If ever the Indiana Wesleyan University men’s basketball team needed a win, it was Tuesday night. Grace College stormed into the Wildcats’ lair as the fourth-ranked team in the NAIA. But there was a black hole waiting in the Luckey Arena stands, and the Lancers would not come out unscathed. The Wildcats rode an early lead to a huge 82-74 victory.

“I think that was the most excitement I’ve seen from the fans in a while,” guard George Jones IV (jr) said after the game. “It was really intense the whole 40 minutes, it was nuts. I just had a lot of fun.”

It was blackout night in Luckey, and IWU fans showed up in hordes to cheer on a Wildcat team that has been struggling of late. According to Jones, the buzz brought back some of the fun that might have been missing from the team’s play.

“That was fun basketball and I like that,” Jones said. “We’ll be definitely playing like that for the remainder of the season.”

Jones had a career day, shooting a perfect seven-of-seven from the field, scoring 16 points and hauling in seven rebounds. Jordan Weidner (so) added 16 points of his own while Patrick Hopkins (jr) scored 12. Even D.J. Bettinger (fr) made waves in the win, scoring nine points on a trio of three-pointers.

Bettinger’s point total was the same as his last four games combined, and Wildcats coach Greg Tonagel said the freshman takes advantage of the time he gets on the court.

“D.J. is one of the hardest workers,” Tonagel said. “You’ll find him in the gym late at night or in the morning. When you do that, you get the opportunity to make the most of it, and I think he makes the most of his opportunity.”

The Wildcats’ team has an opportunity to turn its season around starting with this pivotal win. That’s a chance Jones says he plans to make the most of.

“I think it gave a lot of guys confidence that we kind of lost as of late,” Jones said. “We’re going to just take it as a steppingstone to get better. We know how good we can be, so we’re just going to keep getting better.”

IWU is back in action on Saturday, Jan. 28 when Mt. Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) comes to Luckey to take on the revitalized Wildcats.

Behind the quiet persona of this senior athlete lies a strong leader. She is making an impact on and off of the court, all while maintaining a humble demeanor. Krystal Stoneking (sr) is that leader.

The Newark, Ohio native developed a talent for basketball at a young age and began to translate that talent into a passion during her early years of high school. After playing ball throughout high school, she developed as an athlete and Indiana Wesleyan University took notice, recruiting her to play for the Wildcats. Even then, head coach Steve Brooks saw her talent as a potential key role for the team’s future.

“She’s played at a high level from day one,” Brooks said. “I think she’s come in, she’s been incredibly motivated. Teams are setting up to stop her and she’s still finding ways to help our team, whether it’s through her rebounding, through scoring or defending. She’s finding ways to help the team win games.”

Stoneking has improved each year on the court.  Freshman year, she averaged 4.9 points per game and 6.2 as a sophomore, but kept working.

In her third season, Stoneking averaged 12.3 points and now, two-thirds into her final year, that number is up to 17.7.

According to some of her teammates, Stoneking’s statistics have improved because of her dedication in the hardest time for some athletes to find motivation: the offseason. Working behind the scenes has become a secret advantage for Stoneking’s success.

But the most noticeable trait about her might be her humility amid success. In her Wildcat career, Stoneking has scored more than 1,000 points, collected more than 500 rebounds and is currently ranked third highest in the NCCAA Division II in field goal percentage (61 percent).

Along with her impressive statistics, Stoneking’s selfless attitude has made an impact on the team.

Wildcats team manager, Jordan Brown (sr), echoed this idea.

“She’s not about herself,” Brown said. “She couldn’t care less about her. It blows me away. She really is a servant on the team. It doesn’t matter if [Brooks] sees it or if anybody else sees it, it shows in her game.”

The leadership that is influenced by coach Brooks and carried out through the team comes from on and off the court. Off the court, Stoneking has formed strong friendships with her teammates.

“Everyone just gels really well,” Stoneking said. “We’re all just kind of close and it’s fun; I love it.”

Along with the encouragement of her teammates, Stoneking was also impacted by Leah Whittaker. The Wildcats’ teammate lived by Deuteronomy 31:6, the “be strong and courageous” verse that is now well known throughout IWU athletics and the university as a whole.

Stoneking uses that same verse as a life goal to pursue. The friendship she had inspires Stoneking to do the best she can for her team and make the Wildcats better.

“She’s been that type of person … that builds that bond as a team that you really want,” said Brooks.

When students at Indiana Wesleyan University left for Christmas break, both of the Wildcat basketball teams were nearly on top of the world.

The men were 9-2, coming off two straight weeks of being atop the NAIA coaches’ poll. The women were 11-0 with a firm grasp on the top spot in NAIA D-II.

But since Dec. 14, the two programs have been going in completely different directions.

The Wildcat men’s team has struggled at the free throw line and in the win column, losing six of its last 10 games, falling out of glory to a 13-8 record. In this streak the team has shot 60 percent from the charity stripe.

“Thank God for free throws,” an opposing player said after one of IWU’s recent close losses.

That’s just the nature of the game, according to men’s coach Greg Tonagel; the tide can turn quickly either way.

“Momentum is a tricky thing,” Tonagel said. “It swung the other way on us. It happens throughout any player’s career that they lose confidence and we lost it across the board for a while.”

Tonagel highlighted fundamentals and defense as necessary points of improvement. While the Wildcats are scoring six fewer points per game since being 9-2, he said he still has hope for the season because the team remains unified.

“The most encouraging thing is that our guys continue to stick together through adversity,” Tonagel said. “There hasn’t been any fighting from within.”

Opponents of the IWU women’s basketball team have been fighting just to dent the scoreboard. An electrifying offensive attack led by center Krystal Stoneking (sr) on the inside and a suffocating defense has resulted in an 20-1 start, with the Wildcats’ wins coming by an average of 22 points.

But don’t speak too highly of these Wildcats to coach Steve Brooks, who said the team still has a lot of room to grow.

“When you want to win a conference championship, the bar gets raised,” Brooks said. “And then you throw in the thing that we’re supposedly the No. 1 team in the country, and so everybody comes in here and wants to beat the No. 1 team in the country. We’ve got to have a different mindset, that’s what it amounts to.”

That mindset has crossed over to the players as well, including Claire Freeman (jr), who has proven to be an invaluable addition to the Wildcats’ roster since she transferred from Butler in the summer.

“There’s a lot of stuff we need to work on no matter what our record is,” Freeman said. “There’s always something that we can improve on.”

Both teams admit there is room for improvement, and with just a month left before the MCC Tournament, those adjustments must come soon.

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics announced on Monday that the Indiana Wesleyan University men’s and women’s basketball teams were each voted No. 1 in the Division II coaches poll.

Both teams defended their top ranking this week, defeating Grace College in respective conference games. The Wildcat men’s team beat the fourth-ranked Grace men’s team 65-55 on Tuesday, and the Wildcat women demolished 20th-ranked Grace on Wednesday night 78-37.

The men’s and women’s teams each stand at 8-0 overall and 2-0 in the MCC.