Wheaton, Ill. (1/17) - The Wheaton Thunder men's basketball team earned a 79-65 at home on Wednesday night against Illinois Wesleyan. With its second straight league win the Thunder improves to 2-2 in the conference and 10-5 overall. Illinois Wesleyan is now 8-7 on the season and 1-3 in the CCIW.

The score was tied 10-10 with 14:15 remaining in the first half when the Titans used a 19-4 scoring run to take a 15-point lead at 29-14 with 7:35 left before halftime. Wheaton countered with a run of its own, out-scoring the Titans 16-4 to cut the guests lead to 33-30 with 2:45 remaining in the first half. Illinois Wesleyan held a 39-35 lead at halftime.

Illinois Wesleyan led 48-45 with 14:20 left in regulation when the Thunder charged ahead by out-scoring the guests 23-5 over the next 9:05 to take a 68-53 lead. Guards Kent Raymond and John Mohan combined to scored 19 of Wheaton's 23 points in the run, including a 4-for-4 effort from three-point range for Mohan as he scored 12 points in the run. Wheaton out-scored the Titans 44-26 after halftime.

Raymond, the Thunder All-American, led all scorers with 26 points, six rebounds and five assists. Mohan scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half. Mohan was 5-for-5 from three-point range in the second half and 5-for-6 from behind the arc in the game. Senior Michael Fiddler scored 13 points on 6-for-8 shooting from the field and four assists.

The Titans' pre-season All-American, Zach Freeman, scored 23 points, with nine rebounds to lead Illinois Wesleyan. Andrew Gilmore added nine points and six assists.
Wheaton shot a 48% (24-50) field goal percentage, with 41.2% (7-17) from three-point range and 80% (24-30) from the free throw line. After shooting 56.5% (13-23) from the field in the first half, Illinois Wesleyan recorded a 34.6% (9-26) field goal percentage in the second half for a 44.9% (22-49) effort for the game. Illinois Wesleyan out-rebounded the Thunder 33-26, with an 11-8 edge on the offensive glass. The Titans committed 18 turnovers, as the Thunder out-scored the guests 26-7 in points off of turnovers.