No. 1 IU East falls to No. 4 Indiana Wesleyan 75-72 in NAIA DII national semifinals
No. 1 IU East falls to No. 4 Indiana Wesleyan 75-72 in NAIA DII national semifinals
By IU East Sports Information
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Box Score) -- An unforgettable season for the Indiana University East men's basketball team came to a close with a 75-72 loss against Indiana Wesleyan University on March 12 in the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship semifinals.
IU East, which entered the Fab Four on a 28-game winning streak and ranked No. 1 in the nation, closes with a 34-3 record. Indiana Wesleyan, the No. 4 team in the national rankings and also a No. 1 seed at the national tournament, advances with a record of 30-7.
KEY MOMENTS
* The back-and-forth game featured eight ties and 10 lead changes. Indiana Wesleyan's Kyle Mangas scored the game's key basket with a hoop in the lane with 1:23 remaining to put the Wildcats ahead to stay at 71-69.
* IU East came up empty on its next two offensive possessions, and Indiana Wesleyan made two free throws to go ahead 73-69.
* Bishop Smith kept the Red Wolves in the game with a 3-pointer to make it 73-72 with eight seconds remaining.
* Two more Indiana Wesleyan free throws made it 75-72. A last-second IU East 3-pointer came up short at the buzzer.
* IU East climbed out of an early 23-9 deficit and grabbed the lead late in the first half, setting the stage for a back-and-forth final 20 minutes.
* Neither team led by more than five in the second half.
NUMBERS OF NOTE
* IU East will finish the 2017-18 season with the most wins in the NAIA Division II.
* IU East had a 22-14 advantage in points off of turnovers and shot 50 percent from 3-point range (10 of 20).
* Lucas Huffman scored a team-high 16 points for IU East, including several key 3-pointers. Jaylen McKay finished with 13 points and a team-high six assists. Bishop Smith had 11 points and Jacoby Claypool 10.
* Indiana Wesleyan finished with a 52-34 advantage in points in a paint and a 38-28 rebounding advantage.
* Kyle Mangas, who recently broke Indiana Wesleyan's program record for points in a season, led the Wildcats with 20 points. Joel Okafor made every shot he took (six field goals, six free throws) and scored a career-high 18 points.
* IU East's four-year seniors - Brad Hunt, Jacoby Claypool and Lucas Huffman - led the Red Wolves to 110 wins, four conference division titles, four national tournament appearances, three conference tournament championships, three appearances in the national quarterfinals and two trips to the Fab Four in their four seasons.
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
On the game: "It was a war from the tip. Every game we play against them is like that. There were a couple of 50-50 balls we didn't get that they got, and we could have done a better job getting those. Other than that, we were playing with what we could tonight. They had a really good game plan of what they wanted to do and I felt they executed well. I felt like we executed what we wanted to do. There were just a few things that we didn't do as well as they did. They finished better around the rim than we did. But, no faults. We played hard. Played as hard as we possibly could."
On the season: "I told the guys in locker room – and people say this all the time and you don't believe it - but you don't become champions in the moment you win the game. You become champions in the moments in the weeks and months and years before, when you learn the process. I think we've learned the process, and that's a huge credit to these seniors, both the ones that have been here the whole four years and the ones that have come in and have bought into that. We know how to win now, and that's a huge accomplishment in itself. The biggest challenge is to continue it and keep it going. Obviously this year is going to be hard to duplicate, but it's something we want to have - that consistency of a champion. I think this group, this program, has learned how to do that."
"The saddest part is not losing the game. The saddest part is not being able to coach some of these guys again. Something everybody talks about is how great a group of people these guys are, and how they play, and all the great things they do off the court. They are champions in life, too." - IU East coach Mark Hester
The Indiana University East men's basketball program wishes to extend its deepest sympathies to Chancellor Kathryn Cruz-Uribe and family on the passing of one of the Red Wolves' biggest fans, Eugene Cruz-Uribe.