NEW YORK – Illinois Wesleyan University's Noah Cleveland registered 22 points and 14 rebounds and the Titans claimed a 69-57 win over the Hamilton College Continentals inside Yeshiva University's Max Stern Athletic Center on Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 31.

Season Update

• Hamilton (2-9 overall) played its first game since Dec. 13, and its second at a neutral site this season.
• Illinois Wesleyan (9-3), which is 1-2 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW), won its third straight non-conference game. The Titans are receiving votes in the D3hoops.com Top 25 poll.

How It Happened

• Hamilton jumped out to an 11-3 lead with 14:50 remaining in the first half. Matthew Rideout '27 sank a mid-range jumper and a 3-pointer in the first five minutes, while Garret Keyhani '26 recorded four of Hamilton's first six points in his first game back since the season opener against Ithaca College on Nov. 15.
• Illinois Wesleyan went on a 12-2 run over the next 5:31 of game action and took its first lead at 15-13. Cleveland and Jackson Niego knocked down 3-pointers for the Titans during the stretch.
• Hamilton went on a 9-0 run between the 5:50 and 3:31 marks in the first half and established a 25-19 advantage. Omar Kulenovic '28 began the run with a layup and capped it with a 3-pointer.
• The Titans scored the final 10 points of the half and took a 29-25 lead at the intermission.
• Will Holmes '27 and Rideout began the second half with back-to-back 3-pointers and gave the Continentals a 31-29 edge with 18:31 remaining.
• The Titans responded with a 13-0 run over the next 5:05 and opened up a double-digit lead.
• 3-pointers by Kulenovic and Jalen Reese '27 sandwiched around a layup by Cleveland and trimmed Hamilton's deficit to 44-37 with 12:02 remaining.
• Karlo Colak and Cleveland drained consecutive triples for the Titans and extended their lead to 52-39 with 10:08 left.
• Illinois Wesleyan took its largest lead of 15 points at 56-41 with 9:07 remaining following a fast-break dunk by Mason Funk.
• Hamilton scored the next five points via a 3-pointer by Max Murash '28 and a layup by Jack Stowell '27.
• Hamilton cut its deficit to nine at 63-54 with 4:40 remaining following a jumper by Rideout. Illinois Wesleyan scored the next four points out of the timeout and held a double-digit lead for the remainder of the contest.

 

Notes

• Rideout finished with a team-high 14 points and a team-high three assists.
• Kulenovic scored a career-high eight points with a career-best two made 3-pointers.
• Reese pulled down a team-high 12 rebounds.
• Keyhani added seven points and a team-high two steals.
• The Continentals shot 8-of-33 from 3-point range.
• Illinois Wesleyan limited the Continentals to nine offensive rebounds, marking just the second time this season that Hamilton did not grab at least 10 offensive boards. Hamilton ranks fourth in the NESCAC with 15.1 offensive rebounds per game.
• Colak and Funk provided 11 points apiece, and Funk added a game-high four steals.
• Niego distributed a game-high eight assists.

 

Next Game

Hamilton hosts SUNY Morrisville (2-6) for another non-conference contest on Saturday, Jan. 3 at 3 p.m.