Wheaton, Ill. – The Wheaton men's basketball team hosted North Central on Saturday evening for the CCIW home opener of the 2023-24 basketball season. The Cardinals rallied with a strong second half to defeat Wheaton 64-54 tonight.

Senior Nick Schiavello played his first home game of the season as he returns to the lineup following a preseason injury. Schiavello led all players with 22 points, with six rebounds and three assists. Schiavello shot 9-for-16 from the field. Connor Braun added nine points with six rebounds and three assists. Kyle Neibch tallied nine points, with six rebounds, two steals and two assists. Soren Richardson tallied eight points off the Thunder bench.

The Thunder shot 36.4% (20-of-55) from the field tonight, with a 14.8% (4-for-27) effort from three-point range. The Cardinals posted a 46.3 % (25-of-54) field goal percentage, including 16.7% (2-for-12) behind the three-point arc. North Central out-rebounded the hosts 38-32 as Wheaton had an 11-10 advantage on the offensive glass.

The Cardinals led by six points at 11-5 about six minutes into tonight's matchup. The Thunder responded with seven unanswered points, including five-consecutive points for Schiavello, to give Wheaton its first lead at 12-11 with 11:56 left in the first half. NCC led 18-13 with 8:20 left in the opening half when Richardson made a three-pointer to spark a 13-4 Thunder run that gave the hosts a 26-22 lead with 5:54 remaining before halftime. Richardson made a pair of three-pointers in the run and Schiavello added a trifecta. Wheaton led the Cardinals 33-31 at halftime of the matchup.

Schiavello led all players with 15 points in the first half. Richardson had six first-half points and Braun added five points. Ken Thomas scored eight points in the first 20 minutes to lead North Central's first-half scoring.

Wheaton scored the first six points of the second half to build up a 39-31 lead with 15:25 left in the second half. The Cardinals responded with a 14-4 run as North Central gained a 45-43 advantage with 9:57 left in the game. The guests never relinquished their lead once they regained it as NCC earned the win.

Drew Gaston led North Central with 13 points and five rebounds. Ethan Helwig tallied 12 points with seven rebounds. Thomas scored 12 points, with four rebounds.
Wheaton returns to the road next Wednesday for a conference road matchup at Carroll.