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2026 Men's Basketball Seniors
Jimmy Naprstek/Kodiak Creative
69
Elmhurst ELM 14-7,7-5 CCIW
91
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 18-4,10-3 CCIW
Elmhurst ELM
14-7,7-5 CCIW
69
Final
91
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
18-4,10-3 CCIW
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Elmhurst ELM 40 29 69
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 43 48 91

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Three 20-Point Scorers Fuel Men’s Hoops Past Elmhurst

Colak, Cleveland, & Funk combine for 76 points

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - A trio of 20-point scorers propelled the 16th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team to a 91-69 win over Elmhurst University Saturday night, Feb. 7, inside the Shirk Center. The Titans upped their record to 18-4 overall and 10-3 in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play with the win, while the Bluejays slid to 14-7 (7-5 CCIW).

Sophomore Noah Cleveland (Normal, Ill.-Normal Community), junior Mason Funk (Normal, Ill.-University High), and senior Karlo Colak (Glencoe, Ill.-New Trier) combined for 76 of IWU's 91 points on the night. Cleveland led the way with 32 points on 14-of-17 shooting. Funk stuffed the stat sheet with 23 points, a team-high eight rebounds, and a game-high seven assists alongside three steals and two blocks. Colak finished with 21 points and seven boards as the Titans saw three 20-point scores for the second time this season.

The Green and White shot a scorching 66.7 percent from the floor (34-for-51) and an impressive 7-of-15 from the long line. IWU made 27 trips to the charity stripe, converting 16. On the flipside, Elmhurst connected on 42.3 percent of its shots (22-of-52). The Bluejays were even better from distance, going 10-for-23 (43.5 percent), while finishing 15-for-24 at the free throw line.

The Titans collected a 32-27 edge in rebounding as well as posting leads in points off turnovers (22-15), points in the paint (52-16), and fastbreak scoring (11-4). EU held the advantage in bench scoring (19-10), while both teams scored five second chance points.

Illinois Wesleyan led by 16 points with nine minutes to go in the opening half, but 11 first-half turnovers gave Elmhurst plenty of room to comeback. The Titans used a nine-point run, which featured six from Cleveland and a three-ball from Funk, to climb ahead 28-12 at the 8:58 mark.

The Bluejays answered with an 18-6 run over the next five and a half minutes as three-pointers from Lawrence and Colak served as the Green and White's only offense over the span. 

EU continued to chip away, eventually pulling within one, 41-40, with 35 seconds to go, but Colak's jumper with seconds to go propelled IWU ahead, 43-40.

The Green and White reclaimed a double-digit lead in the second half, but the Bluejays battled back time and time again. Funk slipped a behind the back pass to Cleveland for a reverse layup to end a six-point Elmhurst run. The bucket, which put the Titans up seven, 61-54, was followed by two more reverses by Cleveland. With the Shirk Center crowd roaring and IWU in front, 65-54, EU burned a timeout with 10:14 to play.

The reset did little to slow the home team as Illinois Wesleyan sent out its seniors with a lopsided win to keep pace in the CCIW title race.

The win marked the final regular season home game for IWU's Colak, David Williams (Peoria, Ill.-Peoria Notre Dame), Nick Tingley (New Lenox, Ill.-Lincoln-Way Central), and Nathan Boldt (Deer Park, Ill.-Barrington).

Illinois Wesleyan starts a three-game roadtrip Wednesday, Feb. 11, with a bout with the Big Blue of Millikin University. 

 
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