BOXSCORE

Thousand Oaks, Calif. – The Wheaton men's basketball team lost to Hamline University 69-68 on Tuesday night as the Pipers scored the game-winning basket with 1.1-seconds left in regulation in the opening round of the Thrivent Financial Tournament, hosted by California Lutheran University. Wheaton will play Monmouth College (1-8) on Wednesday night at 6 PM (PST) in the tournament's consolation game. Wednesday's game will be broadcast on WETN radio at 88.1 FM and on the internet at www.wetn.org. Wheaton is now 6-3 on the year, while Hamline has a 4-4 record.

Hamline led the Thunder 35-30 at halftime and the Pipers scored the first seven points of the second half to take a 42-30 lead with 17:00 remaining in regulation. Wheaton responded by scoring eight un-answered points to cut the Pipers' lead to 42-38 with 14:25 remaining in the game. Hamline responded by building up a 52-42 lead with 11:00 left. Wheaton countered with an 11-0 run to take a 53-52 lead with 9:35 remaining in the game Wheaton's scoring surge was spurred by consecutive three-pointers by senior David Eseke in the scoring run. Wheaton later built its lead to four points, on two occasions, the last came on a 66-62 lead with 3:05 remaining in the game.
The Pipers had a 67-66 lead with 40-seconds remaining in the game when Thunder sophomore Tim McCrary sank two free throws to give Wheaton a 68-67 lead. On the Pipers' return trip down the court Wheaton stole the ball, forcing Hamline to foul the Thunder with eight seconds left in regulation. Wheaton missed a pair of ensuing free throws and Hamline collected the rebound and the Pipers went to their basket and setup a shot for Carl Hipp who made a layup with 1.1-seconds left in the game to give Hamline the 69-68 outcome.

McCrary led the Thunder with 15 points and he tied his career-high with 11 assists. Sophomore forward Spencer Schultze came of the Thunder bench to score 12 points on 6-for-7 shooting from the field. Senior Ben Panner scored 11 points and Andrew Jahns scored 10 points, with two assists.
Carl Hipp led the Pipers with 19 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots. Jordan Schmidt and Nick Carroll each collected 11 points.

Wheaton shot 49.1% (27-55) from the field, with 43.8% (7-16) from three-point range and 58.3% (7-12) at the free throw line. Hamline posted a 56.3% (27-48) field goal percentage, with 40% (4-10) from behind the three-point arc and 73.3% (11-15) at the charity stripe. Hamline out-rebounded the 'Orange and Blue' 33-22, with an 8-7 edge on the offensive glass.