Keelan Amelianovich scores against the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. (Photo by Jeff Seisser, Daily Jefferson County Union)

Titan Men’s Basketball Game Notes
March 10-11, 2006

Friday, March 10 - Alexander Gymnasium, Lawrence U., Appleton, Wis.
5 p.m. - Augustana (23-5) vs. Puget Sound (22-4)
8 p.m. - Illinois Wesleyan (22-6) vs. Lawrence (25-0)

Saturday, March 11 - Alexander Gymnasium, Lawrence U., Appleton, Wis.
7 p.m. - Sectional championship game

THE NCAA TOURNEY: Illinois Wesleyan is making its fourth straight NCAA showing and the 18th appearance in the NCAA tourney in the 23 years since dropping out of NAIA competition (after 1982-83)…This is Illinois Wesleyan’s 13th appearance in the round of 16 in the NCAA Division III tournament…IWU was the national champion in 1997 and has finished third in 1996 and 2001…In the 1990s, IWU made the Division III tournament nine times and six years in a row (1994-99)...IWU is 36-17 in the NCAA tourney and was 30-19 in NAIA postseason play from 1948-83.

THE 20 WIN SEASON: The Titans are 22-6 and have their 19th 20-win season in school history and the 18th in the last 41 years...IWU has its 17th straight season with a record of .500 or better. The 2001-02 team was 12-12 and the last sub-.500 season was 1988-89 (12-14).

HEAD COACH SCOTT TROST: In his fifth season at Illinois Wesleyan, Scott Trost (Minnesota-Morris 1985) has compiled a 98-36 record (.731) and a 50-20 mark (.714) in the CCIW…In nine seasons overall, Trost has a record of 149-85 (.637) and a CCIW ledger of 75-51 (.595)…The .731 overall winning percentage is the best at IWU for coaches with more than two years of service, ahead of Wally Roettger (.680, 117-55 in 11 years, 1924-35) and Dennie Bridges (.674, 667-319 in 36 years, 1965-2001). After a 12-12 initial season at IWU, Trost’s teams are 86-24 (.782)...He was 51-49 and 25-31 in four seasons at Elmhurst (1992 to 1996).

KEELAN AMELIANOVICH: With 1501 points, Keelan Amelianovich is No. 9 in career scoring at IWU...He is second in school history with 240 career 3-pointers, behind only Korey Coon (245, 1996-2000)… His 85 3-pointers this season eclipsed his own single season record of 82, set in 2003-04…He is 36th with 404 career rebounds at the school and his field goal percentage of .510 is 13th best in a career…He has made 535 career field goals, 15th best in an IWU uniform…Was named CCIW “Player of the Week” twice this season, most recently on Jan. 23 as he averaged 22 points in two wins. In an OT win vs. Wheaton, Amelianovich scored 27 points and scored 17 in just 25 minutes vs. North Park... Named “Most Valuable Player” in holiday Tom Byron Classic in California.

ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN OF THE YEAR: Senior Keelan Amelianovich was named to the first team of the ESPN The Magazine Academic All America squad for men’s basketball and was named the College Division “Academic All-American of the Year.” He has a 3.82 grade-point average as an accounting major… It is the fifth time an Illinois Wesleyan student-athlete has earned the distinction. In 1999 and 2000, Korey Coon was the "Academic All-American of the Year" for men’s basketball. Quarterback Lon Erickson was the 1996 College Division Football "Academic All-America of the Year" and outfielder James Rinne won the "Academic All-America of the Year" honor in baseball in 1998.

MORE ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA INFO: Amelianovich’s selection give Illinois Wesleyan a total of 102 Academic All-America berths earned by Titan student-athletes since the program began in 1970, a total eclipsed by only six other schools, including Nebraska, Notre Dame, Penn State, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Illinois Wesleyan has 15 first team Academic All-Americans in men’s basketball, a total that is second overall behind only UCLA (with 17). Teams with 13 first team Academic All-Americans are Indiana and Kansas. Other schools ranking highly in first team Academic All-Americans are Duke (12), Notre Dame (11), Kentucky (9), and Brigham Young and Millikin (8). Illinois Wesleyan also has had seven others in men’s basketball that earned second- or third-team Academic All-America honors.

JOSTENS TROPHY: Senior Keelan Amelianovich is one of 10 national finalists for the Jostens Trophy. The award honors the true Division III student-athlete — the athlete that shows excellence in the classroom, on the playing floor and in the community. A national selection committee consisting of college coaches, former athletes, college administrators and selected members of the media, chooses the winner. Both trophies will be presented at the Salem Rotary Club’s weekly meeting on March 16 in the Salem Civic Center…Illinois Wesleyan’s Korey Coon was the winner of the 2000 Jostens trophy…Last year's honorees were J.D. Byers of Lebanon Valley and Tara Rohde of Trinity (Texas).

ADAM DAUKSAS: One of 16 national finalists for the Cousy Award, honoring the best point guard in all divisions…With 1434 points, Adam Dauksas is No. 10 in career scoring at IWU...His 31 points at Wisconsin-Whitewater (March 4) was a single game career-high…Dauksas has 559 career assists, the all-time leader at the school, eclipsing the mark held by Brian Martin (524, 1989-93)...He is No. 6 all-time with 367 free throws made…His 179 assists this season in second most at IWU, behind only current IWU assistant coach Chad Hutson (198, 1994-95)…He is fourth in school history with 203 career 3-pointers, behind Amelianovich, Mark Edmundson and Coon (see above for totals)…His .786 career free throw percentage is 7th best in an IWU uniform and he is No. 43 with 365 career rebounds…CCIW “Player of the Week” once this year…Named “Most Valuable Player” in early season Wabash Tournament.

