Kenosha, Wis. -- After suffering a narrow 66-63 defeat at North Park on Wednesday night, playing a dangerous Carthage team on their home floor may not have seemed like the ideal follow-up game for the seventh-ranked Wheaton men's basketball team. But the Thunder played like conference leaders on Saturday evening, and star guard Tyson Cruickshank ensured that his team would remain in that position through the weekend via a career-high 35 points. Cruickshank's impressive haul tops his previous best of 33 points in a neutral court win over Edgewood College last season and marks the first game that a Wheaton player has scored at least 35 points since former teammate Nyameye Adom tallied 41 in the 2021 Lee Pfund Classic championship win over UW-Eau Claire. Wheaton's record in CCIW play now stands at 9-2, and the Thunder have won 17 out of their first 20 games this season.

Wheaton's leading scorer on the year needed only 20 seconds to register the game's opening basket, and he drained a three-pointer two minutes later to give the Thunder a 9-5 edge. Carthage mounted a 6-0 run to take a slim lead four minutes in, but Cruickshank answered right back with another three. Another scoring spurt from the Firebirds saw the home side claim a 17-12 advantage, but it was Eli Considine's turn to keep the Thunder within striking distance from beyond the arc. Two baskets in the paint from Cruickshank and another three by Considine as Wheaton looked to get out in transition and ramp up the tempo allowed the visitors to build a 22-17 split approaching the halfway point of the first period. Andrew Williams assumed scoring duties a few minutes later and rattled off three straight baskets in the lane to put Wheaton up 30-21 with six minutes to play. Cruickshank dropped in another lane layup 30 seconds later to keep the offense humming, but it was his fellow veteran guard Williams that tallied Wheaton's final seven points of the first half to lead all scorers with 15 before the intermission. The Thunder were enjoying a comfortable 39-27 lead with just over a minute left in the half, but the Firebirds earned two jumpers in the paint to cut Wheaton's lead down to eight points at the break.

The first nine points that the away side registered in the second half were of the same nature - three-point shots from Cruickshank. Carthage battled to stay in the contest, but the Firebirds had no solution for the scorching shooting in Wheaton's backcourt. Williams dropped in a three of his own near the 15-minute mark to make it 51-40 in Wheaton's favor, and Cruickshank answered the following Carthage basket with another triple. The home side never managed to get back within single digits of their guests, and the joint-conference leaders were able to enjoy a smooth procession to their ninth CCIW win of the campaign. Knowing that they needed to win to keep pace with North Park in the race for first place, the Thunder made a statement on the road on Saturday and emerged with a double-digit victory.

Wheaton shot 48.5% from the floor in the first half and finished with a 46.9% mark, while their hosts posted a tally five points lower. Carthage were a woeful 1-13 from behind the three-point line tonight, while Wheaton splashed in 12 three-pointers, seven of which left the hand of Cruickshank. A total of only 14 foul shots were attempted in what proved to be a relatively clean game. Both sides grabbed 35 rebounds, and Wheaton edged Carthage 8-11 in the turnover battle. The Firebirds dominated the paint by a 20-point scoring differential, but Wheaton held a significant 15-4 fast break points edge to supplement their aforementioned three-point advantage. The Thunder only surrendered two steals and had zero shots blocked in a clean performance on the offensive end.

Cruickshank shot over 58% from the floor and from three-point range, while only two of his 35 points came from the charity stripe. The graduate guard also collected six rebounds and a joint game-best four assists. Andrew Williams finished with 18 points and seven rebounds, while Nick Schiavello hit double-figures with 11 points and joined Williams on seven boards and Cruickshank on four dimes. Eli Considine contributed eight points, five rebounds, and a pair of assists. TJ Askew dished out three assists and blocked a game-best three shots.

Wheaton's final leg of a three-game road stretch comes on Wednesday night, as the Thunder travel to Rock Island to take on Augustana in a 7 PM matchup.