GAME STATS PICTURED ABOVE (L-R): Tim McCrary and Aaron Garriott.
Click here to watch coach Schauer's postgame interview
Wheaton, Ill. - A fierce rally in the final minutes of regulation, a buzzer-beating tip-in and a historic benchmark helped the Wheaton College men's basketball team to a 66-64 victory over North Central College in double overtime on Saturday.
The Thunder runs its record to 12-3 overall and 3-1 in the CCIW. The Cardinals were handed their first conference loss to make them 9-6, 3-1.
Tim McCrary scored 22 points on the night to give him 1,500 points for his career. The senior forward became only the fifth player in NCAA Division III history to reach 1,500 points, 750 rebounds and 350 assists
(SEE LIST). Additionally, he is the 12th man to reach 1,500 points in school history
(SEE LIST).
The evening's drama unfolded in the final two minutes of the second half as North Central held a 56-48 lead. A steal by
Aaron Garriott fed a
Jeremy Pflederer layup, which Garriott followed up by splashing in a three-pointer after another NCC turnover.
Tyler Peters netted a pair of free throws with 10 seconds remaining. The Cardinals then made 1 of 2 free throws on the other end. Still down 57-55, Garriott came back the other way with a trey attempt, but
Spencer Schultze was there for the put-back layup as time expired to force overtime.
(Click here to watch Schultze's buzzer-beater)
Wheaton held the lead the entire first overtime thanks to six points from Garriott. The visitors would not go down quietly though, getting a turnaround jumper from Landon Gamble to beat the buzzer and send the game to a second extra period.
The second overtime only featured free throws as the game once again came down the wire. Schultze (PICTURED RIGHT) came up big defensively with a pair of blocks on the first two possessions and Garriott added another to stymie the Cardinals' offense. Down two with only seconds remaining, North Central came through a screen and put up a three-point shot that drew iron. The rebound was collected by the Thunder to secure the victory.
After the first nine minutes of the game, Wheaton was down 10-2 having missed its first six shots from the field. But two straight steals by Pflederer led to quick buckets that got Wheaton on a roll that eventually put them up 17-14 in the waning minutes of the half.
North Central went into halftime with the lead 21-19, with a big rebounding advantage of 21-10. The Thunder countered those rebounds by forcing 13 turnovers in the half. Both teams only shot 28 percent from the field. McCrary paced Wheaton with nine points and five rebounds at the break.
The second half was back-and-forth the whole way. North Central, however, began to heat up from behind the arc and hit four three-pointers to turn a 33-28 lead into 48-36 margin. Garriott pulled the Thunder back within range with a pair of free throws and a layup to make the score 52-48. NCC's Kevin Gillespie answered back with a trey to push the deficit to 56-48.
Wheaton shot 23 of 60 from the field (38 percent), 2 of 18 from beyond the arc (11 percent) and 18 of 25 from the free throw line (72 percent). Garriott led the offense with 23 points, adding two blocks. McCrary tallied 22 points and 11 rebounds. Schultze chipped in three points, 10 rebounds and three blocks.
North Central was 19 of 51 shooting overall (37 percent), 6 of 19 from three-point range (32 percent) and 20 of 27 from the charity stripe (74 percent). The Cardinals won the rebounding battle 42-32, but also committed 22 turnovers. Aaron Tiknis collected 17 points and 11 rebounds. Landon Gamble and Vince Kmiec totaled 15 points each.
The Thunder wraps up its homestand versus Carthage College at 7:30 PM on Tuesday.
Link to photo gallery, courtesy of www.thunderphotos.com
NCAA Division III Players with 1,500 career points, 750 rebounds and 350 assists
Player |
Team |
Years |
Points |
Rebounds |
Assists |
Chris Fite |
Rochester |
1988-92 |
2066 |
1023 |
371 |
Chris Martin |
Elmhurst |
2002-06 |
1736 |
825 |
366 |
Tom Port |
Wooster |
2003-07 |
1784 |
758 |
399 |
Kyle Kuenstling |
Coe |
2004-08 |
1516 |
766 |
385 |
Tim McCrary |
Wheaton |
2008-12 |
1500 |
774 |
363 |
*EDITOR'S NOTE: The research in the table above was taken from information that was provided by Sports Information Directors from current NCAA Division III institutions and only goes back to 1973 when NCAA Division III began. However, there may be some instances missing. If you know of an instance of a Division III men's basketball player reaching 1,500 points, 750 rebounds and 350 assists in a career that is missing, please email sportsinformation@wheaton.edu.
Wheaton's all-time scoring leaders
RANK |
PLAYER |
GP |
POINTS |
SEASONS |
1.) |
Mel Peterson |
112 |
2542 |
1956-60 |
2.) |
Kent Raymond |
106 |
2308 |
2005-09 |
3.) |
Marv Johnson |
105 |
2044 |
1947-51 |
4.) |
Tom Dykstra |
97 |
1905 |
1966-70 |
5.) |
John Pfund |
101 |
1890 |
1961-65 |
6.) |
Norm Pott |
93 |
1768 |
1950-54 |
7.) |
Randy Pfund |
100 |
1710 |
1970-74 |
8.) |
Robin Cook |
98 |
1594 |
1969-73 |
9.) |
Rob Willey |
94 |
1591 |
1984-88 |
10.) |
Charles Ridley |
100 |
1546 |
1995-99 |
11.) |
Wesley Pitts |
102 |
1508 |
1993-97 |
12.) |
Tim McCrary |
99 |
1500 |
2008-12 |
13.) |
Ben Panner |
114 |
1499 |
2006-10 |
14.) |
Rob Hamann |
104 |
1494 |
1995-99 |
15.) |
Don Anderson |
118 |
1493 |
1955-59 |