Box Score
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Transylvania's
Barrett Meyer came within two points of his season high Saturday and he matched his season-best in three-pointers made, but it wasn't enough to prevent the Pioneers from falling to No. 10 Illinois Wesleyan 80-71 in first-round NCAA Division III Championship play.
The Pioneers, regular season champions of the Heartland Conference, finished their season with a 20-8, record while the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin champion Titans advance with a mark of 22-5. It was the first-ever meeting of the two schools.
Transy was in the tournament for the second year in a row as an at-large pick and for the fifth time since 2006.
Transy led early, but trailed 34-28 at the break. Meyer led the Pioneer offense early with 10 points and
Tate Cox added nine.
Ethan Spurlin popped in six points and grabbed three rebounds.
Brady Zimmer and Victor Davis combined for 20 first-half points for Illinois Wesleyan. They also had five rebounds combined.
Meyer finished the game with 27 points, canning 10 of 20 shots from the field and six of 11 from three-point range. Spurlin contributed 24 points and nine rebounds. Cox finished with nine points and three assists.
Brandon Rash, who along with Spurlin and Meyer surpassed 1,000 career points this year, wound up with eight points and six boards.
Only five Pioneers scored in the game. Illinois Wesleyan was led by Zimmer's 23 points and 16 by Dylan Overstreet.
IWU was 25 for 48 from the field for 52 percent while Transy was 23 of 58 for 40 percent. The home team made nine of 22 from long range compared to eight of 24 for the Pioneers. The Titans outscored Transylvania 21-17 from the free throw line.
Transy's largest lead was seven points in the first half, and the Pioneers opened the second half with an 8-0 run to go up by two, 36-34. Although Transy would tie the game at 51-51, Illinois Wesleyan led by as many as 10 in the late going of the second half of a game that was tied three times and saw nine lead changes. The Titan bench outscored Transy's reserves by a 29-3 margin.
Rash finished his career with 1,378 points while Meyer has 1,328 and Spurlin 1,229.
Illinois Wesleyan will meet Washington University, a 70-61 winner over Spalding Saturday, in second-round NCAA tourney play on March 9.
