GAME STATS PICTURED ABOVE: Tyler Peters scored a game-high 29 points to lead the Thunder.

Decatur, Ill. - The Thunder men's basketball team earned a 92-84 victory at Millikin University (6-6/0-1 CCIW) in overtime on Saturday night to open CCIW play.

Wheaton, ranked 24th in this week's d3hoops.com Top-25 poll, is now 8-4 overall and 1-0 in conference play. The Thunder will host Elmhurst College (8-4/0-1 CCIW) on Wednesday night in a 7 PM tipoff in Wheaton's King Arena.

The Big Blue led for the majority of the first half with the hosts holding a 34-30 lead at halftime.

Millikin led 42-39 with 16:55 remaining in the second half when a basket by Thunder forward Peter Smith sparked an 11-2 scoring surge for the Thunder to give Wheaton a 51-44 lead with 12:15 remaining in regulation. Smith keyed the scoring surge, as he tallied six of Wheaton's 11 points in the run.

Wheaton continued to maintain a lead from that point on, holding a 14-point advantage at 67-53 with 6:35 remaining in the second half. However, the Big Blue responded with a 15-1 run to tie the contest at 68-68 with 2:35 remaining in regulation. Millikin gained a 73-70 lead when Thunder All-American Tyler Peters drained a lengthy three-pointer with 1:25 left in the second half to tie the game at 73-73. Millikin regained the lead and Peter Smith countered with a three-pointer to give the Thunder a 78-76 lead with 24-seconds left in regulation.  Millikin made a pair of free throws with seven-seconds remaining to tie the game at 78-78 and a Wheaton field goal attempt in the closing seconds was no good as the contest went to overtime tied at 78.

Tad Fisher made a three-pointer with 2:10 left in the overtime to give Wheaton an 83-80 lead and break an 80-80 tie. Wheaton led for the remainder of the overtime following Fisher's key three-pointer.

Peters was held to two points in the first half and surged in the second half and overtime to tally a game-high 29 points. The Thunder senior scored eight of Wheaton's 14 points in the overtime session. He shot 9-for-12 from the field, grabbed eight rebounds and distributed three assists.

Junior Brayden Teuscher (PICTURED RIGHT) scored 17 points, with four assists. Michael Berg scored 13 points, with seven rebounds for the Thunder. Guard Caleb DeMoss registered 11 points off the Thunder bench, while Peter Smith scored nine points, with eight rebounds.

TJ Griffin led Millikin with a team-high 22 points and he added five assists. Tives Gardner scored 21 points and Deavis Johnson tallied 11 points, with nine rebounds.

The Thunder shot a 51.8% (29-56) field goal percentage, with 44.4% (8-18) from three-point range and 72.2% (26-36) at the free throw line. The Big Blue registered a 38.9% (28-72) field goal percentage, with 30% (6-20) from behind the three-point arc and 75.9% (22-29) at the charity stripe. Wheaton out-rebounded the Big Blue 40-38, while Millikin had a 16-8 edge on the offensive glass.