[Men's Basketball] Mustangs nearly end Tigers' streak

MOUNT PLEASANT, Iowa -- Mount Mercy trailed by 11 points with less than two minutes to go, but 13th-ranked Iowa Wesleyan had to overcome poor free throw shooting to escape with a 75-73 victory over the Mustangs in Midwest Collegiate Conference play on Wednesday at Ruble Arena.

A 3-pointer by Keenan Stanbridge gave the Tigers an 11-point lead with 1:55 remaining, but Iowa Wesleyan would miss eight straight free throws down the stretch as the Mustangs fought back to within four, 75-71. With the ball under their own basket, Mount Mercy's Josh Watznauer got a dunk off the inbounds pass that made it 75-73 with four seconds left.

After a timeout, Iowa Wesleyan tried a long inbounds pass that went out of bounds off a Tiger with three seconds on the clock. The Mustangs had to go the length of the floor with no timeouts, and all they could muster was a desperation 3-pointer by sophomore Chad Underwood that came up short as time expired.

Neither team shot the ball well from the free throw line. Iowa Wesleyan was just 18-of-32, while Mount Mercy struggled to go 18-of-36. The Tigers were 11-of-25 from 3-point range, however, as the Mustangs hit just one of their 16 tries from beyond the arc.

Underwood led four Mustangs in double figures with 18 points to go along with five rebounds. Watznauer controlled the paint for Mount Mercy (12-7, 5-2 MCC), totaling 15 points and 15 boards. Senior guard Jimmy Scroggins added 11 points and six rebounds, senior guard Jerome Campbell 10 points and three steals.

Jeremy Simmons made five treys and finished with 21 points for the Tigers (15-1, 7-0 MCC), who have won a school-record 13 straight games. Stanbridge and Jeff Harper had 14 points apiece, and Natue Fuqua chipped in 10 points and 10 boards.

Mount Mercy is on the road at Viterbo (Wis.) on Saturday, taking on the V-Hawks (3-17, 1-5 MCC) at 3:00 p.m. at R.W. Beggs Gymnasium in La Crosse, Wis.