By Scott Barker, Communications and Sports Information Intern

POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. – (Box Score | Bracket) No. 2-seed Indiana Wesleyan (30-5) punched its ticket to the Quarterfinals with an 83-79 win over No. 3-seed Northwest Christian.

The first half consisted of six ties and eight lead changes. Northwest Christian had the biggest of either side at five. Indiana Wesleyan’s largest lead was four.

The Beacons got their largest lead of the half after a pair of Omar Richards free throws at the 4:18 mark.

Grant Evans drilled a 3-point field goal with 1:14 left to give the Wildcats their first lead since the 6:04 mark.

Jonny Marlin was able to connect on a pair of free throws to give Indiana Wesleyan the four point advantage at the half.

The second half was much like the first half. There were six ties and four lead changes. Indiana Wesleyan’s largest lead was seven and Northwest Christians was two.

The Wildcats increased their lead to a game-high seven points with three-straight points to start the half.

The Beacons were able to tie the game at 66 with a 2-point shot by Kenny Blackwell and then they took their first lead by another 2-point basket by Blackwell. The lead was the Beacons first 5:04 remaining in the first half.

The two teams continued to battle each other. With the Wildcats up one, Jonny Marlin drilled a deep 3-point basket to give Indiana Wesleyan the 4-point advantage with 44 seconds left.

Blackwell raced down the court and made a layup to cut the lead in half with 37 seconds left.

The Wildcats came down and with the shot clock winding down Blackwell hit an off balanced jumper with eight seconds left and earned a berth in the quarterfinals for Indiana Wesleyan.

The Beacons shot 53 percent (28-of-52) from the field and 8-of-23 (34 percent) from the 3-point line. They were led in scoring by Jay Mayernik’s 19 points. Blackwell, Austin Kuemper and Omar Richards scored 17, 14 and 12 points respectively.

Indiana Wesleyan was led in scoring by Marlin who put in 9-of-15 shots en route to 26 points. Bob Peters scored 17 points, Lane Mahurin tallied 13 points and Jacob Johnson added 12 points. The Wildcats shot 50 percent from the field and a blistering 62 percent (10-of-16) beyond the 3-point line.

Indiana Wesleyan advances to the Quarterfinals and will take on either No. 8-seed York (Neb.) or No. 7-seed Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.).