Wheaton, Ill. – The Wheaton Thunder men's basketball team lost to Hanover College 76-65 on Tuesday afternoon in the Championship Game of the Wheaton Thunder Holiday Tournament in King Arena. Wheaton is now 9-3 on the season, while Hanover improves to 8-2.
Nyameye Adom led the Thunder with 23 points and four rebounds.
Cade Alioth tallied 12 points, shooting 71.4% (5-of-7) from the field. He added four rebounds and three assists. Adom and Alioth each earned a spot on the all-tournament team.
Luke Anthony (PICTURED LEFT) scored 11 points with three rebounds.
Tyson Cruickshank registered seven points with three rebounds and three assists.
Anajuwon Spencer scored five points with four blocked shots and two assists.
Wheaton shot 46.2% (24-of-52) from the field, including 35% (7-for-20) behind the three-point arc. The Panthers posted a 58.8% (30-of-51) field goal percentage, including 63.6% (7-for-11) from three-point range. The Thunder shot 90.9% (10-of-11) at the free throw line, while Hanover posted a 90% (9-of-10) effort at the charity stripe. The Panthers controlled the glass, out-rebounding Wheaton 31-19. Hanover had an 8-6 edge on the offensive glass. Hanover's rebounding edge helped the guests to a 13-6 advantage in second-chance points.
Wheaton never led in tonight's game. The opening 11 minutes were tightly contested as Hanover held a three-point lead at 24-21 with 8:30 remaining in the first half. The Panthers closed out the final 8:10 of the opening half with a 15-2 run to hold a 39-23 lead at halftime.
Wheaton opened the first five minutes of the second half with a 16-5 run to trim the Panthers' lead to seven points at 45-38. Hanover responded and built its lead to as large as 18 points at 69-51 with six minutes remaining in the game.
Kevin Williams, the tournament MVP, led the Panthers with 19 points. Mark Albers scored 18 points and Blake Robertson added 10 points. Isaac Hibbard tallied a "double-double" with 14 points and 10 rebounds to earn All-Tournament recognition.
The Thunder returns to CCIW play on Saturday night with a 7:00 p.m. tipoff at North Central College.
TOURNAMENT MVP
Kevin Williams, Hanover College
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Eli Cave (Saint Mary's, Minn.)
Mitch Burger (Dubuque)
Nyameye Adom (Wheaton)
Cade Alioth (Wheaton)
Isaac Hibbard (Hanover)
