Wheaton, Ill. – The Wheaton Thunder men's basketball team, ranked 21st in the most recent D3Hoops.com Top 25 poll, lost 75-69 on Wednesday night at home to Augustana, the team ranked 15th in the same poll. Wheaton is now 8-5 on the year and opens conference play with a 0-2 record. Augustana improves to 11-3 overall and 2-1 in conference play.

The Thunder led 16-10 with 11:00 remaining in the first half when Augustana used a 10-0 scoring run to take a 20-16 lead with 7:50 left before halftime. The Vikings never trailed in the game after that, as the guests held a 35-29 lead at halftime. Augustana's biggest lead was a 15-point advantage with 12:57 remaining in the second half. Wheaton came as close as five points with a 74-69 Viking advantage in the closing seconds of the game, but the hosts were unable to complete the rally.

Freshman guard Ben Panner led the Thunder with 16 points, including four three-pointers. Senior forward Michael Fiddler scored 15 points, on 6-for-8 shooting from the field with five rebounds. Senior Johnnie Standard scored 12 points, with seven rebounds and five assists. Kent Raymond scored 10 points with six assists. Sophomore Andy Wiele grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, with five offensive boards and added seven points.

Jordan Delp led the Vikings with 22 points, on 8-for-13 shooting from the field. Dain Swetella added 15 points and Nate Swetella scored 12 points. Drew Wessels scored 11 points, with four assists.
Augustana shot 56.0% (28-50) from the field, with 58.3% (7-12) from three-point range and 66.7% (12-18) at the free throw line. The Thunder shot a 41.5% (22-53) field goal percentage, with 40% (8-20) from behind the three-point arc and 73.9% (17-23) at the charity stripe. Wheaton out-rebounded Augustana 32-28, with a 13-7 edge on the offensive glass.