BOXSCORE

Wheaton, Ill. – The Thunder men's basketball team, ranked 22nd in the most recent D3Hoops.com top-25 poll, withstood a furious second-half rally by the University of Chicago to defeat the Maroons 75-73 on Wednesday night in King Arena. Wheaton improves to 4-0 on the season, while Chicago falls to 2-3.

Wheaton led the game 43-27 at halftime and the hosts' largest advantage was a 20-point lead at 49-29 with 18:30 left in regulation. Wheaton held a 60-41 lead with 12:12 left in the game when two three-point field goals by Chicago cut the Wheaton lead to 60-47 with 10:00 left in the game. The hosts held a 69-57 lead with 5:40 left in regulation when the Maroons put together a 14-4 run to cut the Thunder lead to two points at 73-71 with 1:37 left in the contest.

Thunder forward Jacob Carwell made a basket with 1:17 left regulation to expand the Thunder lead to 75-71. Chicago's Jake Pancratz cut the lead to two points at 75-73 with a cutting layup with 57-seconds left in the game. Wheaton missed a basket on its next opportunity down the court and the Maroons collected the rebound with 23-seconds left in the game as the guests had the opportunity for the final shot. With 15-seconds left in regulation Wheaton's Ben Panner (PICTURED RIGHT) tipped a Chicago pass that rolled over the midcourt line and was retained by Chicago, however, only seven-seconds remained on the clock. Wheaton only had committed four fouls in the second half, so the Thunder alertly committed two fouls on the next two ensuing Chicago in-bounds plays. The Maroons' final in-bounds play came with 1.5-seconds left and a Chicago three-point attempt fell short as time expired to give Wheaton its fourth win of the season.

Thunder junior Andy Wiele scored a career-high 31 points tonight on 14-for-18 shooting from the field, adding five rebounds. Panner scored 17 points, with five assists. All-American guard Kent Raymond also contributed 17 points, with five assists. Carwell scored 10 points, with six rebounds and seven assists.

Matt Corning led Chicago with 19 points. Pancratz added 17 points, with four three-pointers, three steals and nine assists. Adam Machones scored 17 points, with five assists and Adam Kinsella contributed 10 points.

Wheaton shot 56.4% (31-55) from the field, with 33.3% (3-9) from three-point range and 71.4% (10-14) at the free throw line. Chicago shot a 50.9% (27-53) field goal percentage, with 72.7% (8-11) from the free throw line. Chicago recorded a 42.3% (11-26) three-point field goal percentage in the game, including 61.5% (8-13) in the second half. The Maroons out-rebounded the Thunder 28-25 and Wheaton outscored the guest 40-24 in the paint.

Wheaton will compete at the CCIW/MIAA Classic this weekend at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Thunder will play 16th-ranked Hope College at 6 PM (EST) on Friday. On Saturday Wheaton will face Calvin College, ranked 15th in this week's D3Hoops.com top-25 poll, at 4 PM (EST). Both of this weekend's games will be broadcast on WETN radio (88.1 FM) in the Wheaton area and on the internet at www.wetn.org.