Gallatin, Tenn. – The sixth-ranked Wheaton men's basketball team returned to action on Wednesday following an 11-day Christmas break. On Wednesday, Wheaton played its first of two games at the Music City Classic being held at Welch College. Berry College (Ga.) defeated the Thunder 78-72. Wheaton is now 10-2 on the season, while Berry improves to 9-1 in the 2021-22 season.

Cade Alioth led the Thunder with 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field this afternoon. The senior also grabbed five rebounds and blocked two shots. Nyameye Adom tallied 17 points for Wheaton, with five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Luke Anthony scored 14 points off the Thunder bench, with five rebounds. Tyson Cruickshank scored 11 points, with a team-high four assists. Spencer Peterson tallied six points off the bench in the contest.

Wheaton shot 39.7% (23-of-58) from the field, including 23.3% (7-of-30) behind the three-point arc. The Vikings posted a 45.5% (25-of-55) field goal percentage, including 25% (3-for-12) from three-point range. Wheaton shot 70.4% (19-of-27) at the free throw line and the Vikings had a 69.4% (25-of-36) effort at the charity stripe. Berry out-rebounded the Thunder 41-32, including a 10-9 advantage on the offensive glass.

Chase Ellis led Berry with 20 points and five rebounds. Robbie Rusciano added 13 points with five rebounds, while Austin Brooks scored 12 points and collected seven rebounds.  
Berry jumped out to an early lead, scoring the first nine points of the game. The Vikings led by as many as 14 points in the first half, with a 19-5 Berry lead with 13:06 remaining before halftime. The Vikings led for the entirety of the first half and held a 42-33 advantage at the halftime intermission.

The Vikings continues to lead in the second half, however, Wheaton's strong defensive effort and improved offensive output held the Thunder chip away at their lead. Berry led by nine points at 53-44 with 13:22 remaining in the game when the Thunder scored seven-consecutive points to cut the Berry lead to 53-51 with 11:24 remaining in the second half.
Cruickshank drained a three-pointer with 8:02 remaining in the game to give Wheaton a 61-60 advantage, its first lead of the game. Alioth got a put-back basket on missed free throw to tie the game at 68-68 with 5:01 remaining in the game. Berry countered with an old-fashioned three-point play as the Vikings led 71-68 with 4:45 remaining in the game.

Collin Uveges made a free throw with 4:30 remaining in the game to trim the Vikings' lead to 71-69. Adom followed with a pair of free throws to tie the game at 71-71 with 4:07 remaining. The Vikings responded with a layup on their next trip down the court to take a 73-71 lead. Wheaton was unable to capitalize on its next possession and the Vikings tallied another layup to take a four-point lead at 75-71 with 3:19 remaining in regulation. The key scoring stretch for the Vikings helped Berry to the 78-72 victory.

Wheaton concludes its two-game trip to Tennessee on Thursday at 5:00 p.m. with a matchup against Edgewood College.