Cleveland and Niego at Second Round of NCAA Tournament 3-7-2026

ASHTIN ELDER PHOTO

Men’s Hoops Downs John Carroll, Advances to Second Straight Sweet Sixteen

Cleveland, Funk finish with 20+ points

3/7/2026 10:17:00 PM

Box Score BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The No. 8 Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball advanced to the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament Round of 16 for the second straight season, defeating John Carroll University, 73-60, Saturday night, March 7, inside the Shirk Center. The Titans (25-4) advance to the Sweet Sixteen, with location to be determined, next weekend, Friday, March 13. John Carroll ends its season with a 23-7 record.

The Titans had two 20-point scorers in sophomore Noah Cleveland (Normal, Ill.-Normal Community) and junior Mason Funk (Normal, Ill.-University High). Cleveland finished with 22 points, marking the 10th time he has surpassed 20 points this season. Funk's 20-piece came on a 7-of-14 shooting performance.

Cleveland led the rebounding efforts, recording his 15th double-double of the season, pulling down 16 boards. Funk reeled in nine boards and dished out a team-high four assists. Senior Karlo Colak (Glencoe, Ill.-New Trier) tied for the team lead for assists.

IWU held advantages in points in the paint (34-22), while JCU held leads in points off turnovers (13-12), and second-chance points (15-8). The Titan defense recorded six blocks to advance their program record, and held the Blue Streak offense to 22-of-63 (34.9 percent) shooting from the floor. The IWU offense finished with a 17-of-23 showing from the charity stripe, as well as a 25-of-55 (45.5 percent) from the field.

Illinois Wesleyan and John Carroll traded punches over the first 20 minutes, with the Blue Streaks riding Luke Chicone to a 16-10 lead as the clock neared the 14-minute mark.

Free throws by Colak ended the JCU run and pulled the Green and White within four. After Cleveland swatted a shot on the defensive end, quick ball movement saw Funk feed Cleveland inside for a bucket. The run continued with a three-pointer by Lawrence off a handoff from Cleveland, pushing IWU ahead by one.

Continuing to be the catalyst to the Titans' run, Cleveland hit a pair of free throws out of the under-12 media to give the home team a three-point cushion, 19-16.

The Green and White stretched its lead to as many as five in the first period, but JCU closed the half on an 8-3 run. The Blue Streaks erased the Titan lead with a buzzer-beating runner by Chicone to deadlock the game at 38 all.

The Titans came out of the halftime break on fire, embarking on a 20-1 run in the first seven minutes of second half action. Funk's signature spin move got the Titans off and running to start the second half, before a junior Casen Lawrence (St. Louis, Mo.-Westminster Christian) deep three-ball, with an assist from Cleveland, pushed the IWU lead to 43-38.

Cleveland, then, lit the Shirk Center aflame with seven consecutive Titan points, warranting a JCU timeout. The timeout did little to get the Blue Streaks going, as Funk's signature move hit yet again, this time adding a JCU foul and free throw to lift the Titans to a 55-39 lead. On the ensuing possession, Funk hit a three-ball following a cross-court find from Colak to advance the Titan lead to nearly 20, 58-39, with 13:21 on the clock.

Although the Blue Streaks attempted several comebacks, they failed to cut the Titan deficit to single digits. In a chippy end to the game, a Colak and-one and several Illinois Wesleyan free throws sealed the Green and White victory, 73-60.

The Titans will face off against Endicott College with a trip to Fort Wayne, Ind. hanging in the balance. Time, date, and location will be announced once released by the NCAA.

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