PICTURED ABOVE: Kobe Eichelberger registered his first career "double-double" with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Wheaton, Ill. – The Wheaton men's basketball team extended its win streak to three games on Tuesday night with a 73-67 victory at home against UW-Platteville to hand the Pioneers their first loss of the season. Wheaton, now 3-1 on the season, will return to action on November 30 in an 8:00 p.m. tipoff at University of Chicago.
 
Wheaton utilized a well-rounded effort tonight to upend the Pioneers as six Wheaton players scored eight or more points. Junior guard Ricky Samuelson made three three-pointers on his way to a game-high 16 points to lead the Thunder.

Luke Peters (PICTURED LEFT) scored 15 points, collected seven rebounds and distributed eight assists for the Thunder. Sophomore Trevor Gunter scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and he grabbed eight rebounds. Kobe Eichelberger was the fourth Wheaton player to tally a double digit point total. Eichelberger scored 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his first career double-double. Sophomore Aston Francis scored nine points with three assists. Reagan Jones scored eight points as he shot 3-of-5 from the floor.

The Thunder led 10-8 with 15:35 remaining in the first half when two three-pointers by Samuelson and a trifecta by Reagan Jones sparked a 9-4 Thunder run that increased Wheaton's lead to 19-12. Wheaton continued to maintain a solid lead for much of the remainder of the first half. The hosts led 34-25 when UW-Platteville's Trey Sigel made a three-pointer with 3:42 remaining in the half to spark a 9-2 run to close out the half for the Pioneers. Sigel scored all nine of the guests' points in the run as Wheaton led 36-34 at halftime.

Six of Wheaton's 14 field goals in the first half were three-pointers as the Thunder shot 54.5% (6-of-11) behind the three-point arc in the half. Wheaton shot 51.9% (14-of-27) from the field in the opening half.

The second half was a back-and-forth affair that saw nine lead changes. The Pioneers led 57-56 with 4:35 remaining in the game when Gunter (PICTURED RIGHT) collected an offensive rebound and scored on the put-back to give Wheaton a 58-57 lead. The Thunder never relinquished the lead after Gunter's basket, which sparked a 10-1 run for the Thunder. The surge helped Wheaton increase its lead to 66-58 with 2:09 remaining in the game. The hosts closed out the game for the key win.

Sigel and Matt Oestreich led the Pioneers with 14 points apiece. Cory Vaassen scored 12 points as Clay Gerds and Jake Showalter each tallied seven points. Robert Duax and Dan Lowe each grabbed seven rebounds for the guests.

Wheaton shot 46.6% (27-of-58) from the field, including 44.4% (8-for-18) behind the three-point arc. The Pioneers posted a 45% (27-of-60) field goal percentage, including 39.1% (9-for-23) from three-point range. Wheaton shot 50% (11-of-22) at the free throw line and the Pioneers had a 36.4% (4-of-11) effort at the charity stripe. UW-Platteville owned a 38-35 rebounding advantage as each team collected 10 offensive boards.