Wheaton, Ill. -- After eight months away from the court, the Wheaton men's basketball team finally returned to competitive action on Wednesday night, as the Thunder began the new season with a non-conference test against Benedictine University. A low-scoring and competitive contest eventually saw the visiting Eagles emerge as victors by a score of 60-59.
The tight scoreline in this evening's matchup was reflected in the box score statistics, with both teams shooting 39% from the floor. Benedictine struggled from outside the three-point arc, posting just a 2-12 figure but shot 62.5% from the free throw line compared to an even 50% tally by the home side. Wheaton connected on eight three-pointers in the game and registered a solid 43% mark from distance in the first half. The Thunder posted three blocked shots to Benedictine's two, but the Eagles enjoyed advantages in the other major categories, out-rebounding their hosts and edging them in steals, turnovers, points in the paint, fast break points, and bench points. Wheaton out-muscled their local visitors for a 9-7 edge in second chance points.
In his first game in a Wheaton uniform, graduate transfer
RJ Veliz tallied a game-high 17 points and led all players with four assists. Fellow grad transfer
Connor Braun kicked off his second year with the program by posting a double-double, going for 13 points and 18 rebounds, while also helping himself to a trifecta of assists. His 18 boards are the most in a single game for Wheaton since Cade Alioth snagged 19 against Benedictine two years ago.
Soren Richardson contributed 13 points and five rebounds in his first game for the program and led the team with three three-pointers on the night.
Kyle Neibch went for eight points, and
Steven Schultz grabbed a team-high two steals and had the same number of assists.
Noah Hedrick posted four points and four boards.
Benedictine asserted themselves early on against a shorthanded Thunder lineup missing multiple key players, tallying eight points in the paint to surge out to an 11-2 lead. The Eagles then responded to Richardson's first three-ball with two more scores in the lane to go up 16-7 at the 13:00 mark of the first half. But a backcourt combo of Richardson and Neibch combined for a run of three-consecutive baskets from beyond the arc to tie the game midway through the half, and from that point on, the largest lead for either side was six. Wheaton claimed its first advantage on the scoreboard with just under nine minutes remaining in the first period when Veliz (
pictured at right) drained a jumper in the paint to put the hosts ahead at 20-18.
A three-point shot by Braun four minutes later got the sizable King Arena crowd on its feet and pushed Wheaton into a 28-22 lead. The Eagles answered back with a 7-2 run to stifle their hosts' momentum heading into the halftime break, although back-to-back scores from Veliz in the final minute of the period allowed Wheaton to stay in front with a narrow 36-33 advantage.
A scoring total of just 23 points and a surplus of whistles leading to early foul trouble cost the Thunder in the second half of tonight's matchup. A slow offensive start from both teams after the intermission saw only nine total points registered in the first five minutes. Through some stingy defense and alert play on the glass, Wheaton managed to keep Benedictine at arm's length for the first half of the second period. But the Eagles' many trips to the free throw line and physical interior play finally paid off, as the guests moved back in front at 48-47 with nine and a half minutes remaining.
The Thunder ended Benedictine's 7-0 run thanks to consecutive baskets from Richardson to regain a narrow 52-51 edge, but the determined visitors refused to back down away from home and claimed what proved to be the decisive advantage at 55-54 with three minutes left on the clock. Braun rolled in a layup to trim the Eagles' lead back down to one point with 1:11 remaining, but the Thunder missed their next three shots and their opponents dropped in three free throws in the closing seconds to extend their lead to four. Veliz beat the buzzer for the second time tonight with a long-range three-pointer to account for Wednesday's final scoreline, but the Eagles did just enough to snatch a quality road win.
Having opened the 2023-24 campaign, the Wheaton men's squad will not play over the upcoming weekend. The Thunder will return to King Arena on Tuesday night to face Lake Forest College before hosting the annual Lee Pfund Classic next weekend.
