BOXSCORE
Wheaton, Ill. - The Thunder men's basketball team dropped a tight 55-54 decision to Carthage College on Wednesday night in King Arena. The contest was a story of two halves as Wheaton was in control of the first half of tonight's game and Carthage had a strong second half. Tonight's defeat was the first loss of the season for the number-one ranked Thunder. Wheaton is now 15-1 overall and 4-1 in the CCIW, while Carthage improves to 12-4 overall and 4-1 in league play.
Wheaton used impressive defense to hold a 30-16 lead at halftime as Carthage shot just 23.1% (6-26) from the field in the first half and Red Men All-American Steve Djurickovic registered just two first-half points. Djurickovic entered the game ranked second in Division III in scoring, averaging 30.2 points per game. Wheaton led 17-14 with 9:30 remaining in the first half when a three-pointer by freshman Jeremy Pflederer sparked a 13-2 Thunder scoring run to close out the opening half.
Carthage out-scored the Thunder 14-4 over the first seven minutes of the second half to cut Wheaton's lead to 34-30 with 13:00 remaining in regulation. The game was tied four times in the final five minutes, including on a basket by Wheaton center Andy Wiele that tied the game at 49-49 with 2:45 remaining in regulation. Djurickovic countered with a layup with 2:23 remaining in the game to give the Red Men a 51-49 lead. A pair of free throws by Wheaton forward Brad Smith tied the game at 51-51 with 2:23 remaining. The Red Men regained the lead when Djurickovic scored with 1:57 remaining; however Wiele tied the game at 53-53 on a layup with 1:29 remaining in regulation.
A solid defensive stand by the Thunder on Carthage's next possession allowed the Thunder to get the ball with 51-seconds remaining. On that possession, Wiele was fouled and he made one of two free throws to give Wheaton a 54-53 lead with 21-seconds remaining. Carthage's Adam Stuart was fouled with six-seconds remaining in regulation and he made both free throws to give the guests a 55-54 lead. Carthage defended Wheaton well as the Thunder tried to get off a final shot attempt; however the hosts' three-point attempt at the buzzer fell short.
Wiele led Wheaton with 17 points and seven rebounds. Pflederer (PICTURED RIGHT) contributed 11 points, with four rebounds. Ben Panner scored eight points with three assists. Smith scored seven points and grabbed six rebounds, while Jake Carwell led Wheaton with a team-high seven assists.
Djurickovic led Carthage with 17 points as he scored 15 points in the second half, including eight of his team's final 10 points in the last 5:30 of the game. The Carthage All-American also grabbed six rebounds and dished out seven assists on the evening. Adam Tolo added 12 points, making three three-pointers.
Wheaton shot 47.6% (20-42) from the field, with 42.9% (3-7) at the three-point line and a season-low 45.8% (11-24) free throw percentage. Carthage posted a 39.6% (21-53) field goal percentage, with 25% (6-24) from three-point range and 87.5% (7-8) from the charity stripe. Wheaton held a 33-32 edge in rebounding, as each team collected six offensive boards.
Wheaton will host #19-ranked Elmhurst in a league clash on Saturday night at 7:30 PM. Saturday's game will be broadcast on WETN radio (88.1 FM) and WETN-TV (Channel 72) in the Wheaton area, with streaming video on the internet at www.wetn.org. Live in-game statistics will also be available online at this link.
