Tiger defense Trumps Trojans

MT. PLEASANT — The name of the game was defense on Wednesday night at Ruble Arena.

For the first time all season, Iowa Wesleyan held its opponent to under 50 points, suffocating Hannibal-Lagrange University 66-46 to snap a three-game losing streak.

“We emphasized defense a lot,” said Iowa Wesleyan head coach Alex Huisman. “The guys did a good job of executing.”

It was a good thing the Iowa Wesleyan defense was working early, because there was a lid on the rim on the offensive end. After scoring the first three points of the game, the Tigers went an over five-minute scoring drought.

That drought was stopped by Joey Brown, who scored the first nine points of the game for the Tigers to give Iowa Wesleyan a 9-8 advantage. HLGU would never lead again.

“Basketball is a game of runs. If we score three points or we score 20 points, we know we're going to get going someway somehow,” said Brown. “We're not always going to stay down.”

Iowa Wesleyan led 25-15 at halftime. The Tigers scored the first seven points of the second half to bust open the game.

The Tiger defense held the Trojans to 32% shooting the ball for the game. Iowa Wesleyan won the turnover battle 18-8.

“Everybody that got in was locked in defensively,” Huisman said. “You're going to give yourselves a chance in a lot of games if you defend like that.”

Brown scored 11 points and pulled down seven rebounds to lead the team. Alex Dentlinger put up 10 points. Jett Tjaden scored nine. Kaleb Cresswel and Dylan Hurley each had eight.

Francis Okuosah and Grant Swanson scored five points apiece for the Tigers. Kolby Williams finished with four points, and Jaylen Washington, Jared Arellano and Victor Munoz each scored two.

Iowa Wesleyan is now 4-8 on the season. They’ll host Bellevue University on Saturday.

“We're getting one percent better every practice,” Brown said. “I'm excited for what we've got in store.”