How a Wichita freshman became a Friends hero in a 4 OT epic to advance in NAIA
When the game kept stretching deeper into the night, Friends needed somebody to keep answering the moment.
A freshman from Wichita kept doing just that.
Eli Benning delivered the best game of his young college career on the biggest stage yet Friday night, pouring in a career-high 31 points to help Friends outlast IU Southeast, 118-112, in a wild four-overtime thriller in the opening round of the NAIA men’s basketball national tournament at the Garvey Center.
The sixth-seeded Falcons survived 60 grueling minutes of basketball to improve to 26-6 and advance to Saturday’s second round, where they will face No. 3 seed Ave Maria at 5 p.m. with a trip to the Round of 16 in Kansas City on the line.
For Benning, a 2025 Wichita Northwest graduate, it was a breakout performance that matched the madness of the night.
The freshman guard, who averaged 8.0 points per game before the postseason, erupted for the best game of his collegiate career with 31 points, seven assists, four rebounds, four steals and a block while playing 50 of the game’s 60 minutes. He shot 8 of 22 from the field and repeatedly punished IU Southeast at the foul line, finishing 15 of 19.
Benning has grown into an increasingly important role for Friends down the stretch, earning a promotion into the starting lineup at the end of January and starting each of the Falcons’ last 10 games. On Friday, he looked every bit like a player ready for the postseason spotlight.
Still, Friends needed heroics long before the fourth overtime.
With four seconds left in regulation, IU Southeast appeared to have the game in hand. The Grenadiers led 74-72 and went to the free-throw line after drawing a foul. They made the first and missed the second, though, which gave Friends one last opening.
The Falcons took advantage.
On the final possession of regulation, Randy Woolf Jr. rose up from deep and drilled a game-tying 3-pointer to knot the score at 75-75 and send the Garvey Center into a frenzy.
It was only the beginning.
In the first overtime, Woolf again came through with the tying basket with 48 seconds remaining. Neither team could cash in on its final chance after that, extending the game even further.
In the second overtime, Friends looked like it had finally created the separation it needed. The Falcons ripped off an 8-0 run to open a 92-84 lead and seemed poised to put the game away. Instead, IU Southeast answered with an 8-0 run of its own, erasing the deficit and forcing a third overtime.
That set the stage for Benning’s biggest sequence of the night.
Friends trailed 98-94 with two minutes left in the third overtime and was in danger of seeing the marathon end in heartbreak. But Benning refused to let the Falcons go home. He scored the final eight points for Friends in the period, single-handedly completing the comeback and forcing a fourth overtime.
By then, the game had turned into a test of endurance as much as execution.
Friends finally seized control in the fourth overtime by scoring first and never giving the lead back. The Falcons were able to create just enough breathing room and then closed the game out at the free-throw line, fitting for a night when they leaned on poise and persistence as much as shot-making.
Benning wasn’t alone in delivering a career night.
Woolf was sensational from start to finish, recording a double-double with a career-high 34 points and 14 rebounds while playing 59 of the 60 minutes. He shot 50% from the floor, went 12 of 14 at the foul line and filled up the box score with four assists, two steals and two blocks. More importantly, he came through with the biggest shot of regulation and another clutch basket in the first overtime to keep Friends alive.
The victory continued an impressive rise for Friends under head coach Phil McClintock, whose team has won a postseason game in the NAIA national tournament for the second straight year. Before this run, the Falcons had not won in the national tournament since 2014.
This story was originally published March 14, 2026 at 10:28 AM.
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