By Nick McClintock
ROCK ISLAND- A valiant effort for the Illinois Wesleyan Titans fell short Friday night, as the number one ranked Augustana Vikings took down the Titans, 83-74, in overtime, at the CCIW Tournament Semi-Final.
IWU fell behind early after hitting the first shot of the game, Augustana would go on a 12-3 run over the first five minutes of the half. That seven point lead would be the most for the Vikings though, as Wesleyan would chip away for the majority of the rest of the half.
Clutch shots from Joel Pennington would propel the Titans to eventually take the lead at the five minute mark after a pair of free throws from Ryan Coyle. Augustana couldn’t get much offense going in the final minutes of the half, and IWU would go on to take a six point lead into the halftime break, 34-28.
The Titans would increase their lead to the same margin of seven, before the Vikings would take a page out of their opponents playbook and begin to chip away at the Titan lead.
The Vikings would go on to tie the game near the midway point of the half, after a 7-0 run, and would take a three point advantage on a pair of Viking jumpers at the nine minute mark. IWU and Augustana would then battle back and forth for several minutes, before a seemingly gassed Titan squad would give up another 7-0 run to the number one seed Vikings.
Augustana would again though be unable to handle the lead, as a final push for Illinois Wesleyan would tie the game at 63 with less than a minute to go in regulation.
A final basket for Augustana wouldn’t go at the buzzer, and the game would head into overtime.
The extra period wouldn’t start well for the Titans, as the Vikings hit the first five points to recapture the lead and wouldn’t let that lead go. Illinois Wesleyan would hit on just three field goals in the final period, getting outscored 20-11.
Pennington finished with 20 points, leading the Titans. IWU finishes the 2015-16 season at 13-13, with a 7-7 CCIW mark.
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