Kenosha, Wis. - The Thunder men's basketball team earned a 67-65 victory at Carthage on Saturday night in another CCIW slugfest. Neither team led by more than four points for the final ten minutes of Saturday night's game that featured seven ties and four lead changes. The victory pushes Wheaton's overall record to 12-6 with a 6-3 mark in the CCIW while Carthage falls to 11-7 overall and 3-6 in conference action. Wheaton will have a week to prepare for its next game when the Thunder travel to fourth-ranked Elmhurst for a 4 pm tip-off on Saturday, February 1.

"Our league is so balanced and every night is such a battle," said head coach Mike Schauer of his team's performance. Schauer continued, "I'm just really proud of our guys. We play really hard and we care deeply. This is a fun team to coach."

Carthage finished the game shooting 28-60 (46.7%) despite being held to just 1-14 (7.1%) from the three-point line. Wheaton shot 25-63 (39.7%) from the field and 11-29 (37.9%) from beyond the arc. Both teams struggled at the charity stripe with the hosts shooting 61.5% (8-13) and Wheaton shooting 6-11 (54.5%). Wheaton lost the rebounding battle 39-37 despite an 11-7 advantage on the offensive boards, leading to a 15-4 edge in second chance points. Carthage dominated the interior, owning a 52-14 edge in points in the paint. Both teams combined for only 11 turnovers.

Despite an early 7-2 lead, Wheaton found itself trailing 20-14 with just over five minutes remaining in the first half. Anajuwon Spencer's three-pointer started a 13-4 Thunder run that saw the Thunder take a 27-24 lead with 2:06 left in the half on a three-pointer by Gavin Hawkins. Luke Anthony's fourth three-pointer of the first half broke a 28-28 tie and led the Thunder to a 33-30 halftime edge.

Wheaton opened the second half on an 11-5 run to take its largest lead of the night on a Collin Uveges three-pointer with 15:05 to play to put the Thunder ahead 44-35. Carthage answered with a seven-point run that started an extended 14-5 run to tie the score at 49.

Nyameye Adom broke the tie with a lay-up and Hawkins followed with another three-pointer to put Wheaton ahead 54-49 before Carthage answered with a nine-point run to lead 58-54 with 5:22 to play. Still trailing by four, Wheaton ran off a quick 6-0 run capped by an Adom three-point play with 2:44 to play, putting the Thunder ahead 62-60.

Carthage pulled back within a point at 64-63 with 1:34 to play before Anthony split a pair of free throws. After the teams traded defensive stops, Carthage tied the game at 65 on a jumper in the lane by Sean Johnson with 25 seconds to play.

With the shot clock off, Wheaton waited patiently on offense before working the ball to Adom on the right wing with five seconds on the clock. Isolated against his defender, Adom crossed his way into the lane and pulled up just inside the free throw line for a straightaway jumper that banked in with 1.0 seconds to play, giving Wheaton a 67-65 victory. After a Carthage timeout, Kienan Baltimore's deep heave at the buzzer was no good, securing the Thunder victory.

Adom led three Thunder scorers in double figures with a game-high 21 points to go with six rebounds and four assists. Luke Anthony finished with 17 points and six rebounds and Anajuwon Spencer had 13 points. Cade Alioth grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds to go with three points and three assists. Jordon Kedrowski led the Red Men with 16 points and Baltimore finished wtih 15 points, seven rebounds, and four assists.