Wheaton, Ill. (2/3) – The Wheaton men's basketball team (13-4/6-3) defeated North Park 85-73 on Saturday night in King Arena. Wheaton scored the first 17 points of the game, jumping out to a 17-0 lead with 11:30 remaining in the first half. North Park (12-9/4-6) cut the Wheaton lead to eight points on three occasions late in the second half. The Thunder never trailed and its biggest lead of the game was a 23-point advantage with 13:35 left in regulation.

Junior guard John Mohan led Wheaton by tying his career-high of 25 points. Mohan drained four three-point field goals and was 11-for-15 from the free throw line. Junior All-American Kent Raymond scored 21 points. Senior Johnnie Standard scored 14 points, with nine rebounds. Fellow senior Michael Fiddler scored 10 points on 5-for-7 shooting from the field with nine rebounds, including four offensive boards.

Nick Williams led North Park with 24 points. Uriah Rice added 18 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the field with four steals. Joe Capalbo scored eight points.

Wheaton posted a 56.8% (25-44) field goal percentage, with 46.7% (7-15) from three-point range and 75.7% (28-37) from the free throw line. North Park shot 44.1% (26-59) from the field, with 45.5% (5-11) from three-point range and 64% (16-25) at the free throw line. Wheaton out-rebounded the Vikings 36-28, however, North Park held a 13-10 edge on the offensive glass.

Tonight marked Wheaton's eighth consecutive win against North Park. With tonight's victory Wheaton remains tied for second place in the CCIW with Elmhurst at 6-3. However, both the Thunder and Bluejays are now just one game behind Augustana (8-2) in the loss column, following the Vikings' 66-56 loss at Carthage on Saturday night.