GAME STATS PICTURED ABOVE: Tyler Peters (LEFT) scored the game-winner as time expired. Michael Kvam (RIGHT) led all scorers with 18 points.
Wheaton, Ill. – The #22-ranked Wheaton men's basketball team earned a dramatic 66-64 victory against sixth-ranked Washington University-St. Louis on Saturday night in King Arena. Wheaton junior
Tyler Peters buried a fadeaway jumper
(VIDEO) as time expired to give Wheaton win the win and keep the Thunder undefeated. Wheaton is now 8-0 on the year and will host Cornell College (Iowa) on Wednesday at 7:30 PM.
Wheaton narrowly led for the majority of the first half tonight. The Thunder held a 26-24 advantage with 4:20 left in the first half when junior
Tad Fisher made a three-pointer that increased the hosts' lead 29-24. Fisher buried another three-pointer with 1:10 left in the opening half as Wheaton held a 33-28 lead at halftime.
Wheaton led the Bears 45-41 with 14:45 remaining in the game when sophomore
Michael Kvam drained a three-pointer and Wash U foul after the play gave the ball back to Wheaton and the Thunder responded with a driving basket at the hoop by
Tyler Peters who drew a foul and made the charity shot for a key six-point swing that increased Wheaton's lead to 51-41.
The Bears responded with six unanswered points to trim the Wheaton lead to 51-47. With 11 minutes left in regulation. Wheaton's
Peter Smith made a pair of free throws,
Michael Berg (PICTURED LEFT) made a layup and Smith added another basket for a 55-47 Wheaton lead with 8:35 left in the game. The Bears responded with a 10-1 run that cut the Thunder lead to 58-57 with 4:40 remaining in the contest.
Nathan Haynes (PICTRUED RIGHT) dunked the basketball for a 60-57 lead with 3:52 left in the game Peters made a free throw to up the hosts' lead to 61-57. Washington's Matt Palucki converted a layup with 2:10 left in the game and then his teammate Chris Klimek added a layup to tie the game at 61-61 with 1:30 left in the contest. Kvam made a three-pointer with 59-seconds left to give the hosts a 64-61 lead and the Bears' Ben Hoener sank a three-pointer to tie the game at 64-64 with 38-seconds left.
Peter Smith's three-point attempt with six-seconds left in the game rolled out of bounds off of a Wash U player with three-seconds left in the game. Kvam's inbounds pass went to Berg who dumped it off to Peters who buried the jumper with a defender in his face for the win.
Thunder head coach
Mike Schauer noted after the game, “This is an unbelievable win for us, against a program that I have an enormous amount of respect for in Wash U.” He added, “To find a way to beat them means a lot for this season for our programs and our kids. It is what small-college basketball is about. Two teams refusing to go away and battling each other to the very end.”
Kvam led all scorers with 18 points, shooting 5-for-6 from three-point range. Berg scored 15 points, with four steals. Peters tallied 11 points, with 10 assists.
Peter Smith scored nine points, with five rebounds. Haynes grabbed 10 rebounds, with three assists and three blocked shots.
Wheaton posted a 42.6% (23-54) field goal percentage, with 45.8% (11-24) from three-point range and 52.9% (9-17) at the free throw line. The Bears shot 45.8% (22-48) from the floor, with 37.5% (3-8) from behind the three-point arc and 70.8% (17-24) at the free throw line. The Bears out-rebounded the hosts 40-25, with a 13-9 edge on the offensive glass. Wash U committed 16 turnovers as Wheaton scored 14 points off of those miscues.
Matt Palucki led the Bears with 15 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Chris Klimek scored 14 points, with eight rebounds. Robert Burnett contributed 11 points and Ben Hoener added nine points. Guard Alan Aboona distributed eight assists for the guests.
