BLOOMINGTON, Ill. --- The Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team earned its first trip to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament since 2022 with an 83-77 win over No. 11 Endicott College, Friday night, March 13 inside the Shirk Center. 

Sophomore Noah Cleveland finished with 25 points on 8-of-12 shooting and a 9-of-13 showing from the charity stripe. Cleveland closed with 10 rebounds, and led the team in steals with three to go with two blocks. 

Senior Karlo Colak made the most of his final game inside the Shirk Center, scoring 24 points and pulling down a team-high 11 boards. Colak put up an 8-of-9 clip from the free throw line. Juniors Mason Funk and Casen Lawrence posted double-digit performances, each finishing with 11. 

A slow start saw Illinois Wesleyan take a 6-2 edge into the first media timeout of the night. After Cleveland hit a free throw, junior Jackson Niego kicked to Lawrence for a triple and junior Brady Kuehl was pure from mid-range.

The Gulls answered with a triple out of the reset, but senior David Williams found Kuehl for a 10-footer before sophomore Connor Williams slipped a pass to Funk to push IWU ahead, 10-5. 

Colak took a rebound coast-to-coast to stretch the lead to seven into the under-12 media timeout. The reset did little to slow the Green and White, as Cleveland threw down a two-handed slam as the margin moved to double-digits.

The Titans closed the half with the ball as Ron Rose called a timeout on the heels of a three-ball by the Gulls. Holding for the final possession, Illinois Wesleyan used quick ball movement to create an opening in the Endicott defense. Cleveland passed back out to Niego on the wing, who hit the Gulls with a pass fake before finding Colak wide open on the opposite wing. The senior drained a three-pointer to lift the home team's lead to an even dozen, 38-26.

IWU controlled the entire second half, but a six-point EC run made it a five-point game with 6:13 to go.

Cleveland answered the Gulls' and-one with a free throw before the Titans used defense to manufacture offense. Niego picked the pocket of Endicott and dished a heady pass to Cleveland for a dunk over a Gulls defender, bringing the crowd to its feet with 5:32 remaining. 

The momentum stayed with the Green and White as Lawrence downed a three-ball to force an Endicott timeout as the clock ticked under the five-minute mark.

The Gulls put together one last push, trimming what was once a 14-point lead down to five, but IWU sealed the win at the free throw line.

The Titans now head to Fort Wayne, Ind. for the Elite Eight, with games scheduled for Thursday, March 19. IWU will face off against No. 2 Emory University, with game times to be determined.