seconds to go.

In the final moments, the Bruins got a tip in to make it a 68-66 game with just 37 seconds to go. Munoz answered for Iowa Wesleyan though as he knotted it up a 68.

The Bruins would call a timeout and draw up a play. They were able to get open, and although the shot attempt was off the mark, the Tigers fouled on the play.

Bellevue went to the line with three seconds to go. The Bruins would make the first to make it a 69-68 game. The second attempt would come off the rim, but Bellevue was able to grab their own rebound followed by a foul with one second left on the clock.

They would make both free throw attempts to take a 71-68 lead. The Tigers would draw up a play, but use too much time and not get a shot off, suffering their first loss of the season.

Iowa Wesleyan outshot the Bruins from the field 52.9% (27-51) to 44% (22-50). The Bruins outshot the Tigers from the 3-point line, shooting 33.3% (6-18) compared to the Tigers' 27.3% (3-11). The Tigers out-rebounded the Bruins 31 to 28. The Bruins had fewer turnovers than the Tigers 17 compared to 11 for the Bruins.

The Tigers moved to 1-1 on the season. Gacoby Jones led the way for the Tigers with 17 points. He added 6 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal as well. Victor Munoz added 16 off the bench on 8-10 shooting, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 1 steal.

Iowa Wesleyan will be back in action on Nov. 2 at 7:30 against William Woods University.