PICTURED ABOVE: Ricky Samuelson scored 15 points for the Thunder on Saturday.
Decatur, Ill. – The Thunder men's basketball team dropped a 94-75 decision on the road Saturday at Millikin (9-10, 2-8 CCIW). Wheaton is now 13-6 on the year with a 6-4 record in CCIW play.
Thunder junior
Aston Francis led the guests with 20 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Kobe Eichelberger and
Ricky Samuelson each scored 15 points for Wheaton.
Spencer Peterson (PICTURED LEFT) tallied nine points off the Thunder bench with 4-of-5 shooting from the field.
Wheaton led the Big Blue 16-15 with 12:45 left in the first half when a three-pointer by Francis sparked a 16-9 run for the Thunder over a span of 4:40. The run culminated with a basket for
Jay Spencer to increase the Wheaton lead 32-24 with 8:05 remaining before halftime.
Millikin responded with its own run, a 17-3 Big Blue advantage over six minutes to give the hosts a 41-35 lead with 2:05 remaining in the first half. Wheaton trimmed the Millikin lead to just three in the closing minutes of the first half as Millikin 43-40 at the halftime intermission. Francis scored 12 first-half points and Eichelberger added 11 points in the opening half.
Millikin's Zach Fisher made a three-pointer in the opening seconds of the second half to ignite a 12-2 run for the hosts. The key run in the first 2:15 after halftime extended Millikin's lead to 55-42 with 17:45 remaining in the game. Millikin maintained a double-digit lead for much of the second half, including a 21-point advantage for the hosts on two occasions in the final three minutes of the game.
Wheaton shot 41.4% (24-of-58) from the field, including 24.1% (7-of-29) from three-point range. Millikin posted a 59.3% (35-for-59) field goal percentage, including 38.1% (8-of-21) behind the three-point arc. Wheaton shot 69% (20-of-29) at the free throw line and the Big Blue had a 69.6% (16-of-23) effort at the charity stripe. Millikin out-rebounded the Thunder 38-23 and each team collected seven rebounds.
The Thunder return to action next Saturday when Elmhurst visits King Arena for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff.
