Chicago, Ill. – The seventh-ranked Thunder men's basketball team had its nine-game win streak snapped on Wednesday night with a 66-63 loss at North Park (15-4, 8-2 CCIW). Wheaton is now 16-3 overall and 8-2 in CCIW play.
 
Tyson Cruickshank led the Thunder with a team-high 23 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field, including four three-pointers. Cruickshank added seven rebounds and three assists. Forward Nick Schiavello added 14 points with seven rebounds. Senior guard Andrew Williams scored nine points with five rebounds and five assists. TJ Askew scored seven points with a game-high nine boards.

The Thunder shot 40% (20-of-50) from the floor, including 25% (6-of-24) behind the three-point arc tonight. The Vikings posted a 37.7% (26-of-69) field goal percentage, including 38.9% (7-of-18) from three-point range. Wheaton shot 77.3% (17-of-22) at the free throw line and the Vikings had a 63.6% (7-of-11) effort at the charity stripe. Wheaton out-rebounded the hosts 33-39, with the Vikings holding an 11-6 advantage on the offensive glass.

Marquise Jackson led North Park with 25 points. Shamar Pumphrey scored nine points, with six assists. Jalen Boyd and Karl Polk, Jr. each scored eight points for the hosts.

The Thunder scored the first five points of the game and led by as many as seven points on multiple occasions in the first 10 minutes and the final time as an 18-11 advantage with 10:20 remaining in the opening half. The Vikings responded with nine unanswered points, including a pair of three-pointers off of Wheaton turnovers, as the hosts gained a 20-18 lead with 8:40 left in the first half.

The hosts maintained the lead for the rest of the first half, leading by as many as many as eight in the final five minutes of the half. The Vikings owned a 36-29 halftime edge. Cruickshank led all players with 13 first-half points, adding four rebounds. Askew grabbed eight rebounds in the first half. Jackson led the Vikings with 12 points in the opening half. NPU out-scored the Thunder 14-2 off of turnovers as the hosts' pressing and trapping defense forced Wheaton into 15 turnovers.Wheaton out-rebounded the Vikings 21-14 in the first half as the guests out-scored the hosts 6-0 on second chance points.

North Park matched its largest lead of the game in the first minute of the second half with an eight-point bulge at 37-29. Wheaton responded with a 12-2 run that was capped by a Cruickshank three pointer that gave Wheaton a 41-39 lead lead with 14:15 remaining in regulation. The two teams battled in a tightly contested affair that saw neither team hold a lead greater than three points until Boyd made a three-pointer with 4:30 left in the game that extended the hosts' lead to 60-55.

The Vikings led 64-60 with 1:17 left in the game when Wheaton missed a three-pointer that would've cut he NPU lead to one. However, Wheaton collected the rebound, but then North Park's Quillin Dixon snatched a steal from the guests. The hosts could not score on their next possession and Wheaton had two shot attempts miss on their next trip down the court as NPU continued its 64-60 lead with 18-seconds remaining in the contest.

A NPU blocked shot on Wheaton's second shot attempt in that possession was collected by Dixon who fed Jackson for a layup that extended the Vikings' lead to 66-60. Askew made a three-pointer on Wheaton's next possession as his effort trimmed North Park's lead to 66-63 with eight seconds left. Wheaton pressed the Vikings on the in-bounds pass that followed the Thunder 'D' forced a turnover to give Wheaton an opportunity to tie the game with a little more that three seconds left. The Thunder three-point attempt missed and was rebounded by North Park as the hosts emerged with the win.

Wheaton remains on the road for its next conference matchup. The Thunder travel to Kenosha, Wisconsin on Saturday for a 4:15 p.m. tipoff at Carthage College.

Please Note: This story will be updated throughout the evening.