The Titans celebrate their victory over Puget Sound, which ushered them into the Final Four. (Photo by Ryan Coleman, D3hoops.com)

Illinois Wesleyan Men's Basketball
Championship Round, March 17-18, 2006
NCAA Division III Tournament Information

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Friday, March 17 - Salem Civic Center, Salem, Va.
Wittenberg 64, Amherst 60
Virginia Wesleyan 81, Illinois Wesleyan 79

Saturday, March 18 -Salem Civic Center, Salem, Va.
Third Place - Illinois Wesleyan 71, Amherst 68
Championship- Virginia Wesleyan 59, Wittenberg 56

March 18
The Illinois Wesleyan men's basketball team finished third in the NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament with a 71-68 win over Amherst (Mass.) on Sat., March 18 in Salem, Va. The Titans' season ends at 25-7 and it is the third third-place finish for IWU (1996, 2001, 2006) in the national event. Senior Keelan Amelianovich led IWU with 21 points and eight rebounds while junior Zach Freeman scored 19 with seven boards. Senior guard Jason Fisher had his season-high with 16 points. (Go here for box score.) The Titans never trailed in the game, leading by as many as 16 in the first half but Amherst (28-4) closed to within 1 point with 51 seconds left.

March 17
The Illinois Wesleyan men's basketball team will play Amherst (Mass.) for third place in the 2006 NCAA Division III championship after losing, 81-79, to Virginia Wesleyan on Fri., March 17 in Salem, Va. (Go here for box score.) The Titans got 28 points from Keelan Amelianovich and Zach Freeman scored 27 to pace IWU (24-7) while Brandon Adair scored 29 for the Marlins (29-3), who will play Wittenberg for the title. The Titans held a 30-24 rebound edge in the game and shot .603 from the field (35 of 58) in the game that saw nine ties and 11 lead changes.

March 14
Game Notes for IWU Appearance in NCAA Semifinals/Finals

March 14 - Go Here for IWU Bus and Ticket Information
Senior Adam Dauksas was named to the first team and senior Keelan Amelianovich and junior Zach Freeman were chosen for the second team of the NCAA Division III all-Midwest Region squads selected by D3hoops.com. Dauksas became IWU's all-time assist leader this year and is scoring 14.3 points per game. Amelianovich is averaging 18.2 points and 4.3 rebounds and has connected on a school-record 90 3-point field goals. Freeman is shooting .581 from the field and is scoring 5.8 points while snaring 7.6 rebounds per game for the 24-6 Titans.

March 12
The Illinois Wesleyan men's basketball program is returning to Salem, Va., for the NCAA Division III national championships March 17-18. The Titans (24-6) will play the Marlins of Virginia Wesleyan (28-3) in the semifinals at 7 p.m. (CST) on Fri., March 17. The other semifinal game has Wittenberg (28-3) against Amherst (29-2) with the two winning teams to square off for the national title at 4 p.m. (Central time) on Sat., March 18.
IWU won the Division III title in 1997 and finished third in 1996 and 2001, with all of the championship round games being played in Salem. IWU is making its fourth straight NCAA showing and the 18th in the 23 years of NCAA affiliation and this is the Titans 13th final 16 appearance and third in the last four seasons.

Amherst College (Mass.) Jeffs Basketball Information
Wittenberg University (Ohio) Tigers Basketball Information
Virginia Wesleyan Marlins Basketball Information

Illinois Wesleyan Basketball Information
• Titan Basketball Home Page
• 2005-06 Statistics
• 2006 NCAA Tournament Bracket
• 2006 NCAA Division III Tournament Website (Salem, Va.)
• IWU All-Time Results in National Tournament Play
• D3Hoops.com
• College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin
• Pantagraph Sports
• WJBC Radio Sports