IW men win ninth straight

Iowa Wesleyan’s Hakeem Odunsi pulls up for two in the Tigers’ 81-42 victory over Waldorf on Wednesday, November 30, 2022. (Hunter Moeller/The Union)

Mt. PLEASANT — What a stretch it’s been for the Iowa Wesleyan men's basketball team.

Coming into Wednesday night’s matchup with Waldorf University, the Tigers had won eight straight including a recent victory over No. 13 William Penn University.

After all was said and done between the Tigers and Warriors, Iowa Wesleyan’s win streak moved to nine as the Tiger men dominated the Warriors 81-42.

Iowa Wesleyan’s Carver Locke connects from three on Wednesday, November 30 during the Tiger 81-42 win over Waldorf. (Hunter Moeller/The Union)

To start Wednesday night’s contest, the Tigers and Warriors kept it close, but once Iowa Wesleyan got the lead, they would never lose it.

Waldorf would score the first two points of the game, but after a Henry Shannon layup and an Allante Pickens two gave the Tigers a 5-2 lead, they would never give it up.

Through the first 10 minutes, Iowa Wesleyan built up leads of 9-2, 15-8 and 18-11before they caught fire in the final 10.

From the 10:40 mark up until the halftime whistle, the Tigers outscored the Warriors 23-2, holding them scoreless in the final 5:50 of the opening half.

At the break, Iowa Wesleyan held a commanding 43-17 lead over Waldorf.

Pickens and Victor Munoz led the Tigers at the break with each scoring 10 in the first half. Off the bench, Hakeem Odunsi added nine.

Iowa Wesleyan’s Henry Shannon goes over the top of a Waldorf defender for two during the Tiger 81-42 victory over the Warriors on Wednesday, November 30, 2022. (Hunter Moeller/The Union)

In the second quarter, it was more of the same.

Joey Brown IV kicked off the Tigers second half scoring. That also kicked off a 17-9 run over the first 6:30 of the half to put the Tigers up 59-26.

Waldorf would score just 16 more points the rest of the way out as the Tigers dropped in 22 to solidify the win.

Pickens finished with 15 points, five rebounds and four assists on the night. Shannon followed with 14 points on an efficient 6-9 shooting from the field. He also grabbed two boards. Munoz finished with 10 points and seven rebounds. Odunsi came off the bench and scored nine.

Iowa Wesleyan shot 50.8 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from three in the win. They did fantastic on the defensive end, holding the Warriors to just 26 percent shooting from the field and 10 percent from three. They also forced 20 turnovers and 12 steals which turned into 27 points in turnovers.

The win propels the Tigers to 10-1 overall on the season. Iowa Wesleyan will look to make it 10 wins in a row on Saturday, Dec. 3 in Ruble Arena against the College of the Ozarks. The men will tip off at 3 p.m.