GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Calvin men's basketball fell to No.4 Illinois Wesleyan at home on Saturday afternoon with a final score of 81-72. 

Both teams were struggling in the early minutes of the game, but it was Illinois Wesleyan leading 6-2 after six minutes of play. The Titans started to get into a rhythm on offense as they went on an 11-2 run to grab a 17-4 lead with ten minutes left in the first half. 

The Knights got back into the game with a quick 10-3 run to make it 20-14 after a three pointer by senior Alec Fruin (Beloit, WI / Turner). Illinois Wesleyan was holding a steady lead, but Calvin was battling back into the game and only trailed 29-25 after a made fast break layup by junior Eli Sensing (Grayslake, IN / Westlake Christian Academy). 

The Knights were gaining momentum towards the end of the half as a made layup by sophomore Marcus Bolt (Wheaton, IL / Wheaton Academy) had them only trailing by two with a score of 31-29 at halftime. 

Calvin shot 11-24 (45.8%) from the field and 4-12 (33.3%) from the three-point line. Morrison was the leading scorer for the Knights heading into halftime with 15 points. The Titans outrebounded the Knights 18-15 in the first half and Calvin had 6 assists. 

Illinois Wesleyan came out of the half with lots of energy by rattling off a 10-4 run to take a 41-33 lead in the early minutes. The Knights were still hanging around with the Titans as a made layup through contact by senior Thad Shymanski (Ada, MI / Grand Rapids Christian) had them only trailing 50-46 with 12:30 left in the game. 

The Titans began to extend their lead by going on a 13-7 run to make it 63-53 with 7:16 left in the game. Both teams started trading buckets late in the game and after a made free throw by Sensenig, the Knights trailed 68-60. 

After a couple of threes and a layup with a foul by Warners, the Knights were only trailing 76-68 with 2:30 left in the game. Calvin tried to cut into the deficit in the final two minutes, but Illinois Wesleyan finished out the game strong to get the win as the Knights dipped to 2-1 on the young season. 

Morrison led the Knights in scoring with 28 points and 5 rebounds while Shymanski finished the afternoon off with 11 points. The Knights shot 27-53 (50.9%) from the field and 8-23 (34.8%) from the three-point line. Calvin also finished with 16 assists and was 10-15 (66.7) from the free throw line. 

UP NEXT: The Knights will host Anderson on Tuesday November 23 at 7:30 p.m. at Van Noord Arena.