BOXSCORE

Naperville, Ill. – The #7-ranked Wheaton men's basketball team dropped an 81-66 decision at North Central on Wednesday night. Wheaton is now 15-3 overall and 4-3 in league play, while North Central is now 13-5 overall and 5-2 in the CCIW. Wheaton will travel to Augustana on Saturday night for a 7:30 PM tipoff against the Vikings. 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.

The Thunder held an 18-12 lead with 11:50 remaining in the first half. The Cardinals put together a 16-3 scoring run to take a 28-21 lead with 7:15 remaining in the game. North Central never relinquished the lead for the remainder of the evening as the hosts held a 36-30 lead at halftime.

Early in the second half, the Thunder cut the Cardinals' lead to 40-38 with 17:00 remaining in the game. That was the closest the Thunder would come as the Cardinals withstood each Wheaton rally in the second half. The Cardinals led 58-54 with 8:10 remaining in regulation when the hosts utilized a 15-5 run to extend the lead to 73-59 with 3:30 left in the game.

Freshman forward Tim McCrary led the Thunder with 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting from the field, with five rebounds. All-American Kent Raymond returned to the lineup after sitting out two weeks with an injury. The Thunder senior scored 13 points, with two assists in 20 minutes off the Wheaton bench. Sophomore Andrew Jahns scored nine points, while Andy Wiele, Jake Carwell and Ben Panner each scored eight points. Wiele collected 11 rebounds, with six assists and three steals.

Matt Rogers led North Central with 20 points and eight rebounds. Chris Drennan scored 18 points, with seven rebounds. Mitch Raridon scored 17 points, and Reid Barringer contributed 11 points.

Wheaton shot 45.7% (21-46) from the field, with 20% (3-15) from three-point range and 65.8% (21-32) at the free throw line. North Central recorded a 56% (28-50) field goal percentage, with 22.2% (2-9) from behind the three-point arc and 79.3% (23-29) at the free throw line. North Central out-rebounded Wheaton 29-28, with the Thunder holding an 8-6 edge on the offensive glass.