The Titans were down 19 points at home against Elmhurst University in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Conference Championship. While the Bluejays were playing like it was the biggest game of their entire season, the Titans were playing like the Monstars from “Space Jam” had stolen their talent.
The halftime buzzer sounded, and the Titans walked to their locker room.
For the next 15 minutes, the Bluejays got ready to finish what they had started. All Elmhurst needed to do was hold onto their lead for 20 minutes. A win would clinch their only chance at a NCAA post-season berth. Meanwhile, the Titan players sat in their locker room, knowing that first half wasn’t Titan basketball. One of those Titans was senior Mason Funk, who, after averaging 31 points in two games just the week prior to clinch the Titans #1 seed in the CCIW, shot a dismal 1-8 to open the game.
The fans sat in the bleachers of Dennie Bridges Court and collectively wondered, “Is this what the season really came down to: a home blowout in the conference championship?”
Both teams returned to the court, and all of Illinois Wesleyan collectively held their breath.
“At halftime, there was a choice to be made,” Funk said in a post-game interview, “whether we would come together as a team or splinter.”
Within minutes, the fans knew the answer.
Seventeen seconds into the second half, Funk knocks down the Titans’ first bucket, quickly followed by a three from senior Karlo Colak. While the Titans are still down thirteen points, it’s clear the energy has shifted.
Minute after minute, Elmhurst’s lead shrinks. The Titans finally start connecting on shots while playing lockdown defense to boot. And everywhere Elmhurst looks is Mason Funk. Like a monster that is under their bed and in their closet and crawling on their ceiling all at once, Funk is an all-encompassing beast leading the charge. Blocks, rebounds, threes, free throws—everything is going right for the Titans as they close the game to within two points.
Funk approaches the free-throw line after getting fouled and hits the first. One point away.
He gets ready for the second: clank, it’s off-target. The Titans go back to defense. Elmhurst gets a little momentum, getting their lead back up to five points. But Funk is just one of five Titans the Bluejays are being haunted by. Junior Jackson Neigo hits a three, followed by a layup less than forty seconds later. The Titans are tied for the first time since 0-0, and the Shirk Center is rocking with energy. At any moment, it feels like the athletic center is one play away from registering on the Richter scale.
Sixteen seconds remain, and the game is still tied. Elmhurst has enough time to get one final shot up. The ball ended up in senior Dominic Trelenberg’s hands. The unanimous all-CCIW first-teamer is in the corner, with Kolak defending. Kolak puts a hand up, and Trelenberg takes the shot.
There’s not enough time for the Titans to get another shot up if Trelenberg makes it. The ball rounds the rim. Dennie Bridges Court is silent for the first time in hours.
The shot rolls out.
Overtime.
“The championship was on the line,” Funk said regarding Trelenberg’s final shot. “Karlo did a great job. He’s been a great defender all year. Dom’s a really good player too. Some of it may have been luck, too, that Dom missed that shot.”
Maybe it was just some dumb luck that Trelenberg missed. If the shot was a day prior during Elmhurst’s game against Carthage (where Elmhurst hit 13 threes), the shot probably would have gone in.
But on Feb. 28, 2026, Trelenberg missed the shot. And in overtime, Funk showed that luck or not, it didn’t matter. Beyond the arch, in the paint and at the line, Funk delivered kill shot after kill shot. At the charity stripe, Funk made four game-sealing shots.
“The free throw line hasn’t been my friend over the years,” Funk said, “but I think I was able to focus on that aspect and sink some pretty important ones.”
After hours of battling, fueled by 21 points in the second half and OT by Funk, the Titans emerged victorious, 69-59.
The Titans win granted them an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs, with the team performing well enough throughout the season to ensure hosting rights for the first round.
In his post-game interview with The Argus, following a game that perfectly showcased Funk’s ability to take over the court, the senior guard opted to shout out the hard work of as many teammates as he could. He credited junior Brady Kuehl and senior Nathan Boldt for stepping up in the face of injuries to the Titans’ roster.
“It was really just taking the opportunity that was given to me,” Funk said.
Funk’s unselfish mentality even when given the deserved opportunity to gloat encapsulates what the 2026 Titans represent. The Titans are a team with an unrivaled heart. They could hit another first-half-esqe cold spell or fail to execute as wanted on the court, but never for a moment will the Titans’ hearts falter.
