Bloomington, Ill. – The 10^th-ranked Wheaton Thunder men's basketball team faced No. 19 Elmhurst on Friday evening in the first of two semifinal games in the 2022 CCIW Men's Basketball Tournament. The Bluejays used a solid defensive effort to build up a strong second-half lead in holding on to defeat the Thunder 74-68. Wheaton is now 20-6 on the season, while Elmhurst improves to 21-6 and advances to the CCIW Championship Game tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. in Bloomington.

Senior Cade Alioth registered his 18^th 'double-double" of the season in leading the Thunder with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Alioth shot 8-of-16 from the field, making four three-pointers and he blocked four Elmhurst shots. Tyson Cruickshank tallied 14 points, making a pair of three-pointers. He also grabbed six rebounds and distributed five assists. Nyameye Adom scored 11 points for Wheaton and registered four assists. Nick Schiavello contributed nine points for the Thunder.

Wheaton shot 37.9% (22-of-58) from the field, including 29.0% (9-of-31) from three-point range. Elmhurst shot a 39.7% (25-of-63) field goal percentage today, including 14.3% (1-of-7) behind the three-point arc. Wheaton shot 68.2% (15-of-22) at the free throw line and the Bluejays had a 76.7% (23-for-30) effort at the charity stripe. Elmhurst out-rebounded Wheaton 42-36, including a 16-13 edge on the offensive glass. The Bluejays capitalized on 15 Thunder turnovers to out-score Wheaton 14-4 in points off turnovers.

Lavon Thomas led Elmhurst with 27 points, and five rebounds. Ocean Johnson scored 14 points with six rebounds, and two steals. Jake Rhode tallied 12 points, with five rebounds, and four steals. Wesley Hooker scored 11 points, with seven rebounds for the Bluejays.

Wheaton led early in the contest as a Schiavello basket with 14:10 remaining in the first half gave the Thunder a four-point lead at 14-10. A three-pointer by Schiavello gave Wheaton its largest lead of the game with a five-point advantage 25-20 with eight minutes left before halftime. Following Schiavello's trey, the Bluejays went on a 17-5 run to close out the first half.

Elmhurst led the Thunder 37-30 at the halftime intermission. Alioth had a game-high 12 points at halftime, and Adom added six first-half points. Thomas scored 10 points in the first half for the Bluejays.

Elmhurst started the second half well with a 12-1 run that gave the Bluejays a 57-41 lead with 11:15 remaining in the game. The largest Elmhurst lead of the game was a 19-point bulge at 62-43 with 9:30 left in the game.
The Bluejays led by 13 points at 66-53 with 5:40 left in the game when Alioth made the first of three-consecutive Thunder three-pointers. The trifectas sparked a 15-7 Wheaton run that cut the Bluejays' lead to five points at 73-68. Wheaton was unable to complete the rally as Elmhurst emerged with the 74-68 victory.