CCIW Tournament Website
Wheaton College will host the CCIW Men's Basketball Tournament Friday and Saturday (Feb. 27-28) in
King Arena. The Championship Game of the CCIW Men's Basketball Tournament will be played at 7:30 PM on Saturday between Friday's Semifinal victors, with the tournament champion earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Seats for the tournament will be available on a first-come-first-serve basis and will be available for purchase beginning at 6:00 pm on Saturday, February 28. The ticket price is $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for seniors, and students. Children under eight-years-old will be admitted for free. Students of CCIW institutions will be admitted for free with valid school identification. No CCIW parent passes or other free passes will be honored and fans must enter through the main doors of Wheaton's Sports and Recreation Complex.
WETN-TV will broadcast Saturday's Championship Game at 7:30 PM. Live video of the game can be seen online at
www.wetn.org.
In-game statistics of Saturday's Championship Game
Elmhurst 77, North Central 66
Wheaton, Ill. – The top-seeded Wheaton College men’s basketball team defeated fourth-seeded North Central 77-66 in front of a King Arena-record crowd of 2,537 on Friday night in a CCIW Tournament Semifinal in King Arena. Wheaton will face #2-seed Elmhurst in the CCIW Tournament Championship Game on Saturday at 7:30 PM in King Arena.
Elmhurst defeated third-seed Augustana 59-53 in the night’s other semifinal. The winner of Saturday’s Championship game will earn the CCIW’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
North Central jumped out to an early led with a 13-4 advantage, with 14:50 remaining in the first half and the Cardinals’ biggest lead of the game was a 10-point bulge at 28-18 with 8:41 left before halftime. North Central led 38-29 with 2:48 left in the first half when #Kent Raymond# scored 10 un-answered points to close out the half. The All-American’s 10-0 run against the Cardinals gave Wheaton a 39-38 lead at halftime.
The two teams battled back-and-forth to open the second half as there were four ties and three lead changes. North Central led 57-55 with 6:28 left in the game, when Thunder freshman #Jeremy Pflederer# gave the hosts the lead for good with a three-pointer for a 58-57 Wheaton lead. Pflederer broke the game open with 4:24 left in the game and Wheaton leading 62-61 when he drained another three-pointer for a 65-61 Wheaton lead. On North Central’s ensuing trip down the court Pflederer swiped the ball and sprinted down the court for a layup to extend the Wheaton lead to 67-61. Wheaton was a perfect 8-for-8 at the free throw line in the final three minutes of the game to secure the victory.
Raymond led the Thunder with 36 points as he passed his own CCIW Tournament record with 12 field goals and tied his own tournament record, making five three-pointers. He was 12-for-21 on the night and 5-for-10 from three-point range. Pflederer scored 15 points off the bench, shooting 6-for-7 from the field, including 3-for-4 from behind the three-point arc. Senior #Andy Wiele# scored 10 points, grabbed a team-high six rebounds and distributed five assists.
Matt Rogers led North Central with 26 points and he added five rebounds. Chris Drennan scored 15 points, with six rebounds and Mark Adams added 12 points.
Wheaton shot 54.9% (28-51) from the field, including a stellar 61.5% (28-51) effort in the first half. The hosts set a new CCIW Tournament record for three-point field goals made and three-point percentage as the Thunder drained 10 threes, shooting 55.6% (10-18) from behind the arc. Wheaton made 78.6% (11-14) of its free throw attempts in the game. North Central shot 49% (25-51) from the field, with 35.7% (5-14) from three-point range and 64.7% (11-17) at the free throw line. Wheaton out-rebounded the Cardinals 31-24, with an 11-9 edge on the offensive glass.
Elmhurst 59, Augustana 53
Wheaton, Ill. - A physical, defensive battle ended in Elmhurst's favor as the Bluejays men's basketball team defeated Augustana 59-53 in the CCIW Men's Basketball Tournament Semifinals on Friday.
No. 2-seed Elmhurst improved to 20-6 and advance to Saturday night's tournament championship game at 7:30 PM. No. 3-seed Augustana ends its season with an 18-8 record.
The game was a see-saw the whole way as the lead changed 14 times. Both teams played rock-solid perimeter defense and didn't allow either side to get into an offensive rhythm. For the game, the Vikings shot 33.9 percent (21-62) and the Bluejays shot 37.7 percent (20-53) from the field.
With a 44-40 lead in hand, Augustana went over five minutes without scoring late in the second half. Elmhurst took advantage, recaptured the lead and led 53-47 in the final minute. Then Augie's Jordan Delp converted a four-point play to bring the score within two.
But Elmhurst pulled down crucial rebounds and made their free throws to preserve the win. The Bluejays were led offensively by Brent Ruch and Robert Strezmp with 14 points each.
Delp led the Vikings with 13 points while Augustana's Chandler Collins tallied 10 points and a CCIW Tournament record 20 rebounds. Kyle Nelson added 10 points.
The Vikings broke their own CCIW Tournament record with 44 total rebounds. The Bluejays set a tournament record for best team free-throw percentage (14 of 15, 93.3 percent).
