Wheaton, Ill. -- After starting the new season with consecutive road tests, the Wheaton men's basketball team competed inside King Arena for the first time in 2024-25 on Saturday night, as the Thunder welcomed the Wisconsin Lutheran College Warriors for the first-ever meeting between the programs. The NACC side, ranked 15th in the country by D3hoops.com, used a 47-point first half performance to eventually secure an 81-66 victory to continue its unbeaten start to the campaign. Wheaton's record now sits at 1-2 on the young season, with tonight's matchup marking the first of seven consecutive non-conference home games for the Thunder.

The visiting Warriors came to town already owning wins over CCIW sides Elmhurst and North Park this season, and the talented and experienced squad quieted the strong King Arena crowd with an 8-0 run to begin the game. WLC expanded its lead to 16-4 inside the first six minutes, before back-to-back triples from Nathan Clark and Soren Richardson helped the hosts slice into the early deficit. But baskets in the paint either side of the 10-minute mark pushed Wisconsin Lutheran's lead back up to double figures, and the top 15 side led by at least ten points for the remainder of the contest. The Warriors exploded for 47 points in the first half of Saturday's matchup, and even with Wheaton doing well to outscore their opponents in the second period, the halftime deficit proved too large to overcome against a side that boasts four graduate starters.

Both teams had solid shooting nights and went approximately 56% from the floor, with Wheaton posting a 60% mark in the second half and WLC making 63% of its attempts in the first. The Warriors only knocked down one more three-point try than the Thunder managed but shot 13 more free throws and picked up ten more points from the line than the home side. Wheaton bypassed Wisconsin Lutheran's press on multiple occasions and excelled in transition, earning 14 fast break points to WLC's seven. But the Milwaukee side enjoyed narrow advantages in each of the other scoring categories this evening.

Soren Richardson continued his strong start to his sophomore season, scoring a game-high 22 points and leading Wheaton in both rebounding and assists with six and five, respectively. Noah Hedrick was the Thunder's other scorer in double figures on Saturday, tallying 12 on 6-7 shooting. Kyle Neibch and Nathan Clark each posted nine points, and the latter was an energetic contributor off the bench, leading the team with three steals.

Wheaton will remain in King Arena for its next game when the Thunder take on another NACC opponent, Concordia University Wisconsin, in a 7:15 PM contest on Tuesday night.