KANSAS CITY, Mo. – No. 2-seed Indiana Wesleyan men's basketball took the court in Kansas City in the Round of 16 of the 2026 NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship. The Wildcats mounted multiple second-half rallies but could not overcome a slow early start, falling 71-65 to No. 3-seed Hope International. IWU trailed by as many as 16 in the second half but rallied within one possession in the final seconds before the Royals' Addy G'Bye buried a dagger 3-pointer with 15 seconds remaining to push the Royals' lead to 70-65 and bring the Wildcat's season to an end.
THE ESSENTIALS
- Location: Kansas City, Mo. | Municipal Auditorium
- Records: IWU 28-5 | HIU 25-6
- NAIA Tournament Seeding: IWU - #2 | HIU - #3
FIRST HALF
- The Wildcats got off to a slow start through the first five minutes, going 0-5 from the field for a 9-0 early deficit.
- Julius Gizzi kick-started IWU and gave them some life with 4 points, a steal, and drew an offensive foul on HIU in five minutes off the bench.
- The red and grey were 2-14 from the field and 1-10 from deep with 8:00 remaining and trailed 18-8.
- A 7-0 burst for the Wildcats narrowed the margin to 22-17 with 3:30 remaining.
- A huge three from DJ Moore at the end of the half cut the HIU lead to 27-25 at the break.
SECOND HALF
- IWU got off to another cold start in the second period, shooting 0-7 with just two free throws as HIU extended their lead to 42-27 with 15:00 left.
- A three from Gizzi midway through the half gave him nine points with the Wildcats down 52-40.
- An 11-4 run highlighted by two Caedmon Bontrager three's made it 59-53 HIU with 5:00 remaining.
- The Wildcats strung together a 7-0 run, forcing the Royals to call a timeout with 52 seconds left with just a two-point lead.
- Hope International's Addy G'Bye connected on a dagger three with 15 seconds left to end IWU's season, 71-65.
KEY WILDCATS
NEXT TIME OUT
- The Wildcats' 2025-26 season comes to an end with a 28-6 overall record.
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