PICTURED ABOVE: Luke Peters tallied a "double-double" with 15 points and 12 rebounds on Saturday afternoon at Alma College.

Alma, Mich. – The Thunder men's basketball team lost a 97-87 matchup at Alma College (2-5) on Saturday afternoon as the Scots closed out the game with a strong performance in the final eight minutes of the contest. Wheaton is now 5-4 on the season and will return to action against UC-Santa Cruz on December 28 at the D3hoops.com Classic in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Five Thunder players scored in double digits today, as Aston Francis (PICTURED LEFT) led the Thunder with 23 points. The sophomore made four three-pointers and distributed six assists. Junior Ricky Samuelson scored 20 points as he drained six three-pointers. Luke Peters registered a "double-double" as he scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, with four assists. Freshman Jay Spencer came off the Thunder bench to contribute 12 points with three assists. Reagan Jones scored 10 points and collected six rebounds.

Alma gained an early 10-2 lead in the first 3:30 of the game, but Wheaton responded with a 17-4 run to give the Thunder a 19-14 lead with 12:00 left in the first half. Francis scored 10 of Wheaton's 17 points in the run. The Scots countered with a late run to close out the first half as the hosts held a 46-42 lead at halftime.

The two teams battled through a tightly contested first ten minutes to open the second half. The Scots led 65-61 with 10:35 remaining in the game when a Samuelson three-pointer sparked a 10-0 run for the Thunder that gave Wheaton a 71-65 lead with 8:00 left in the game. Samuelson (PICTURED RIGHT) drained two three-pointers in the Thunder surge.

Alma responded with three-consecutive three-pointers to take a 74-71 with 6:50 remaining in the game. The Scots never trailed following the three baskets from behind the arc as the hosts surged with a strong run in the final eight minutes of the game.

Tyler Edwards led Alma with a team-high 19 points and he added six rebounds. Chase Fairchild scored 15 points as Ryan Stevens, Preston Laketa and Trevord Gernaat each contributed 14 points. Luke Lamoreaux added 12 points. Stevens had a game-high eight assists for the hosts and Gernaat collected a team-high eight rebounds.

Wheaton shot 43.7% (31-of-71) from the field, including 37.9% (11-of-29) behind the three-point arc. The Scots posted a 57.9% (33-of-57) field goal percentage, including a 57.1% (16-for-28) three-point percentage. Wheaton shot 82.4% (14-of-17) at the free throw line and Alma tallied a 68.2% (15-for-22) effort at the charity stripe. Wheaton out-rebounded the Scots 41-29, including a 15-4 edge for the Thunder on the offensive glass as the guests out-scored Alma 20-4 in second-chance points.