Waukesha, Wis. – The eighth-ranked Wheaton Thunder men's basketball team remained on the road for conference action tonight with a CCIW matchup at Carroll's Van Male Fieldhouse. Wheaton defeated the Pioneers 81-57 in a convincing win for the Thunder. Wheaton is now 8-1 overall, with a 2-1 record in CCIW play. The Pioneers are now 3-5 overall, with an 0-2 record in conference play.
Nyameye Adom led the Thunder with 20 points tonight on 8-of-11 shooting from the field.
Tyson Cruickshank scored a5 points, with three assists.
Cade Alioth tallied 15 points, shooting 6-for-6 from the field, including 1-for-1 from three-point range. Alioth also grabbed nine rebounds with four assists, two steals and two blocked shots.
Eli Considine scored 10 points and
Collin Uveges added seven points, with three assists.
The Thunder shot 53.4% (31-for-58) from the field, including 21.7% (5-of-23) from three-point range. Carroll posted a 41.7% (25-of-60) field goal percentage, including 23.1% (3-for-13) behind the three-point arc. Wheaton shot 77.8% (14-of-18) at the free throw line, and Carroll had a 57.1% (4-for-7) effort at the charity stripe. Wheaton out-rebounded the Pioneers 38-28, including a 10-9 advantage for the guests on the offensive glass.
Ryan Mendoza led Carroll with 15 points and seven rebounds. Paradisio Dante scored 12 points for the hosts.
Carroll briefly led in the first half with a 6-5 advantage in the first two minutes of the game. Adom drove to the basket for a layup to give Wheaton the lead for good at 7-6 with 17:36 remaining in the game. Adom's basket started an 11-3 run that increased the guests' advantage to 16-9 with 13:25 remaining in the first half. Wheaton's largest lead of the first half was a 15-point bulge, the last occasion was in the 45-30 score at halftime.
Adom scored 14 of his 20 points for the game in the first half. Alioth added 13 points and five rebounds for the Thunder. Mendoza scored 11 points in the first 20 minutes and Dante added 10 points.
Wheaton maintained a healthy double-digit lead throughout the second half. The largest lead of the game for Wheaton was a 30-point edge at 74-44 with 8:25 remaining in the game. Cruickshank scored a team-high eight points in the second half.
The Thunder return home this Saturday for its first home game since Nov. 27, and its first CCIW game at home in the 2021-22 season. The eighth-ranked Thunder will host No. 3 Illinois Wesleyan as Wheaton will be competing in its second battle of top-10 teams in a week. Tipoff for Saturday night's battle with the Titans is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff.
