PICTURED ABOVE: Kobe Eichelberger scored 18 points in Wheaton's 82-69 win at Elmhurst on Saturday afternoon.
Elmhurst, Ill. - The Thunder men's basketball team opened the CCIW slate of action on Saturday afternoon with an 82-69 victory at Elmhurst. Four Thunder players finished in double digits in the scoring column as Wheaton improved to 4-2 on the young season and 1-0 in the CCIW. Elmhurst is now 2-4 overall and 0-1 in conference play. Wheaton will next be in action on Wednesday night when the Thunder travel to Augustana for a 7 PM tipoff.
Aston Francis led a balanced scoring attack for the 'Orange and Blue' with 24 points to go with six rebounds, six assists and three steals.
Kobe Eichelberger scored 18 points,
Ricky Samuelson tallied 17 points and
Reagan Jones finished with a 10-pound, 11-rebound double-double performance.
Wheaton raced out to a 9-2 lead with a
Ricky Samuelson (PICTURED RIGHT) three-pointer to set the tone for the game. Elmhurst would slowly work its way back into the game, cutting the Thunder lead down to just three points with 4:06 left in the half. Leading 31-28,
Aston Francis quickly ran off five straight points to start a 10-0 Thunder run.
Reagan Jones' three-pointer in the final seconds half the half gave the visitors a 44-30 halftime lead.
Elmhurst cut the Thunder lead down to 10 points early in the second half but would get no closer for the remainder of the game. An 8-0 run followed with six of the eight points coming from
Kobe Eichelberger, highlighted by a steal and breakaway dunk. Wheatno would lead by as man as 24 points in the second half as the Thunder coasted to an 82-69 victory.
"I'm really proud of our team today," said head coach
Mike Schauer. "Today was a total team effort given the immense foul trouble we were in all afternoon. This group continues to be a very fun group for us to coach."
Wheaton 51.8% (29-56) from the field despite struggling from the three-point line, converting on just 31.8% (7-22) of its three-point attempts. Wheaton was 54.8% (17-31) from the foul line. Elmhurst shot 40.7% (24-59) but shot just 26.3% (5-19) from beyond the arc. The Bluejays struggled to a 48.5% (16-33) clip from the free throw line.
