IWU claims Crossroads League Championship Title - Mar 4, 2015

No. 1-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University men's basketball completed its march through the Crossroads League with an 87-72 victory over No. 11-ranked Bethel (Ind.) in the Crossroads League Tournament Championship at Luckey Arena.
"I am proud of our guys," said Indiana Wesleyan head coach Greg Tonagel . "They gave a great effort tonight. These seniors have done a lot and this just adds another piece to their legacy."
The Wildcats won their seventh consecutive Crossroads League regular season championship by two games with a 16-2 record. The Crossroads League Tournament championship is the second in program history as the team also won the 2010 title.
"It feels great," said IWU guard Zac Vandewater (6'5''-G) (SR/Warsaw, Ind.). "We had a goal of winning this and we got it done. Hopefully we can just keep it rolling."
Indiana Wesleyan heads to the NAIA Division II National Championship next week with a 31-2 record. IWU has maintained the No. 1 ranking in the NAIA Poll all season long and is poised to be the No. 1 overall seed in the 32-team tournament. The national tournament bracket will be revealed by the NAIA office tomorrow at 9 p.m.
Bethel (27-5) scored the game's first five points and held onto that lead for much of the opening half. Bethel did not trail until a 3-point bucket by DJ Bettinger (6'0''-PG) (SR/Richfield, Ohio) put Indiana Wesleyan ahead 34-33. Once IWU captured the lead they never gave it up. The Bettinger basket ignited a 15-4 run to close out the final 5 minutes of the half.
"Mount Vernon Nazarene jumped out on us Saturday and Bethel did today," stated Tonagel. "We have that bull's-eye on our back and our guys just stayed with it. Eventually we got going."
Indiana Wesleyan scored six of the first eight points in the second half to lead 52-39. Bethel was unable to cut the deficit to single digits in the final 17 minutes of play. A Bettinger 3-pointer with 2:54 left in the game gave Indiana Wesleyan its largest lead of the night at 80-60.
The Wildcat offense clicked all game long and shot 51-percent (29 of 56) from the floor while five players scored in double figures. Jonny Marlin (5'11''-PG) (JR/Greenwood, Ind.) came off the bench to lead the team with 18 points and 4 assists. He was 4-of-8 from 3-point range and a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Bettinger and Vandewater each scored 13 points, Bob Peters (6'2''-G) (SO/Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) added 11 points, and Josh Mawhorr (6'8''-F) (JR/Muncie, Ind.) chipped in 10 points.Lane Mahurin (6'7''-F) (SO/Rockville, Ind.) finished with 9 points.
Indiana Wesleyan outscored Bethel 30-16 in the paint and 31-12 in bench scoring. IWU finished with 19 assists to just 11 turnovers.
Bethel was paced by Clay Yeo (6'5''-G-94) with a game-high 24 points.
The NAIA Selection Show will reveal the 32-team national championship bracket tomorrow night at 9 p.m. Indiana Wesleyan will open the defense of the 2014 national championship title on either March 11 or March 12 in the First Round.
"This team is built well to do well out at Branson," said Tonagel. "It has depth, can go inside and out, and we can shoot the basketball. That's what it takes to win five games in six days."

Courtesy of CrossroadsLeague

Crossroads League Tournament Final: Indiana Wesleyan - Bethel 87-72
Crossroads League Tournament Semifinals:
Indiana Wesleyan - Mount Vernon Nazarene 64-61
Bethel - Saint Francis 62-61