PICTURED ABOVE: Jonathan Berntsen led the Thunder with 19 points and added eight assists.
Wheaton, Ill. – The Wheaton men's basketball team hosted Illinois Wesleyan on Wednesday night in a CCIW matchup between the two conference rivals. The Titans (10-9, 4-4 CCIW) utilized a strong second half to earn a 75-65 victory against the Thunder (5-14, 1-7 CCIW).
The Titans took an early 7-3 lead tonight in the first 4:30 of the matchup, but Wheaton countered with 11 unanswered points to take a 14-7 lead with 11:10 remaining in the first half. The Titans battled back to cut the Thunder lead to four points at 29-25 with 4:49 remaining in the opening half. The Thunder responded with an 8-2 run to increase its lead to 37-27 with 1:37 left in the first half. Wheaton used the late surge to hold nine-point lead of 40-31 at halftime.
A three-pointer by Wheaton's
Joel Smith gave the hosts a 45-36 lead with 17:20 remaining in the game. The Titans countered with an impressive 19-6 run to give IWU a 57-51 advantage with 10:05 remaining in the contest. The Titans never relinquished the lead and the 10-point margin in the 75-65 final score was the biggest lead of the night for the guests.
Senior guard
Jonathan Berntsen led all players with a game-high 19 points tonight and he added eight assists.
Michael Berg (PICTURED LEFT) scored 15 points with 15 rebounds for the hosts.
Murad Dillard (PICTURED RIGHT) tallied 13 points, with seven rebounds and four assists.
Riley Teuscher contributed seven points off of the Thunder bench.
Andy Stempel led the Titans with 14 points, Trevor Seibring contributed 13 points and Bryce Dolan scored 12 points with four assists. Colin Bonnett and Joel Pennington each scored nine points with three assists. Ryan Coyle scored nine points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
Wheaton recorded a 42.9% (21-of-49) field goal percentage, including 26.3% (5-of-19) from three-point range. The Titans shot 42.4% (25-of-59) from the field, including a 43.5% (10-of-23) effort behind the three-point arc. Wheaton tallied a 78.3% (18-of-23) free throw percentage and IWU shot 71.4% (15-of-21) at the charity stripe. Illinois Wesleyan out-rebounded the Thunder 38-30, including an 11-4 edge on the offensive glass.
Wheaton will travel to Naperville on Saturday night for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff against #17-ranked North Central.
