PICTURED ABOVE: Michale Berg led the Thunder with a game-high 20 points and seven rebounds.

Elmhurst, Ill. – The Wheaton men's basketball team dropped an 83-75 decision at Elmhurst College (11-1/1-0 CCIW) on Saturday afternoon in the CCIW opener for both squads. The Thunder, now 7-5 overall and 0-1 in CCIW play, will host Illinois Wesleyan on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. in King Arena.

Junior Michael Berg scored 20 points on 8-for-12 shooting from the field to lead Wheaton with 20 points. Berg also grabbed seven rebounds for the guests. Senior Brayden Teuscher (PICTURED LEFT) scored 18 points and Joel Smith scored 17 points for the Thunder. Senior Caleb DeMoss scored eight points, with six assists, four rebounds and three steals.

The Thunder shot 46% (23-of-50) from the field, with 28.6% (4-for-14) behind the three-point arc and 89.3% (25-for-28) at the free throw line. Elmhurst posted a 51.9% (28-for-54) field goal percentage for the game, with 26.7% (4-of-14) behind the three-point arc and 74.2% (23-of-31) at the free throw line. The Bluejays out-rebounded the Thunder 33-27, with a 12-9 edge on the offensive glass for the hosts.

Kyle Wuest and Erik Crittenden each scored 17 points for the hosts. Bryant Akerman contributed 13 points and Will Nixon scored 10 points. Nixon grabbed a team-high seven rebounds, while Akerman grabbed six boards for the hosts.

The first six minutes of tonight's matchup were tightly contested as the Thunder held a one-point advantage at 11-10 with 14:00 remaining in the first half when the Thunder scored eight unanswered points to take a 19-10 lead with 11:33 remaining in the opening half. The Bluejays countered with a 14-6 run that trimmed the Thunder advantage to 25-24 with 8:20 left in the first half. Wheaton held a 32-28 lead with 4:45 remaining before halftime, but Elmhurst scored the final 10 points of the first half to hold a 38-32 lead at the halftime intermission.

Wheaton opened the second half with a 10-4 run that saw Joel Smith (PICTURED RIGHT) contribute five points as Wheaton tied the game at 42-42 at the 16:35 mark. The Bluejays scored the next five points of the contest to take a 47-42 lead and the hosts would never relenquish their lead for the remainder of the game. A three-pointer by DeMoss cut the Elmhurst lead to 51-49 with 12:19 remaining in the game, but the hosts responded with a 7-2 surge that increased the Bluejays' bulge to 58-51 with 9:40 remaining in the game. Elmhurst led the Thunder 66-57 when a three-pointer by Berg cut the hosts lead to six points and a free throw by Brayden Teuscher and a tip-in by Joel Smith gave Wheaton six consecutive points to cut the Elmhurst lead to 66-63 with 5:10 left in the game. The Bluejays countered with five unanswered points to increase the hosts' lead to 71-63 with 3:58 left in the game and the Bluejays would maintain their advantage for the eventual win.