PICTURED ABOVE: Michael Berg (PICTURED LEFT) scored a team-high 24 points; Murad Dillard (PICTURED CENTER) tallied 17 points with seven rebounds and Jeremy Berntsen (PICTURED RIGHT) contributed 16 points with a career-high 10 assists.
Wheaton, Ill. – The host Wheaton Thunder men's basketball team could not withstand a strong second half surge by Carthage College (8-10, 2-5 CCIW) on Saturday night as the Red Men defeated Wheaton 85-79 in King Arena. Wheaton is now 5-13 on the season and 1-6 in conference play. The Thunder will host Illinois Wesleyan on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.
Wheaton stormed out to a 19-2 lead in the first 5:05 of tonight's game.
Murad Dillard,
Ricky Samuelson and
Michael Berg combined to score all 19 of Wheaton's points in the impressive opening run. Dillard and Samuelson each scored seven points and Berg added five points.
Wheaton's largest lead of the game was a 23-point bulge when Dillard made a three-pointer with 12:53 left in the first half to give the Thunder a 28-5 advantage. The hosts continued to maintain a double-digit lead for the majority of the first half as Wheaton owned a 48-37 lead at halftime.
Wheaton led 54-43 with 15:41 left in the game when Carthage's Kiston Lee scored a basket that ignited a 9-2 run for the Red Men and cut the Thunder lead to 56-52 with 13:20 remaining in the game. Samuelson (PICTURED LEFT) made a pair of three-pointers on the possessions that followed for the Thunder to boost the Wheaton lead to 62-52 with 11:45 left in regulation.
Wheaton led 67-55 with 9:35 remaining in the game when a traditional three-point play by Carthage's Mike Stevenson cut the Thunder lead to a nine-point advantage at 67-58. Stevenson's basket and free throw started a crucial 22-5 run for Carthage over a span of 5:30 that saw the guests take a 77-72 lead with 4:05 remaining in the game.
Carthage led 78-73 with 2:14 remaining in the game when Berg made two free throws to cut the guests' lead to 78-75. The Red Men made a pair of free throws on their next possession to regain a five-point bulge (80-75). A layup by Berg cut Carthage's lead to 80-77 with 1:49 remaining in regulation. However Carthage's Mike Stevenson made a basket with 36-seconds left in regulation and Sean Valentine sank a pair of free throws with 18-seconds remaining on the clock to increase the guests' advantage to 84-77. Carthage hung to emerge with the 85-79 victory.
Berg led Wheaton with 24 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field. Dillard scored 17 points, with seven rebounds to help Wheaton's effort tonight.
Jonathan Berntsen registered 16 points with a career-high 10 assists and Samuelson contributed 15 points with five rebounds.
Riley Teuscher grabbed seven rebounds tonight and
Joel Smith collected five boards.
Stevenson led Carthage with 27 points and Valentine added 25 points with 11 rebounds and four blocked shots.
Wheaton shot 42.9% (24-of-56) from the field tonight, including a 53.8% (14-of-26) effort in the first half. The Thunder posted a 33.3% (8-for-24) three-point field goal percentage and shot 79.3% (23-of-29) at the free throw line. Carthage recorded a 51.9% (28-of-54) field goal percentage on the night, including 57.1% (16-of-28) in the critical second half. The Red Men shot 45% (9-of-20) behind the three-point arc and 80% (20-of-25) at the charity stripe. Wheaton out-rebounded the guests 32-31 tonight, including a 10-5 advantage on the offensive glass.
