BOXSCORE

Claremont, Calif. - The Thunder men's basketball team picked up a dramatic 102-100 win in four overtimes at Pomona-Pitzer on Saturday night, to conclude Wheaton's three-game trip to California. A tip-in by Spencer Schultze as time expired sent the game to the second overtime and Ben Panner bounced in a three-pointer with time running out to send the game to the fourth overtime.

The lead changed hands 13 times tonight and the score was tied on 13 occasions. Wheaton head coach Mike Schauer noted following the nearly three-hour long game, “That's the best small college basketball game I've ever seen." He continued, "The number of plays that our kids made tonight under pressure was remarkable."

Panner scored 22 points, with eight rebounds for the Thunder. John Shackelford scored a career-high 21 points with six three-pointers, as he shot 6-for-8 from behind the arc. Schultze tallied 21 points with nine rebounds and three assists. Andrew Jahns scored 18 points for the guests. Tim McCrary scored nine points and grabbed eight rebounds, while senior Jake Carwell added eight points, with five rebounds.

Wheaton led 35-31 at halftime. However, midway through the second half the Sagehens had built up a 10-point lead at 51-41 with 11:02 remaining in regulation. Wheaton countered with a 14-2 scoring run to take a 55-53 lead with 7:34 remaining in regulation. The two teams battled back-and-forth through the final seven minutes of regulation with three lead changes and two ties. The Sagehens led 64-61 with 33-seconds left in regulation when Shackelford drained a three-pointer to tie the game at 64-64, which would be the score to send the contest to its first overtime.

The hosts made the first basket of the first overtime and never trailed in the opening extra session. The Sagehens' largest lead of period was a 77-72 advantage with 15-seconds left when Panner made a basket to cut the lead to three at 77-74. On Wheaton's next possession a basket by Schultze cut the hosts' lead to 77-76 with six seconds left. The hosts made two free throws with five-seconds left to extend their lead to 79-76. On Wheaton's ensuing trip down the floor Panner was fouled, sending the senior to the free throw line. He made his first attempt and missed the second. Panner collected his own rebound off of the miss and put up a shot that fell short, however, Schultze tipped the ball in as time expired to tie the game at 79-79 and send it into a second overtime.

Pomona-Pitzer hit a three-pointer with 31-seconds remaining in the second overtime to tie the contest, as the game entered its third overtime with an 83-83 tie.

In the third overtime, the Sagehens held an 89-88 lead with 25-seconds remaining when Panner made one of two free throw attempts to tie the game at 89-89. Pomona-Pitzer made a three-pointer with four seconds remaining in the game to take a 92-89 lead. A long Wheaton in-bound pass from underneath the Sagehens' basket, deflected off of a Pomona-Pitzer player, allowing Wheaton to in-bounds the ball at its end of the court. With one second left the in-bounds pass found Panner who put up a three-point attempt that hit the rim and bounced up once, hit the rim again and bounce up yet again coming down on the rim one more time before it swirled through the net to send the game dramatically into its fourth overtime in a 92-92 tie.

Wheaton gained control early in the fourth overtime as Schultze made the go-ahead basket with 4:13 remaining to give the guests a 94-92 lead. Senior David Eseke extended Wheaton's lead to 97-92 with a three-pointer with 3:34 left in the period. Wheaton held a 99-94 lead when the Sagehens made a three-pointer with 39-seconds left in the period to cut the Thunder lead to 99-97. Panner made a pair of free throws with 32-seconds left to extend Wheaton's lead to 101-97; however, the hosts drained another three-pointer with 17-seconds left in the period to cut Wheaton's advantage to 101-100. Jahns made the second of two free throw attempts to extend the Thunder lead to 102-100. The Sagehens missed a three-pointer in the waning seconds as the Thunder emerged with the dramatic victory.

Wheaton shot 46.1% (35-76) from the field tonight, with 42.9% (12-28) from three-point range and 55.6% (20-36) at the free throw line. The Sagehens posted a 44.4% (32-72) field goal percentage, with 21.7% (5-23) from three-point range and 81.6% (31-38) at the charity stripe. Pomona-Pitzer held a 44-39 advantage in rebounding, however, Wheaton had a 15-13 edge on the offensive glass.

Justin Sexton led Pomona-Pitzer with 23 points and 19 rebounds. Adam Chaimowitz scored 20 points and David Liss added 18 points for the hosts.

Wheaton will open conference action on Wednesday night at Carthage College with a 7:30 PM tipoff against the Red Men. Wednesday's conference opener will be broadcast on WETN radio (88.1 FM) and on the internet at www.wetn.org. Live in-game statistics of the game will be available here, courtesy of the Carthage College Sport Information Office.