BOXSCORE

Wheaton, Ill. - The top-ranked Thunder men's basketball team remained undefeated on Wednesday night with a 79-71 homecourt win against #11-ranked Augustana. Wheaton is now 14-0 on the year and 3-0 in CCIW play. Augustana is 11-4 overall and 2-2 in conference action.

In the second half of tonight's game, Wheaton All-American Kent Raymond reached the 2,000-career point milestone. Raymond is the third men's basketball player in Wheaton history to score at least 2,000 points in a career, joining Marv Johnson (2,044 points: 1947-51) and Mel Peterson (2,542 points – 1956-60). Raymond is the 13th CCIW player to achieve the milestone. Thunder head coach Bill Harris said of his All-American after the game, “Kent is great player. Plus, he is not one-dimensional – he can play great defense, is a good rebounder, is a tremendous passer and in general makes his teammates better. This tremendous accomplishment is a credit to him.”

The score was tied at 33-33 at halftime of tonight's game. The Thunder opened the second half with a 16-4 run to take a 49-37 lead. Raymond scored 14 of Wheaton's 16 points in the scoring surge, including the record-setting three-pointer to achieve 2,000 points. Augustana whittled Wheaton's lead down to four points at 54-50 with 12:13 remaining in the game, however, that is the closest the Vikings could come.

Harris noted after the game, “It was remarkable that the score was tied at halftime. We made 10 turnovers in the first half, gave up seven offensive rebounds and were 1-for-10 from three-point range, but our defense kept us in it. We came out in the second half with a lot of intensity and played very well.” He added, “When Raymond got hurt with about six minutes left in the game and we had to take him out, it sucked a lot of energy from us. But, I thought we battled through that and played well towards the end.”

Raymond led the Thunder with 26 points, draining five three-pointers, four assists and two blocked shots. Preseason All-American Andy Wiele (PICTURED RIGHT) returned from an injury by scoring 14 points, with nine rebounds in 17 minutes of action. Ben Panner (PICTURED LEFT) scored 14 points, with two steals. Freshman Tim McCrary scored eight points, with three assists and two blocked shots. Jake Carwell contributed eight rebounds and a team-high five assists. Harris noted of Wiele's return, “To get that kind of effort from a player who has been out for five weeks is a big thing. He played very well tonight”

Bryant Voiles led Augustana with 14 points on 5-for-6 shooting from the field, including 4-for-5 from three-point range. Matt Pelton added 13 points, with three steals. Justin Bertrand, Chandlor Collins and Jordan Delp each contributed eight points. Collins led the Vikings with a team-high eight rebounds.

Wheaton shot 50% (29-58) from the field, with 31.3% (5-16) from three-point range and 80% (16-20) at the free throw line. Augustana posted a 41.3% (26-63) field goal percentage, with 43.8% (7-16) from behind the three-point arc and 80% (12-15) at the free throw line. The Thunder out-rebounded the Vikings 38-32, with Augustana holding an 11-10 edge on the offensive glass.

Wheaton will travel to Millikin on Saturday for a 7:30 PM tipoff against the Big Blue. Saturday's game will be broadcast on WETN radio at 88.1 FM in the Wheaton area and on the internet at www.wetn.org, with live in-game statistics courtesy of Millikin Athletics.

2,000-Point Scorers in the CCIW
1. Leon Gobczynski (Millikin) – 2,635 points (1971-75)
2. Dave Shaw (Carroll) – 2,563 points (1974-77)
3. Mel Peterson (Wheaton) – 2,542 points (1956-60)
4. Jack Sikma (IWU) – 2,272 points (1973-77)
5. Bill Warden (North Central) – 2,249 points (1951-55)
6. Jesse Price (Millikin) – 2,222 points (1965-69)
7. Scott Steagall (Millikin) – 2,127 points (1947-51)
8. Jason Wiertel (Carthage) – 2,113 points (1999-2002)
9. Mike Thomas (North Park) – 2,085 points (1978-81)
10. Blaise Bugajski (IWU) – 2,062 points (1979-80, 81-84)
11. Marv Johnson (Wheaton) – 2,044 points (1947-51)
12. Justyne Monegain (North Park) – 2,039 points (1982-85)
13. John Laing (Augustana) – 2,035 points (1969-73)
14. Kent Raymond (Wheaton) – 2,013 points (2004-2005; 06-09)