MARION, Ind. – Kyle Mangas poured in 33 points as No. 6 Indiana Wesleyan University men’s basketball defeated Northwestern Ohio 92-77 on Thursday night in Luckey Arena. Mangas hit 12 of his first 14 shots and was 5-of-6 from the beyond the arc.
GAME VITALS
- Score: Indiana Wesleyan def. Northwestern Ohio, 92-77
- Records: Indiana Wesleyan 5-0 | Northwestern Ohio 2-1
- NAIA Top- 25 Rank: Indiana Wesleyan – No. 6 | Northwestern Ohio – Not ranked
- Location: Luckey Arena | Indiana Wesleyan University | Marion, Indiana
STAT TRACKER
- Jacob Johnson: 15 points, 6-12 FG, 4 rebounds, 2 assists
- Joel Okafor: 12 points, 5-8 FG, 2-3 3FG, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
- Kyle Mangas: 33 points, 12-16 FG, 5-6 3FG, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 28:06 minutes
- Evan Maxwell: 11 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Northwestern Ohio defeated Indiana Wesleyan 80-79 last season on December 29, 2016 in Lima, Ohio.
- Indiana Wesleyan used a 17-3 run in the opening half to turn a six point deficit into a 40-32 lead. The eight point cushion was the largest for either team in the first 20 minutes. Kyle Mangas scored 11 points in that five minute stretch and led all players with 17 first half points.
- The Racers cut the deficit to 67-61 midway through the second half. IWU answered with a 19-5 spurt to lead 86-66 lead with four minutes to play.
- Kyle Mangas scored 33 points and is the first WIldcat to reach the 30-point plateau since Lane Mahurin poured in 30 vs. Huntington (Ind.) on February 22, 2017.
COACH TONAGEL SAYS…
- On the Wildcats youth…
“We have some youth. We play in spurts and when its good its really good and when its bad its not so great. We had more of those good spurts tonight and it was really fun.”On freshman Kyle Mangas’ big night…
- “What you saw tonight is what I see every day. He scores it and he scores in a variety of ways. He missed his last two shots so he scored 33 points on just 14 shots. He is so efficient. He knows how to play basketball without over dribbling and he does it with getting his teammates involved which is a really rare thing to be able to do.”
On Joel Okafor’s presence vs. Northwestern Ohio…
- “When you play defense like that young man you deserve recognition. You don’t realize how good that guard is. He is the fastest guard we’ve seen and may be the fastest we see all year. But Joel minimized him. He kept him out of the lane and he kept him to one assist when he averages four this year. It is hard to put a value on that but inside the huddle we understand the value Joel brings.”
NEXT TIME OUT
- Indiana Wesleyan takes the weekend off before returning to action on Wednesday at No. 9-ranked IU East. The game begins at 7 p.m. in Richmond, Indiana.