BOXSCORE

Rock Island, Ill. – A strong late rally gave Wheaton a 56-53 victory at Augustana on Thursday night in a key CCIW game. The Thunder out-scored Augustana 14-4 over the final 4:30 minutes of the game to rally for the victory. Wheaton and Augustana are now tied for third-place in the CCIW standings with identical 7-4 league records with three conference games left to play. Wheaton is now 15-7 on the season, while Augustana's overall record is 14-8.

Wheaton led 17-10 with 10 minutes left in the first half. Augustana out-scored the Thunder 19-5 in the final 10 minutes of the game, including a 12-0 run over the final 5:30 minutes of the opening half. The strong closing run allowed the Vikings to hold a 29-22 lead at halftime.

Wheaton out-scored Augustana 11-5 over the first 6:25 of the second half to cut the Vikings' lead to 34-33 with 13:35 remaining in the game. Augustana had a one-point advantage at 41-40 when the Vikings put together an 8-0 run to extend their lead to 49-40 with 5:00 remaining in regulation. Back-to-back three-pointers by Wheaton juniors John Shackelford and Andrew Jahns cut the Vikings' lead to 49-46 with 3:50 left in regulation. Jahns drained another three-pointer at the 2:49 mark to give Wheaton a 52-51 lead as the Thunder put together a 12-2 run to earn its first lead of the second half.

Wheaton led 54-53 in the final minute and Augustana possessing the basketball. A strong defensive effort by Wheaton forced a Viking turnover thanks to a steal by Stephen Pierotti. Augustana was forced to foul Ben Panner with 22-seconds left in regulation. Panner made both free throws to extend Wheaton's lead to 56-53 and the Vikings missed a basket late in the game as the Thunder secured the victory.

“Tonight's game was a microcosm of our season. We have had moments where we were really good and we have had moments where we really struggled, but what has remained constant with this team is their effort and ability to persevere. These guys just refused to quit and it has been that way all season,” noted head coach Mike Schauer after the game.

Panner led the Thunder with a game-high 17 points. Jahns scored 11 points, with three three-pointers, including two trifectas in Wheaton's critical run in the final five minutes. Tim McCrary scored 10 points, with eight rebounds and four assists. Senior Jake Carwell grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.

Chris Anderson led Augustana with 15 points. Kyle Nelson scored 14 points, with nine rebounds.

Wheaton shot 41.2% (21-51) from the field, with 42.1% (8-19) from three-point range and 85.7% (6-7) from the free throw line. Augustana posted a 45.1 % (23-51) field goal percentage, with 25% (3-12) from three-point range and 66.7% (4-6) from the charity stripe. Each team collected 30 rebounds, with nine offensive boards.

Wheaton will return to action on Saturday night with a 7:30 PM tipoff at CCIW co-leader Illinois Wesleyan (18-4/9-2 CCIW). Saturday's game will be broadcast on WETN at 88.1 FM in the Wheaton area and on the internet at www.wetn.org.