Wheaton, Ill. -- After seven straight games away from home, the Thunder men's basketball team finally returned to King Arena on Wednesday night for its first home game of 2024. Wheaton welcomed the Carthage College Firebirds to town as the two sides' CCIW slates continued, and after a competitive 14 minutes to begin the matchup, the visitors pulled away from the Thunder to eventually secure a 75-58 win. Carthage improves to 5-1 in conference action as a result of tonight's scoreline, while Wheaton is now 2-4 in CCIW contests.

The Thunder started brightly with leads of 5-0 and 8-2 after Ty Ferguson and Kyle Neibch knocked down three-pointers. Carthage chipped away at their hosts' advantage and tied the game at 15 apiece at the 11:30 mark, and the guests' first lead came with nine minutes to play in the half. The score was tied at 20-20 shortly after this point, but the Firebirds finally found their offensive rhythm and held the edge on the scoreboard for the remainder of the contest. The Wisconsin travelers closed out the first period with an 11-4 run to establish a healthy 39-28 halftime lead.

Trailing by 13 points in the opening exchanges of the second frame, Wheaton responded well by trimming Carthage's advantage down to five following an and-one layup by the Thunder's leading scorer on the night, Nick Schiavello. But the guests registered the next five points to stretch their lead back up to double digits, and a seven-point deficit was as close as the home side got to their visitors in the final 12 minutes of Wednesday's meeting.

Carthage posted the superior shooting figures this evening, including knocking down eight threes and going a clinical 13-15 from the foul line. The Firebirds made four of their attempted six three-point shots and all six of their free throws in the second half. Wheaton had to settle for a 7-30 mark from beyond the arc on Wednesday and struggled to convert the looks it had in the second half to be able to hang with the visitors. The Thunder blocked four more shots than Carthage and posted comparable numbers of steals and rebounds, but the Firebirds held advantages in most of the other statistical categories.

Schiavello scored 17 points, shot over 50% from the floor, and blocked a game-high three attempts while also gathering in four rebounds this evening. Nate Sock again hit double-figures in scoring with ten to his name, grabbed five boards, and came up with two rejections. Soren Richardson led the Thunder in rebounds and assists with eight and three, respectively, and joined Daniel Garza and Kyle Neibch on two takeaways. The latter drained a trifecta of three-pointers to score nine on the night and contributed three rebounds. Connor Braun chipped in with seven points and five boards.

Tonight's matchup began a three-game home stretch against the three teams currently tied atop the CCIW standings for Wheaton. Next up, the Thunder will face off against the 15th-ranked Elmhurst Bluejays at 7:15 PM on Saturday.