WICHITA, Kan. - The Indiana University Kokomo men's basketball team saw its season come to an end Tuesday with an 82-63 loss to Kansas Wesleyan in the First Round of the 2023 NAIA Men's Basketball Championship.

With the loss, the Cougars finish the 2022-2023 season with an overall record of 23-9.

Freshman Ty Wills led IU Kokomo in scoring with a team-high 16 points. Senior Hunter White had 11 points, four rebounds, and four assists while classmate Zach Rinehart had 8 points and a team-leading 11 rebounds. Hunter Jackson and Xavier Hines each added eight points.

IU Kokomo started the game strong, as point guard Hunter Jackson drilled a three-pointer on the opening possession of the game to give the Cougars an early 3-0 lead. Kansas Wesleyan responded with a three-pointer of their own, but Darian Porch answered with another IUK triple for a 6-3 lead.

The Cougars led the Coyotes 14-12 before five-straight IU Kokomo points gave them their largest lead of the game of seven at 19-12. Kansas Wesleyan would respond by scoring 10 of the next 12 points to take their first lead of the game at 22-21.

IUK and KWU traded baskets for much of the remainder of the first half, and the two teams went to halftime with the game tied at 34 after Ty Wills scored with two seconds left for IUK.

Kansas Wesleyan came out of halftime with six-straight points, taking a 40-34 lead and forcing an Eric Echelbarger 30-second timeout. The Cougars scored on the ensuing possession to get within four, but the Coyotes would score 10 of the next 13 points to extend their lead to 11 and force another IU Kokomo timeout.

The Coyotes extended their lead to 16 at 58-42, but a 10-0 run from the Cougars got IUK back within six-points of the Coyotes with 9:26 remaining in the game. Kansas Wesleyan extended their lead back to double-digits in a little over two minutes of game-time, and would maintain at least a nine-point lead for the remainder of the game.

Twelve-seed IU Kokomo continued to struggle to score the rock, and would fall to five-seed Kansas Wesleyan 82-63.

For the latest news, updates, and information on the IU Kokomo Cougars, fans can visit IUKCougars.com. Fans can also stay up to date on the latest Cougar news by following @IUKAthletics on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.