BOXSCORE

Grand Rapids, Mich. – The Wheaton College men's basketball team improved to 5-1 on Saturday afternoon, with a 68-67 win at Calvin College (4-2). Wheaton entered today's game ranked 22nd in this week's D3Hoops.com Top 25, while Calvin is ranked 15th in the same poll. Wheaton will return to action on Wednesday night in a 7 PM tipoff at Illinois Institute of Technology.

The Knights led the Thunder 22-21 with 6:00 left in the first half. Wheaton closed out the half with a 16-6 scoring advantage to hold a 37-28 lead at halftime. Wheaton's largest lead of the game was a 12-point advantage at 42-30, with 17:00 left in the second half. Calvin countered with a 14-3 run to cut the Wheaton lead to 45-44 with 12:00 left in the game. Calvin led 51-49, when Wheaton went on an 11-0 run to take a 60-51 lead with 6:50 left in the game. The string of 11-uanswered Thunder points was sparked by three three-pointers from sophomore guard Ben Panner. Calvin trimmed Wheaton's seven-point lead of 68-61 with 2:00 left in the game to 68-67; however the Thunder managed to hold on for the victory.

Panner led Wheaton with a career-high 25 points and four steals. The sophomore shot 9-for-13 from the field, including 7-for-7 from three-point range. All-American Kent Raymond scored 20 points, with four steals and a career-high eight assists. Junior center Andy Wiele (PICTURED RIGHT) had an impressive performance after suffering an injury in Friday's loss to Hope. Wiele came off the Thunder bench to set a new CCIW/MIAA Classic record with a career-high 17 rebounds, including four offensive boards. He also scored 12 points to record his third “double-double” of the season, tallying double-digits in points and rebounds. Senior forward Phill Denham scored eight points, with two assists.

Derek Griffin scored 16 points to lead Calvin. Guard Caleb Veldhouse scored 14 points, with three steals for the Knights. Tyler Zoerhof came off the Calvin bench to contribute ten points, with seven rebounds.

Wheaton shot 44% (22-50) from the field, with 66.7% (10-15) from behind the three-point arc and 60.9% (14-23) at the free throw line. The Knights tallied a 41% (25-61) field goal percentage, with 35% (7-20) from three-point range and a 76.9% (10-13) effort at the free throw line.