PICTURED ABOVE: Aston Francis scored a game-high 21 points on Wednesday against UC Santa Cruz.

Las Vegas, Nevada – The Wheaton men's basketball team returned to action on Wednesday night with a matchup at the D3hoops.com Classic tournament. The Thunder faced UC Santa Cruz in the final game of Wednesday's slate of matchups. The Banana Slugs defeated the Thunder 80-70.

UC Santa Cruz led the Thunder 19-17 with 10:50 remaining in the first half when the Banana Slugs put together an 11-4 run to extend its lead to 30-21 with 7:00 left before halftime. The UCSC run allowed the squad to lead Wheaton 41-29 at halftime. The Banana Slugs maintained their lead throughout the second half to secure the win.

Aston Francis led the Thunder with 21 points on the night. Kobe Eichelberger (PICTURED LEFT), Ricky Samuelson and Tyrel Derrick each contributed nine points for the Thunder. Luke Peters grabbed nine rebounds, with seven points.

Wheaton shot 42.6% (26-of-61) from the field, including 25% (5-of-20) behind the three-point arc. UC Santa Cruz posted a 48.2% (27-for-56) field goal percentage, including 28.6% (4-of-14) from three-point range. The Banana Slugs owned a 36-34 advantage in rebounding and the Thunder held a 14-11 edge on the offensive glass.  

Kyle Creighton led UC Santa Cruz with 19 points and Corey Cilla contributed 14 points with five assists. Matthew Nerland and Tre Weston each scored 12 points. Adam Marlow registered 10 points with five assists. Weston grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for Banana Slugs.

Wheaton will close out its participation in the tournament on Friday at 4:00 p.m. (PST) with a matchup against Hardin-Simmons.