Rock Island, Ill. (2/23) – The Wheaton Thunder men's basketball team rallied back in a hard-fought 85-82 loss to Elmhurst College on Friday night in the CCIW Men's Basketball Tournament Semifinals. Wheaton ends the year with a 17-9 overall record, while Elmhurst improves to 21-5 overall. With tonight's win the Bluejays advance to the CCIW Men's Basketball Tournament Championship Game at 7:30 PM on Saturday at Augustana College's Carver PE Center.
Elmhurst led for the entire first half, holding a 46-31 lead at halftime. Wheaton opened the second half with a 17-6 scoring run to cut the Bluejays' lead to 52-48 with 15:00 left in regulation. Elmhurst built a 78-69 lead with 3:50 left in the game when the Thunder utilized a 12-2 run to take an 81-80 lead with 1:15 remaining in the game. Elmhurst shot 5-for-5 at the free throw line in the final minute to earn the 85-82 victory.
All-American Kent Raymond led the Thunder with 39 points on 11-for-17 shooting from the field and 15-of-17 at the free throw line. Raymond added three assists and two steals. Junior John Mohan came off the Thunder bench to score 13 points, with five assists. Ben Panner shot 4-for-6 from the field with 11 points. Senior Michael Fiddler ended his career with seven points and four assists, while fellow senior Johnnie Standard scored four points with three assists in his final collegiate game.
Elmhurst's Ryan Burks scored 27 points, with an 11-for-11 effort at the free throw line. Brent Ruch and Nick Michael each scored 15 points. Ruch shot 6-for-8 from the floor. Brian Lee scored 12 points, with five assists and three steals.
Wheaton shot 53.2% (25-47) from the field, including a 69.6% (16-23) field goal percentage in the second half. The Thunder shot 33.3% (4-12) from three-point range and 80% (28-35) at the free throw line. Elmhurst recorded a 51.8% (29-56) field goal percentage, with 41.2% (7-17) from three-point range and 83.3% (20-24) from the free throw line. Wheaton out-rebounded the Bluejays 33-23, with an 11-9 edge on the offensive glass.
