Chicago, Ill. -- Saturday afternoon brought the third-consecutive road trip for the Thunder men's basketball team, as the squad's travels continued with a drive into the city to take on the University of Chicago Maroons. UChicago pulled away from Wheaton towards the end of the first half in today's game and held off a second-half comeback attempt by their visitors to eventually secure a 59-52 non-conference win. Wheaton will now head into its Christmas break and step away from competition for the next two weeks.
The Thunder failed to score on their first four possessions this afternoon but defended well and started the contest in competitive fashion. A three-pointer from
Kyle Neibch put Wheaton on the board, and five-straight points by
Nick Schiavello gave the guests an 8-7 edge just over five minutes in. Today's leading scorer,
Soren Richardson (
pictured below), knocked in a pair of baskets in the lane to push Wheaton ahead
at 13-10 approaching the 12-minute mark of the opening period. But the Maroons answered with a 13-0 run to build a double-digit lead that would ultimately help decide the final result. Richardson ended the surge with another layup in the paint, but Chicago responded by scoring the next six points and ended the first half with a comfortable 36-21 advantage.
Wheaton refused to lie down and out-scored their UAA hosts by eight points in the second frame. A three-pointer from Neibch trimmed the deficit down to eight with 6:20 left to play, and the Thunder got as close as six points after a layup from Schiavello threatened to set up a frantic end to regulation. But the hosts came up with enough stops on the defensive end to see out the victory, and Wheaton ran out of time to complete an impressive turnaround having been down by 15 points after halftime.
UChicago posted superior shooting percentages from the floor on Saturday and narrowly out-rebounded their guests, but Wheaton won the turnover battle, 11-7, and earned more points in the paint, points from fast break situations, and production from the bench.
Schiavello had a well-rounded performance today, going for 16 points and team-highs in rebounds and steals with seven and two, respectively. Richardson registered a game-high 18 points in his 29 minutes off the bench and shot 50% from the field while also collecting four boards. Neibch went for nine points, four rebounds, and a pair of assists, while
Connor Braun joined Schiavello on seven rebounds.
Ty Ferguson distributed a game-leading five assists in his 19 minutes on the floor today.
After a two-week pause in their schedule, the Thunder men will head to Wooster, Ohio to take part in the four-team College of Wooster Kiwanis Classic. Wheaton's next game is a neutral court contest against John Carroll University at 5 PM (ET) on Friday, December 29th.
