BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The University of Chicago men's basketball team's eight-game winning streak came to an end in a 72-54 loss at Illinois Wesleyan University on Tuesday night.

The Maroons fell to 8-2 on the season and the No. 18-ranked Titans improved to 8-2.

UChicago's offense came into the contest with the top field-goal percentage in NCAA Division III at 55 percent. But the Maroons struggled to a season-low 37 percent shooting against the Titans. IWU was also hot from beyond the arc, making 11-for-22 (50 percent) from deep while the visitors shot 4-for-17 (23.5 percent).

The Maroons took their first lead of the game at 16-13 on a three-pointer by junior forward Collin Barthel. Each side had an answer for the other throughout the opening 20 minutes. UChicago canned back-to-back three-pointers at 29-26, courtesy of freshman guard Jordan Baum and senior guard Tyler Howard. However, the hosts then went on a 12-2 run to head into halftime with a 38-31 lead. Senior forward Blaine Crawford put up 10 points and nine rebounds in the first half to lead the Maroons.

In the second half, the visitors chopped the deficit down to 43-38 thanks to a layup-and-one from junior guard Jake Fenlon. Jumpers in the paint by Crawford and Barthel narrowed the margin to 58-52 with 7:41 remaining in the game. However, the Titans closed out the proceedings by scoring 14 of the final 16 points to earn the victory.

Crawford scored 15 points and pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the year. Senior forward Waller Perez tallied 12 points, and Barthel contributed seven points and eight rebounds.

The Maroons led the rebounding category 38-32, but committed 18 turnovers compared to 11 by IWU.

NEXT GAME:

• Saturday, Dec. 31 @ 2:00 PM – Babson College at UChicago