MEN’S BASKETBALL

The 2nd-seeded Wildcats of Indiana Wesleyan knocked the 7th-seeded Huntington men’s basketball team out of the Crossroads League tourney Wednesday night at Luckey Arena by handing their visitors a 94-62 decision.

The loss brings to an end the Foresters’ season as they wrap up the year with an overall record of 16-15.

IWU, ranked 3rd in the latest national poll, lost their last regular season contest to finish second in the league standings and played like they had something to prove. And they did just that by jumping out to a double-digit lead of 25-14 within the opening eight minutes and never looked back.

The lead stood at 21 points by intermission, 48-27, and hovered around that difference much of the second frame until the final few minutes. The Foresters played even with their hosts as the scoreboard read 74-54 with six minutes to go before IWU closed out the evening with a run to stretch their lead even further by the final buzzer.

Platt’s crew entered the night averaging over 80 points per outing and shooting 48.1 percent from the field, the 23rd best percentage in NAIA Division II, but on this given night, shots weren’t falling as they finished 37.1 percent for the game. It was just the fifth time this season HU scored less than 65 points and the seventh time they shot less than 40.0 percent from the field.

The Foresters looked to Konner Platt for the bulk of their offense. The 6-2 junior poured in a game-best 26 points which included knocking down four triples. He also nabbed team-high rebounding honors with four. Wyatt Hughes netted eight points while Zac Owens and Andrew Yoder each collected seven. Yoder also dished out a team-best three assists.

Wesleyan shot a blistering 59.4 percent from the field with four Wildcats tallying double figures to make for a balanced attack. Seven-footer Evan Maxwell and the league’s leading scorer Kyle Mangas each tossed in 17. Grant Smith added 13 points and handed out ten dimes for the game’s only double double. Canaan Coffey finished with 11 points.

The Wildcats (26-5) advance to the semis of the CL tourney on Saturday to face 3rd-seeded Marian.