Lisle, Ill. -- The 2024-25 season finally got underway for the Thunder men's basketball program this afternoon when Wheaton traveled to nearby Benedictine University for the latest edition of the non-conference series between the Thunder and the Eagles. The visitors held the lead for almost the entirety of today's game, but Benedictine stormed back from an 18-point second half deficit to earn a dramatic 85-84 victory. Saturday's meeting marked the third time in the past four years that a game between Wheaton and Benedictine has not been decided until the very last possession, with today's nail-biter the latest chapter in an even history between the two sides. The Thunder's Soren Richardson led all players with 37 points and eight rebounds this afternoon in a standout start to his sophomore campaign.

Richardson notched the first basket of Wheaton's season with a three-pointer, and Kyle Neibch followed this up with a four-point play to give the guests a 7-0 lead one minute into the contest. The Thunder executed well at both ends of the floor early on, and Benedictine only made two baskets in the first four minutes of the game. Two more triples from Richardson were accentuated by Devin Martin's (pictured right) first bucket for Wheaton,pushing the away side's lead into double-digits for the first time at 18-8 six minutes in. The next eight minutes of the first period was a back-and-forth affair, with Benedictine staying within striking distance without being able to erase Wheaton's lead. An Eagles foul shot with 6:30 remaining in the half trimmed the Thunder's advantage to seven points at 36-29, but the visitors promptly rattled off a 12-0 run after this to establish a healthy halftime lead. Richardson kicked off the surge with consecutive baskets, and it was capped by Ty Ferguson's three-pointer in the final minute of the half. Benedictine connected on a jumper in the lane as time expired to set the intermission score at 48-31 after an impressive opening period by Wheaton.

But the Eagles found their offensive power in the second half, scoring 54 points after the break to pull off an unlikely comeback. Even with the host's higher scoring rate in the second period, the margin of Wheaton's lead stayed in double figures for a majority of the 20-minute block thanks to continued offensive efficiency. Back-to-back jump shots by Richardson pushed the guests' advantage to 18 points at 68-50 with 11 minutes remaining. The Eagles mounted a mini rally by accounting for three of the following four buckets, but Kyan VanderWoude (pictured left) helped stem the flow with a well-timed tip in to break up the home side's momentum. Benedictine kept up the pressure, however, by forcing a pair of Thunder turnovers and converting on five of its next six trips down the floor to cut Wheaton's lead to 74-67 with six minutes to play.

Richardson took responsibility on the offensive end by scoring six of the Thunder's next eight points to keep Wheaton ahead by seven with under three minutes remaining in the game. But the Eagles were able to knock down consecutive pairs of free throws and earn three takeaways over the next two minutes to make it 82-79. A layup in the paint for the hosts trimmed the deficit down to a single point, and another subsequent Thunder turnover was followed by what looked to be a possible game-winner for Benedictine with just four seconds left, as the Eagles claimed their first lead of the entire contest. But Wheaton and Richardson were not finished yet, and the sophomore guard drew a foul on the ensuing in-bound to set up a pivotal one-and-one opportunity. The second-year scorer shrugged off the noise of the suddenly vocal opposition crowd and kept his composure to bury both foul shots and put Wheaton back in front, 84-83, with just two seconds to play. But the Eagles' remarkable turnaround effort was rewarded on the last play of the game, as a fortuitous foul call was made to give the hosts the final pair of their 27 free throw attempts on Saturday. The Benedictine player who drew the decision stepped up calmly to make both shots, and the hosts successfully defended the following heave down the court by Wheaton to claim a memorable season-opening result. 

The Thunder shot over 50% from the floor in both halves of today's game and finished with a 54.4% mark compared to Benedictine's 45.5% effort, although the Eagles connected on 61% of their attempts in the second half. Wheaton knocked down nine three-pointers and limited the hosts to a 37% mark from range, but Benedictine enjoyed seven more free throw opportunities and made 18 foul shots to Wheaton's 13, a difference that would ultimately prove decisive. The Thunder earned a 22-14 advantage in fast break points, but the Eagles out-totaled their guests in the other scoring categories on Saturday.

Richardson's notable scoring total marked the most points in a single game for a Wheaton player since All-American Nyameye Adom put up 41 in the Lee Pfund Classic championship against UW-Eau Claire three years ago. He led all scorers today with four made three-pointers and also grabbed a joint game-best eight boards, dished out three assists, and blocked one shot attempt in a headline performance. Martin finished with 13 points in his collegiate debut and earned a game-high seven assists while also pulling down five rebounds. Fellow freshman VanderWoude was the third Thunder player to reach double figures in scoring today with 11 points to his name, making five of his six shot attempts and hauling in six boards in the process. Neibch went for seven points and five rebounds, and Steven Schultz made both of his three-point attempts for six points off the bench.

Wheaton will look to shake off this evening's disappointing result and claim its first road win of the year when it heads to Lake Forest College on Tuesday night. The non-conference game between the Thunder and the Foresters is scheduled to tip off at 7:30 PM.