BOXSCORE
Wheaton, Ill. –The Thunder men's basketball team earned a 78-69 victory against Elmhurst (18-7/8-6) tonight in the final regular season game of the year. With the win, Wheaton improves to 19-6 overall and 9-5 in CCIW play.
Tonight's victory gives the Thunder the number-three seed in next weekend's tournament in Rock Island, Ill. Elmhurst will be the fourth-seeded team. Wheaton will face second-seeded Illinois Wesleyan on Friday night in the tournament's first semifinal game at 6 PM. Top-seeded Augustana, the conference champion and tournament host, will face Elmhurst at 8 PM. The victors from Friday's semifinals will play in the CCIW Men's Basketball Tournament Championship at 7:30 PM on Saturday night for the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament.
The Thunder held a four-point lead at 16-12 with 12:10 left in the first half when the hosts put together a 15-3 run to earn a 31-15 lead with 7:00 left before halftime. The Thunder maintained its double-digit lead for the rest of the first half, holding a 44-28 lead at halftime. Wheaton's biggest lead of the game was a 20-point bulge at 52-32 with 17:00 left in the second half. The Bluejays chipped away at the Wheaton lead in the final 10 minutes of regulation getting to within six points in a 75-69 Wheaton lead with 1:24 left in regulation. However, the guests couldn't get and closer.
All-American Kent Raymond led the Thunder with 37 points to tie his season-high. He made five three-pointers and added three steals. Raymond now has 576 points this season, the 11th-highest single-season point total in school history. With tonight's effort Raymond now has 1,504 points in his career as he moved into 11th place on Wheaton's all-time scoring list.
Thunder sophomore Ben Panner scored 14 points and Jacob Carwell scored 12 points. Junior center Andy Wiele scored 11 points, with six rebounds and three assists.
Ryan Burks led Elmhurst with 21 points and five assists. Center Brent Ruch scored 20 points for the guests. Chris Childs scored 12 points and Jared Hintzsche added 10 points.
Wheaton recorded a 53.2% (25-47) field goal percentage, including 59.3% (25-47) in the first half. The Thunder shot 50% (7-14) from three-point range and 84% (21-25) at the free throw line. Elmhurst shot 54.3% (25-46) from the floor, with 31.6% (6-19) from three-point range and 86.7% (13-15) at the free throw line. Each team collected 23 rebounds and the Thunder held a 7-6 edge on the offensive glass. Wheaton out-scored the Bluejays 23-6 off of Elmhurst's 16 turnovers.
