Bloomington, Ill. -- In a high-stakes matchup with first place in the CCIW on the line, the ninth-ranked Illinois Wesleyan Titans overcame #13 Wheaton on Saturday evening by a score of 79-71. The Thunder's loss drops their conference record to 10-4 and likely ensures that the regular season conference title will belong to tonight's hosts. Cade Alioth led Wheaton with 21 points, including a season-high five three-pointers, while Nyameye Adom registered 18 points of his own. Tyson Cruickshank added 13 and a team-high eight rebounds. IWU's Matthew Leritz scored a game-high 31 points to lead the Titans to victory in a contest that was dominated by the big men on either side. 

The Thunder came into this clash seeking to avoid the slow start that complicated their last few performances, and an early 5-0 lead for Illinois Wesleyan threatened to continue that trend. But the visitors responded well, with two free throws and a layup by Adom cutting the Titans' lead to one. Both sides struggled to develop any offensive rhythm in the opening stages, and the next two minutes were scoreless, until IWU dropped in their second three to extend their lead to four. Cruickshank answered with a jumper in the paint, before Adom tied the game at 8 from another pair of free throws. In a first half that was characterized by either side going on a run before allowing the other to catch up, another five-point stretch from the home side was followed by an identical reply, capped by Alioth's first deep shot of the game. Illinois Wesleyan's lead was as large as eight points approaching the five minute mark in the first half, but the Thunder refused to let the top ten team pull away. Luke Anthony dropped in a three and Cruickshank added a basket in the lane to reduce the deficit once more. After a Titan bucket put the score at 29-24, Wheaton mounted a seven-point run that gave the visitors their first lead of the night and the momentum in the closing minutes. Nick Schiavello finished off the flurry with a three of his own, but two IWU free throws a minute later knotted up the scoreline at 31-31. An Anthony layup and Adom jumper came either side of a well-timed Titan turnover and helped Wheaton build a 35-32 advantage with 15 seconds remaining. After both sides failed to score on their final possessions, the Thunder went into the locker room with a narrow halftime lead. 

Cade Alioth converted two foul shots to begin the second half and extended Wheaton's advantage to five. Unfortunately, this proved to be Wheaton's largest and last lead of the contest. Just twenty seconds later, Alioth picked up his third foul and was forced to exit the game. Illinois Wesleyan intentionally took advantage of the center's absence, and Matthew Leritz registered four free throws before a Titan jumper in the paint restored the hosts' edge at 38-37. Two more baskets from IWU completed the ten-point swing and caused Wheaton to have to play catch-up for the remainder of the game. The Thunder struggled from the floor in the second half, and their first seven points of the period came from the charity stripe. Tyson Cruickshank broke this streak by dropping in a driving layup with 11:15 left to play, but this was only enough to reduce IWU's lead to eight points. Forty seconds later, Wheaton head coach Mike Schauer gambled by putting Cade Alioth back on the floor with four fouls. But it proved to be a wise call, as the senior's presence gave the Thunder a much-needed boost. A minute after his re-entry, Alioth knocked down another three-pointer, and this touched off a 7-0 run that cut the Titans' lead to just five points. But the home side answered with a basket, an importantly timed steal, and a subsequent jumper in the paint to push the margin back up to nine. The visitors reduced the deficit to five three more times in the following minutes, but each time this occurred, the hosts had an answer. Finally, after another Leritz layup that followed an Adom two-pointer, Alioth came up clutch again with another deep three ball to slice Illinois Wesleyan's edge down to four points with two minutes remaining. Both teams missed on their next possession, and the Titans earned a trip to the line with 1:14 left in the game. Two successful free throws gave the hosts a 74-68 edge, and after another miss from range for the Thunder, Illinois Wesleyan iced the game away by knocking down a three of their own. Nick Schiavello answered with a triple to cut it to 77-71, but Wheaton only had nine seconds to work with, and a final pair of foul shots from IWU gave the game its ultimate 79-71 scoreline.  

The overall shooting percentages saw Illinois Wesleyan post an impressive 49.2% mark and Wheaton go 41.8% from the floor. The Thunder were excellent from the free throw line on Saturday, earning 17 points and an 85% conversion rate. The battle on the glass shook out evenly, with IWU collecting 35 rebounds to Wheaton's 31, while the sides combined for 21 turnovers. Unsurprisingly, the points in the paint category saw sizable totals for both teams, as IWU earned 34 and Wheaton tallied 26. The Titans also held the edge in points off of turnovers at a 14-8 clip. But the Thunder won advantages in the second chance points and bench points statistics, besting their hosts 9-4 and 17-9, respectively. Both teams collected eight fast break points. Perhaps the most decisive figure from Saturday's contest came in the form of three point shooting. Illinois Wesleyan went 9-17 (53%), while Wheaton only managed eight baskets off of 30 attempts. The Thunder were left to rue their lack of finishing on open looks from beyond the arc, particularly in the first half. 

Alioth added seven rebounds, three assists, and a steal to go with his 21 points. Adom forced one steal, picked up an assist, and grabbed four boards while going a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line. Collin Uveges tallied three rebounds and an assist in addition to his two points. Luke Anthony was the Thunder's leading scorer off the bench, earning nine points, one board, and the team's only block of the game. Schiavello contributed eight points and five rebounds in another solid showing as a substitute.

Wheaton's goal of winning the regular season conference title is no longer in their hands, but the Thunder still have plenty to play for as they inch towards the postseason. The team hosts North Park on Wednesday evening before closing out the regular season next Saturday in a senior night matchup with Millikin.