POINT LOOKOUT, MO. – A run at another national championship game to an end for the Indiana Wesleyan men’s basketball team Monday night.

The No. 4 ranked Wildcats dropped a 92-80 final to top-ranked Union (Kentucky) in a semifinal game of the NAIA Division II National Tournament at the College of the Ozarks.

IWU, which was bidding for its third national title in the last four years, finishes its season at 29-8.

The Bulldogs, who improved to 34-3 with their 32nd win in a row, advance to play Cornerstone (Michigan) tonight in the national championship game. Cornerstone, which is 34-3, beat Bellevue (Nebraska) 69-57 in the other semifinal contest Monday night. Bellevue knocked out Bethel College 77-75 in overtime Saturday.

Union used a 21-6 run in the opening half to take control of the game. The Bulldogs took the lead for good at 11-9 early on. Union led 23-13 and took a 46-35 edge into the lockerroom at halftime.

Union scored the first six points of the final half to build a 52-35 advantage. IWU used an 11-2 run to pull within 54-46. The Bulldogs shortly thereafter used an 11-0 run to bump their lead to 70-50. IWU got a 10-0 run to get within 10 points, but would get no closer in the game.

The Bulldogs out rebounded IWU 45-33 and had 17 offensive rebounds in the win. IWU committed 19 turnovers and Union, which ranks No. 1 in the country in steals, nabbed 12 in the game.

Senior Lane Mahurin led IWU with 23 points and eight rebounds. Senior Bob Peters finished with 15 points and junior Jacob Johnson had 12 points and seven caroms.

Peters, a guard from Ohio, closed his brilliant career by becoming the sixth player in program history to score 2,000 points. He finishes with 2,004. Mahurin, a forward from Rockville, ranks third in school history with 2,288 career points.

Mike Martin had 22 points and Tyrone Sherman 20 to lead four players in double figures for Union.

IWU shot 29-59 from the field, including 3-13 from distance. The Wildcats were 19-26 from the free throw line. Union hit on 31-71 shots, including 11-31 from 3-point land. The Bulldogs were 19-25 from the line.

IWU will lose four seniors in Mahurin, Peters, Aaron Murray, a center from Louisville, and Nate Bubash, a forward from Munster. The four went 126-22 overall in their careers in Marion with a 59-13 mark in Crossroads League play. The group was 15-2 in the NAIA Championships with two national titles, one Final Four and one Elite Eight.

The Wildcats, who were one of the No. 1 seeds for the 32-team tournament (along with Union, Cornerstone and Bethel), finished second in the Crossroads League regular season to champion Bethel. IWU also lost to the Pilots in the title game of the League Tournament.

IWU, which is coached by former LaPorte High School and Valparaiso University star Greg Tonagel, will add Warsaw’s Kyle Mangas to its roster for next season. The star guard led his Tigers to a Northern Lakes Conference championship (its third undefeated league title in a row) and a Class 4-A sectional title. Warsaw lost 50-46 in the regional final Saturday night to Merrillville. Mangas finished his prep career fourth in program history with 1,450 career points.