Illinois Wesleyan Fends Off Anderson Late

Illinois Wesleyan University fended off the Anderson University men's basketball team with a 74-65 victory on Wednesday in O.C. Lewis Gymnasium.
 
"I was pleased with how we competed for about the last 28 minutes of the game," Coach Owen Handy said. "We fought hard and executed well against a really good team. Unfortunately, we dug ourselves too big a hole in the first half with turnovers and soft closeouts to shooters."
 
Anderson (2-3) committed 18 turnovers while Illinois Wesleyan (5-1) turned the ball over 12 times. The Titans outscored the Ravens 23-14 off turnovers.
 
Anderson's young squad has stayed strong despite opening against opponent who currently have a 15-7 combined record.
 
"We have played a really tough schedule so far, and we have a team that has been immensely coachable. I believe we will continue to get better each week, and that is a very exciting place to be."
 
The Titans hit 27-of-64 (42.2 percent) shots from the field while Anderson made 22-of-57 (38.6 percent) attempts from the floor.
 
Maurice Knight (Frankton, Ind./Frankton) notched 22 points and 11 rebounds to lead the way for the Ravens.
 
"It is exciting to see Maurice start to take over games. We have had some really good players here who we could give the ball to and know they would create a great shot: Phil Hogan, Max Mollaun, Trevor Lucas (Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg), and Cole Hartman (Auburn, Ind./DeKalb). Maurice is close to becoming another guy of that ability."
 
Malik Laffoon (Bloomington, Ind./Bloomington North) contributed 13 points. The senior from Bloomington drained 11-of-13 (84.6 percent) shots from the free-throw line.
 
Dalton DuBois (Plainfield, Ind./Cascade) provided nine points, Austin Lyons (Anderson, Ind./Lapel) tallied eight points, Michael Rogers (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central) scored five points, Ronny Williams (Anderson, Ind./Liberty Christian) turned in four points, Jake Gudorf (Brookville, Ohio/Brookville) added three points and Jalen Johnson (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central) rounded out the Raven scoring effort with one point.
 
"The good news is, whenever we figure out how to take the floor and play to our capability for 40 minutes, we have a chance to be really good."
 
The Ravens battle Trine University next Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Angola. Anderson then opens Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) play with Transylvania University (3-1) next Saturday at 4 p.m. in O.C. Lewis Gymnasium.