NEWS RELEASE

 

 

Iowa Wesleyan College Athletics

610 N. Main St.

Mount Pleasant, Iowa 52641                                                                            March 8, 2006

 

 

Tiger men fall in first round of national tournament, 87-81 to Mount Vernon Nazarene

 

        POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. – Zach Silverman matched his season high with 28 points, but Iowa Wesleyan College’s record-setting basketball season came to a halt in an 87-81 loss to Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) University in the first round of the NAIA Division II Men’s National Tournament Wednesday afternoon at Keeter Gymnasium at College of the Ozarks.

 

          The 17th-ranked Tigers closed out their 2005-06 campaign with a school-record 25 wins and seven losses. IWC dropped to 0-3 in three appearances at the national tournament. The Tigers also qualified for the Division II Tournament in 2004 and the Division I Tournament in 1995.     

 

          The 15th-ranked and 16th-seeded Mount Vernon Nazarene Cougars (26-8) advance to play top-ranked and top-seeded Embry-Riddle University (31-2) in a second-round game at noon Friday.

 

          The Tigers led by as many as 10 points – 27-17 – in the first half, but were hit by a 19-3 run that propelled Mount Vernon Nazarene a 42-38 advantage at halftime.

 

          Silverman’s conventional 3-point play gave IWC its last lead of the game, 58-57, with 11 minutes, 14 seconds left in regulation. The Tigers tied the score at 72-72 on a jumper by Jesse Hill (Keokuk, IA) with 3:13 left to play. The Cougars scored the next five points and finished the game on a 15-9 run.

 

          Silverman (Fairfield, IA) carried the Tigers early with 18 first-half points, including 10 in the first four minutes of the game. The 6-foot-5 senior forward finished 11-of-24 shooting from the field and also had six rebounds and three assists. Adam Stringer (Panora, IA) netted 18 points. Hill had a solid all-around game with 14 points, six rebounds, six assists and a pair of steals.

 

          IWC forward Melvin Scott (Cleveland, OH) was held to eight points in only 21 minutes of work. He sat out all but one minute of the first half with two fouls.

 

          The Tigers struggled from the foul line, hitting only 10-of-19 free throws in the game. The team entered the contest shooting 75.4 percent from the stripe, a single-season school record. IWC shot just 26.9 percent (7-of-26) from 3-point range.

 

          “We didn’t shoot the three well and we didn’t shoot free throws well,” said IWC coach Alan Magani. “If somebody would have told me before the tournament that we would shoot 27 percent from beyond the arc and just over 50 percent from the free throw line and still be in the game at the end, I would have laughed. Our shots weren’t falling, but our kids kept battling. That showed the character of this team.”

 

          Mount Vernon Nazarene’s seven-footer Steve Mayes dominated the paint with 17 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks. Freshman guard Ben Falkenberg tossed in 25 points on 6-of-11 shooting from 3-point range for the Cougars.  

 

          The loss marked the end of a stellar run for IWC seniors Silverman, Stringer, Scott, Nathan Lange (West Point, IA), Shaun Lomas (Davenport, IA) and Ben Stone (Fairfield, IA).

 

          Stringer and Lange are both four-year letterwinners. Stringer finished his career as IWC’s all-time leader in assists (502) and ranked third in scoring (1,721 points) and fourth in 3-point goals (177). Lange leaves the program fourth in career rebounding (647 rebounds) and seventh in scoring (1,529 points).

 

          The Tigers posted an 88-41 record (68.2 winning percentage) over the last four seasons, the best mark during a four-year stretch in school history.

 

          For more information regarding the IWC men’s basketball program or any of the Tiger athletic teams, contact sports information director Kerry Kahl (319-385-6306 phone; 319-385-6384 FAX; kkahl@iwc.edu e-mail) or log on to IWC's web page at www.iwc.edu.