BOXSCORE

Holland, Mich. – The sixth-ranked Wheaton men's basketball team earned a 74-69 victory against Calvin College on Saturday afternoon in the second day of action in the CCIW/MIAA Classic. Wheaton is now 5-1 overall, while Calvin falls to 2-4 on the season.

With the scored tied at 11-11 with 10:27 remaining in the first half Wheaton put together a 7-1 run to take an 18-12 lead with 7:23 remaining in the opening half. Wheaton remained the lead for the rest of the first half as the Thunder held a 33-30 lead at halftime.

Wheaton remained in the lead for the majority of the second half. The Thunder led 56-54 with 9:13 left in regulation and the Thunder put together an 8-1 run to give the team a 64-55 lead with 6:47 left in the game. Calvin put together a 9-2 run to cut Wheaton's lead at 67-58 to 69-67 with 1:12 left in regulation.
Thunder sophomore Tim McCrary made two free throws to extend Wheaton's lead to 71-67 with 41-seconds remaining in regulation. A Calvin basket with 24-seconds left in the game cut Wheaton's lead to 71-69. In Wheaton's next possession sophomore Stephen Pierotti made a pair of free throws to extend Wheaton's lead to 73-69 with 13-seconds left. Calvin missed a three-point attempt with five-seconds left in the game and Wheaton senior Ben Panner collected the rebound. The team co-captain was fouled and made a free throw with one-second left to account for the 74-69 final score.

Panner (PICTURED RIGHT) tied his season-high with 29 points as he shot 9-for-16 from the field, including four three-point field goals. Panner collected six rebounds, with six rebounds and four assists. Junior guard Andrew Jahns drained six three-pointers as he scored 19 points to tie his season high. McCrary scored 14 points, with five rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots.

John Mantel led Calvin with 21 points and five rebounds. Danny Rodts scored 12 points on five-for-five- shooting from the floor. Paul Campbell added nine points, with seven rebounds.
Wheaton shot 50% (24-48) from the field, with 52.4% (11-21) from three-point range and 75.0% (15-20) at the free throw line. Calvin posted a 50% (24-48) field goal percentage, with a 40% (4-10) effort from behind the three-point arc and 70.8% (17-24) at the charity stripe. Calvin out-rebounded the Knights 31-24, with a 9-7 edge on the offensive glass.

Head coach Mike Schauer noted of his team following today's game, “Obviously I was pleased with the effort. I hope that it is a lesson learned that we just go out and do it every night.”

Wheaton remains on the road for its next game, a 7 PM tipoff at defending National Champion Washington University in St. Louis. The two teams met last year in the NCAA Division III Sectional Semifinal, en route to the Bears' second consecutive National Championship.