GAME STATS PICTURED ABOVE: Jeremy Pflederer hit five three-pointers en route to 17 points.

Decatur, Ill. - The No. 23-ranked Wheaton College men's basketball team made a big offensive push midway through the first half and came away with an 82-27 victory over Millikin University on Tuesday.

The Thunder improve to 16-4 overall and 7-2 in the CCIW. The Big Blue fall to 1-19 and 0-9 in conference.

Millikin was keeping it close early, down 10-7 through the first seven minutes of the game. From then on, it was all Wheaton. The visitors turned on the offense and scored 31 points the rest of the half. The Thunder's defense also stepped up by allowing only two field goals and forcing nine turnovers during that time.

With a 41-15 halftime lead in hand, Wheaton tallied the first 15 points of the second half to put the game away. The Thunder then emptied its bench as 14 different players scored in the contest.

Jeremy Pflederer had the biggest statistical night with 17 points and four assists. The senior guard hit 5 of 8 from downtown. Fellow guard Nate Serenius (PICTURED RIGHT) netted 13 points in 14 minutes of play with a pair of treys. Senior forward Tim McCrary pulled down 10 rebounds to go with 11 points, and freshman guard Michael Kvam tallied 10 points while making all four shots.

Wheaton shot 58 percent on the night (28 of 48), 65 percent from three-point range (13 of 20) and 76 percent from the line (13 of 17). The Thunder had 15 assists to 10 turnovers while the Big Blue had three assists compared to 23 turnovers.

Millikin was held to 20 percent shooting from the field (8 of 40), 8 percent from beyond the arc (1 of 13) and 48 percent from the charity stripe (10 of 21). Jeremy Jones had nine points to lead the team.

The Thunder return home for an 8 PM game on Saturday against visiting Elmhurst College.