WAUKESHA, Wis. – Carroll men's basketball capped off a five-game home stand on Saturday night, falling to #5 Illinois Wesleyan by a score of 72-66 in a physical battle. The loss extends Carroll's losing-skid to five games. The game was tightly-contested, with nine ties and eight lead changes in a back-and-forth night.

Illinois Wesleyan (7-1, 1-1 CCIW) struggled with Carroll's physicality as they shot just under 42 percent from the field, including 26.3% from three. Carroll (2-6, 0-2 CCIW) also struggled from the field, shooting over 34 percent and under 30 percent from three. The Pioneers were able to be disruptive on defense, scoring 20 points from 21 Titan turnovers. The game's leading scoring was Carroll senior guard Kobe Simpson, who scored 15 points on 6-21 shooting and corralled seven rebounds. The Titans won the battle on the glass, outrebounding Carroll by a 51-32 margin.

Joining Simpson in double-figures were junior guard Evan Bland, who had 14 points and two assists and junior center Jacob Naber, who recorded double-digits for the seventh time in eight games this season.

Carroll sent a message early, going up 8-3 in the first three minutes of play, including a three pointer each from seniors Justin Steinike and Erik Victorson. The Titans responded to tie the game at 15 all just under ten minutes later. The two teams traded baskets for much of the first half, with neither team able to get separation of more than two possessions. A 10-3 run by Illinois Wesleyan over the final three minutes sent the two teams into the locker room with a 36-33 Titan advantage.

The story was much the same in the second half. Illinois Wesleyan threw the first punch with two quick baskets to push their lead to seven. Carroll responded with a punch of their own, going on a 14-7 run over the following six minutes as a Bland layup tied the game at 47. With just under nine minutes remaining, another Bland layup gave Carroll their first lead since the 3:04 mark in the first half. A Steinike three-pointer and Kobe Simpson layup gave the Pioneers their largest lead at six points with under eight minutes left. The Titans fought back to take the lead three minutes later. A Victorson three knotted the two at 64 with two-and-a-half minutes remaining. The game came down to free throws, where the Titans had four crucial makes to close the slugfest out with the score 72-66 in the Titans favor.

Carroll gets a much needed week off before returning to action with a CCIW-road game at North Central in a rematch of last season's CCIW Tournament quarterfinal matchup, which was a 58-54 defeat for the Pios. Tip-off from Naperville, IL will be at 7 p.m.