ZACH FREEMAN: Junior Zach Freeman is No. 36 in career scoring at IWU with 1063 points and is No. 14 all-time in rebounds at IWU with 555. Only 15 other Titans in history have the 1000 point/500 rebound combination…Freeman was a second team all-CCIW selection as he was eighth in the league in scoring (15.1) and fourth in rebounds (7.2)… He was also fifth in field goal percentage with a .554 mark…Had a career-high 30 points against Olivet Nazarene early in the season and scored 29 against Carroll in NCAA first round game (March 4)…Had 18 rebounds and 16 points against Wheaton (Jan. 18).

ALL-CONFERENCE: Seniors Keelan Amelianovich and Adam Dauksas were named to the first team of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin all-star squads and junior Zach Freeman was a second team choice. Amelianovich and Dauksas were the 2004 and 2005 “Most Outstanding Player” award winners in the CCIW and were first team members in 2005.

MISCELLANEOUS: Senior Cory Jones is No. 41 all-time at IWU with 379 career rebounds…IWU has made a 3-point field goal in 289 straight games dating back to 1996…The IWU seniors have been part of teams that are 86-24 (.778) in their four years with three straight CCIW championships and four NCAA Division III appearances.

WORKING OVERTIME: Illinois Wesleyan has had four overtime games in 2005-06, the first time in a season since the 1992-93 team played in four extra-period games. The 1982-83 team also had four overtime games and the Titans had three OT games in 1997-98, 1985-86 and 1980-81.

CLOSE GAMES: The Titans’ six losses have been by a total of 28 points with one in overtime.

ILLINOIS WESLEYAN’S HISTORICAL PROGRAM: Illinois Wesleyan is No. 3 among all-time winningest Division III basketball teams. Illinois Wesleyan has a 96-year record of 1,417-788 and trails only Wittenberg and Wooster. Wittenberg has a 95-year record of 1,534-612 and Wooster has a 105-year record of 1,421-739. (All records are through games of March 5.)

D3HOOPS.COM POLL: The Titans are No. 11 in the Feb. 26 D3hoops.com poll (week 13), while Lawrence is No. 1, Augustana is No. 13, and Puget Sound is No. 14…From the CCIW, North Central was No. 10 and Elmhurst was No. 27…IWU was No. 1 in the poll in the preseason and in weeks Nos. 1-5.

THE COLLEGE CONFERENCE OF ILLINOIS & WISCONSIN IN THE NCAA: Teams from the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin have an NCAA Division III tournament record of 98-51 (.658), through games of March 4…CCIW teams have accounted for six NCAA Division III championships (Illinois Wesleyan in 1997 and North Park in 1978, 1979, 1980, 1985, and 1987), two second-place finishes (Augustana in 1981 and 1993), and five third-place finishes (Illinois Wesleyan in 2001 and 1996, Carthage in 2002, and Augustana in 1975 and 1976)…Prior to being in Division III, Wheaton won the Division II title in 1957 and finished fourth in 1958.

IWU vs. LAWRENCE: This is the first meeting in men’s basketball between Illinois Wesleyan and Lawrence.

IWU vs. AUGUSTANA: IWU has an 84-54 lead in the series against Augustana, dating back to the 1914-15 season…The two teams have squared off regularly since 1946 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin and the teams have played three times this season, with the Vikings winning twice during the regular season (57-54 on Jan. 25 in Bloomington and 93-85 in OT on Feb. 15 in Rock Island) and the Titans prevailing in the CCIW postseason tournament semifinals (81-67 on Feb. 24 in Rock Island).

IWU vs. PUGET SOUND: Illinois Wesleyan won the only meeting between the two schools, claiming a 104-87 win on Dec. 29 at the Tom Byron Classic in Westmont, Calif. Keelan Amelianovich scored 24 points and Zach Freeman grabbed nine rebounds to pace the Titans…The game is the only time this year IWU has surpassed the 100-point barrier offensively.

DOUBLE FIGURE POINTS
TIMES  - PLAYER  / HIGH
24  - Keelan Amelianovich /  28 (at North Central, 2/1/06)
23  - Zach Freeman  / 30 (Olivet Nazarene, 11/22/05)
21  - Adam Dauksas  / 31 (at UW-Whitewater, 3/4/06)
11  - Cory Jones  / 19 (North Park, 2/18/06)
7  - Chris Jones  / 15 (at Carthage, 1/7/06)
3  - Jason Fisher  / 13 (North Park, 2/18/06)
2  - Matt Arnold  / 13 (at North Park, 1/21/06)
2  - Mike McGraw  / 11 (at Washington U., 12/10/05)
1  - Andrew Freeman  / 12 (at Augustana, 2/15/06)
1  - Steve Schweer  / 11 (vs. Puget Sound, 12/29/05)

DOUBLE FIGURE REBOUNDS
TIMES  - PLAYER  / HIGH
6  - Zach Freeman  / 18 (Wheaton, 1/18/06)
2  - Cory Jones  / 13 (at Wabash, 11/19/05)
2  - Chris Jones  / 13 (at Washington U., 12/10/05)
1  - Keelan Amelianovich  / 10 (Augustana, 1/25/06)

DOUBLE DOUBLES (points/rebounds)
TIMES  - PLAYER  / MOST RECENT
5 -  Zach Freeman  / vs. Carroll (3/3/06)
2 -  Chris Jones  / North Park (2/18/06)
1  - Cory Jones  / at Wabash (11/19/05)

DOUBLE DOUBLES (points/assists)
TIMES - PLAYER  / MOST RECENT
3 - Adam Dauksas  / Millikin (2/8/06)