Posted: Feb 26, 2023

Iowa Wesleyan Holds Off Florida College for 2023 CAC Men’s Basketball Championship

For the third straight day, No. 2-seeded Iowa Wesleyan University had the winning formula in the closing minutes to capture the 2023 Continental Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament championship.

The Tigers knocked off top-seeded and defending tournament champion Florida College 70-66 in Sunday's thrilling championship game at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas.

Iowa Wesleyan won its three tournament games by a combined 10 points. In Friday's quarterfinals, the team got a layup before the final buzzer to defeat the tournament hosts. Then, a four-point margin was enough to knock off No. 3 seed Washington Adventist University (Maryland) in Saturday's semifinal round.

The championship game had a defensive feel from the start with a 3-point field goal by Florida College's Ethan Smith squaring the game at 12-12 at the midway point of the first half.

However, the offenses finally found their rhythms for the rest of the game.

A dunk by Iowa Wesleyan's Gacoby Jones gave the Tigers a 22-19 lead at the 7:23 mark of the first half. A 3-pointer by Carver Locke gave the team a six-point lead, 30-24, with 3:48 remaining in the period.

The Tigers grabbed their largest lead of the first half at 33-25 after a 3-point field goal by Joey Brown IV at the 2:59 mark.

But the Falcons fought back with a quick 11-2 spurt to take a 36-35 advantage following a basket by Calvin Finch Jr. in the final minute of the opening half. Iowa Wesleyan scored the final four points to take a 39-36 halftime lead.

That momentum carried over into the second half, with Iowa Wesleyan building a 56-45 lead after Brown IV's 3-point field goal with 11:37 left in the game.

Florida College once again countered with a 13-4 run over the next four minutes to get within two points, 60-58, after two free throws by Matt Simpson. He added two more free throws to bring the Falcons within a basket at 64-62 with 5:39 left in the game.

A 3-point field goal by Iowa Wesleyan's Hakeem Odunsi broke a near three-minute scoring drought in the game, with the Tigers clinging to a 67-62 advantage. That lead narrowed to three points, 67-64, following a Finch Jr. layup with 2:13 left. But the Tigers sealed the win behind a 3-pointer from Brown IV on the ensuing offensive possession.

The winning effort was led by Brown with 19 points after connecting on five 3-point field goals. Odunsi came off the bench to score 17 points while Henry Shannon added 10 points. Iowa Wesleyan made 49.1% of its field goals for the game and drained 10 3-point field goals.

Finch Jr. led Florida College with 19 points while Simpson scored 13 points and Ja'shavius Perdue added 12 points. Smith rounded out the team's double-figure scorers at 11 points.

As the CAC's finalists, both teams now will represent the league in the NAIA national tournament.

2023 CAC Men's Basketball All-Tournament Team

Most Outstanding Player: Gacoby Jones, Iowa Wesleyan University

Jordan Blue, Voorhees University

Tyler Willoughby, Voorhees University

Mohamed Bundu, Washington Adventist University

Michael Liriano, Washington Adventist University

Calvin Finch Jr., Florida College

Matt Simpson, Florida College

Ethan Smith, Florida College

Joey Brown IV, Iowa Wesleyan University

Hakeem Odunsi, Iowa Wesleyan University