To say Indiana Wesleyan University men’s basketball team has had a roller-coaster season is an understatement. Starting out the year 9-0, it looked as if the Wildcats would cruise through the season. Unfortunately, the team went 5-5 over the next 10 games, putting the Wildcats in a tough spot.

Finishing the season at 21-11 on a high note, it seemed the Wildcats were going to pull off the MCC Tournament crown.

But Saturday, Feb. 25 saw IWU suffer a heartbreaking loss to Saint Francis by a score of 78-65, knocking the Wildcats out in the second round of the bracket.

But don’t count them out of the running for the NAIA National Tournament.

Head coach Greg Tonagel, while visibly frustrated, said he is ready for his players to step up their game at the big dance after the up-and-down season.

“Earning a bid to the national tournament was about your body of work over the entire year, and we’ve done well enough to get into the national tournament,” Tonagel said.

Tournament time is the most exciting of times, but it’s also an urgent time. Just one loss in NAIA Tournament and the Wildcats’ season is finished.

So how does a team bounce back from a heartbreaking loss and prepare for another tournament game?

IWU Director of Basketball Operations Steven Gidley (jr) explained: “I think we move on now, our guys are good at that. They’ve been in the gym working hard, getting up a lot of shots. They’re gonna head to practice, they’re gonna do film, they’re gonna do the right things and they’re going to prepare for the national tournament. It’s the big stage; everyone wants to do well on the big stage.”

Guard Derrick Troyer (sr) agreed. “I think the guys will come back a little more passionate,” he said.

Luckily for the Wildcats, coach Tonagel has a plan.

“This team needs to understand basic fundamentals,” Tonagel said. “So we’re going back to the basics. We are treating this week of practice as if it’s October first and the first day of practice.”

With a plan of action and hearts full of passion, the Wildcats head out to Missouri March 7 to compete for the NAIA Title.

“Our goal mindset as a program is to win the national tournament. We’re always going home on Sundays and Saturdays, and I don’t like that,” Gidley said. “I think I speak for the whole team in that, we are ready to enjoy a nice dinner on Monday night and go to work on Tuesday.”

Coach Tonagel is heading into the tournament with hopes that his players can show their skills in the big game and bring home a national crown.

“Any team can get hot, there’s some things we definitely have to correct and fix, but I’m looking for our team to get hot again,” Tonagel said. “We started out the year hot, went through a really rough spot, and now it sure would be nice to get going again.”

After a disastrous first half that saw the Indiana Wesleyan University men’s basketball team blow a 12-point lead to trail by one at the break, the Wildcats rebounded with a strong second half and beat Goshen College last night in the first round of the MCC Tournament 74-66.

Jordan Weidner (so) owned the floor offensively, leading all scorers with 29 points. Weidner hit six three-pointers and sank 11 free throws — one more than the entire Maple Leaf roster.

Weidner said he had never played a game quite like it, but admitted there is still need for improvement all around.

“We didn’t play particularly well,” Weidner said. “We aren’t really satisfied.”

The Wildcats’ free throw problems as a team continued on the night, as IWU made just 24 of 47 attempts from the charity stripe.

Needless to say, coach Greg Tonagel wasn’t satisfied either.

“I certainly think we could have played better than what we did,” Tonagel said. “The first half they outplayed us. I would have thought we were playing for a little bit more and so the second half thankfully we came alive and played with a little intensity.”

The Wildcats’ next challenge comes to Luckey Arena on Saturday, when IWU will take on Saint Francis University in the second round of the tournament.

Cut the grass and dust off the infield. It’s time for America’s pastime at Indiana Wesleyan University. The Wildcat baseball and softball teams have been hard at work gearing up for the first pitch of the season tomorrow, each with the same thing to prove. That they belong in their respective conference tournament conversation.

Respect is earned, not given.

The young men on the Indiana Wesleyan University baseball team know exactly what this means. After a disappointing 19-32 finish to last year’s season, coach Chad Newhard has taken things to the next level to ensure that this team is one to be respected and feared.

In fact, each player’s baseball cap, something that was once taken for granted, had to be earned this offseason. Coach Newhard introduced a point system. The players were awarded their hats only after earning a certain number of points.

“It had to do with different tasks, whether it was coming in and getting 50 extra swings in or helping clean up the storage area,” catcher Alex Ridlen (sr) said. “It was really designed to get everyone to think about the team first over themselves. We’re actually done with the system now, but it has created an environment that we do that stuff without even thinking.”

The team embraced the points system. Peter Engle (jr) saw it as incentive to get better.

“I think that’s the way most guys went about it because it’s a way to get a point, and it’s a way to prove ourselves as a baseball player,” Engle said.

Coach Newhard uses other methods besides the points system to keep his team in tiptop shape. The Wildcats started spring training at the beginning of the semester. In January.
“We practice six days a week right now,” Newhard said. “Baseball is an every-day sport. It’s a grind, we play 55 games, so our guys need to prepare their bodies to deal with that.”
With last year’s losing season looming over their heads and bodies aching from practice, the players have a chip on thier shoulders. But they have their sights set on more than just a winning season.
“I don’t think there’s any reason why we couldn’t win conference,” Engle said. “We have such a talented team, and if all the gears are working at the same time, I really believe we have the capability to do that.”
Ridlen agreed: “We expect to be conference champions. Anything less than that is failure.”
With eyes on the prize, the Wildcats are ready to prove that they can be conference champions and deserve respect.
Although there is one person who has already earned the respect of the baseball team: Coach Newhard.
“Our coach deserves more than two losing seasons because he kills it with us,” Engle said. “He does such a great job. A lot of us just want to win for him this year.”

George Jones IV (jr) told The Sojourn on Thursday that he will miss the remainder of the men’s basketball season with a torn right Achilles tendon. The Indiana Wesleyan University guard had been enjoying a stellar season before going down with the injury in the second half of IWU’s 72-70 Tuesday win over Saint Francis.

The win was the Wildcats’ fifth in a row, moving the team into a tie for first place in the MCC with No. 5-ranked Grace College. Three games remain on IWU’s schedule before the MCC Tournament begins Feb. 22.

“George has been obviously a significant piece,” Wildcats coach Greg Tonagel said Wednesday, before learning the extent of the injury. “What it means is we need somebody else to step up until George is back. I think that’s what makes a team special is when the next guy up is ready and we’ve got guys that are ready and they’re going to get their opportunity.”

Jones said he will have surgery next week and wear a boot for six weeks