BOXSCORE
Wheaton, Ill. - The Thunder men's basketball team lost a 61-59 decision to Illinois Wesleyan on Saturday night in front of a large King Arena crowd (PICTURED BELOW AT RIGHT). Wheaton is now 17-6 overall and 7-5 in CCIW play. Illinois Wesleyan remains tied with Augustana for first place in the CCIW with a 9-3 conference record and a 15-8 mark overall.
Illinois Wesleyan never trailed in tonight's game, as the Titans held a 35-23 lead at halftime. The Titans held a 40-27 lead with 16:15 left in the second half when the Thunder put together a 10-3 run to cut the guests' lead to 43-37 with 13:10 left in regulation. The Titans led 56-50 with 5:45 left in the game when a Ben Panner three-pointer cut the IWU lead to 56-53. Thunder All-American Kent Raymond made two free throws with 3:40 left in regulation to make it a 56-55 Titan advantage.
The Titans opened up a four-point lead at 61-57 with 1:02 left in regulation when Thunder forward Jacob Carwell made a basket to cut the guests lead to 61-59. Illinois Wesleyan missed a pair of free throws with 19-seconds left in regulation and a rebound by Carwell gave Wheaton a chance to tie or take the lead. A Thunder three-point attempt with seven-seconds left in regulation bounced off of the rim. The ball fell to the ground, where a pile of players tried to collect the ball, however a jump-ball was called with 0.3-seconds left in regulation and Illinois Wesleyan was given the ball on the alternating possession. The Titans were able to in-bound the ball and earn the hard-fought victory.
Raymond (PICTURED LEFT) led Wheaton with a team-high 17 points and four blocked shots. Carwell and Andy Wiele each scored 13 points. Wiele shot 5-for-7 from the field, with seven rebounds. Carwell was 6-for-9 from the floor, with six rebounds. Panner and freshman Andrew Jahns each recorded a team-high four assists.
Brett Chamernik led Illinois Wesleyan with 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting from the field and he added a game-high 10 rebounds. Sean Johnson scored 15 points, with four assists. Travis Rosenkranz scored seven points, with three assists.
Wheaton shot 46.3% (25-54) from the field, with 12.5% (2-16) from three-point range and 58.3% (7-12) from at the free throw line. The Titans posted a 45.1% (23-51) field goal percentage, with 42.9% (6-14) from three-point range and 52.9% (9-17) at the free throw line. Illinois Wesleyan out-rebounded Wheaton 37-27, with a 15-10 edge on the offensive glass.
Wheaton will play its final road game of the regular season on Wednesday night with a 7:30 PM tipoff at Millikin. Wednesday's game will be broadcast on WETN radio at 88.1 FM in the Wheaton area and on the internet at www.wetn.org. Live statistics of the game will also be provided online, courtesy of Millikin University at http://www.millikin.edu/athletics/livestats/xlive.htm
