PICTURED ABOVE: Ricky Samuelson scored a career-high 34 points to lead Wheaton's offensive effort.

Wheaton, Ill. - The Wheaton Thunder men's basketball team opened its season on Friday with an 80-59 victory against DePauw 80-59 in the opening night of the 2017 Lee Pfund Classic in King Arena. Wheaton (1-0) will face Baldwin-Wallace (1-0) on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. in the Lee Pfund Classic Championship Game. DePauw takes on No. 11 UW-River Falls (1-1) at 5:30 p.m. in the consolation game. Baldwin Wallace defeated UW-River Falls in tonight's opening game 68-65

Wheaton's Ricky Samuelson opened his senior season with a career-high 34 points tonight in the victory against DePauw. Samuelson shot 12-of-15 from the field, including 8-for-9 from three-point range.

Kobe Eichelberger scored 13 points against the Tigers on 6-of-7 shooting from the field. The Thunder junior grabbed seven rebounds and distributed a game-high five assists. Luke Peters (PICTURED LEFT) added 12 points with eight rebounds, including four offensive boards. Aston Francis contributed four assists and Zack Kvam added three assists. Junior forward Trevor Gunter established a career-high with five blocked shots.

The two teams battled each other through a tightly contested opening eight minutes as the score was tied 8-8 with 11:42 remaining in the first half when Eichelberger (PICTURED RIGHT) tallied a layup that sparked a 20-1 Thunder run. The extensive run lasted about five minutes and gave Wheaton a 28-9 lead with 6:35 remaining in the first half. Eichelberger scored eight of Wheaton's 20 points in the run and Samuelson drained a pair of three-pointers for six points. Wheaton held a commanding 43-15 lead at halftime and never looked back in securing the win.

The Thunder shot 50.8% (31-61) from the field in the game, including 60% (18-30) in the first half. The hosts posted a 41.9% (11-of-25) effort from three-point range and shot 63.6% (7-for-11) at the free throw line. DePauw shot a 39.7% (23-of-58) field goal percentage, including 25% (5-of-20) from three-point range. The Tigers had a 42.1% (8-of-19) effort at the charity stripe tonight. Wheaton out-rebounded the Tigers 39-36, with DePauw owning a 15-12 edge on the offensive glass.  
 
Jack VandeMerkt and David Vogel led the Tigers with 13 points apiece. Vogel collected a team-high seven rebounds for the guests.