Wheaton, Ill. – The Wheaton men's basketball team hosted Millikin on Saturday night for a CCIW matchup in King Arena. The Big Blue earned a 65-60 victory against the Thunder in tonight's league battle.
Wheaton's
Connor Braun led the Thunder with 15 points and added 11 rebounds to tally a "double-double".
Nate Sock and
Soren Richardson each scored 13 points for the hosts, with Richardson adding seven rebounds.
Kyle Neibch scored seven points with four rebounds, while
Daniel Garza tallied seven points off of the Wheaton bench.
Nick Schiavello distributed five assists with seven rebounds for the hosts and freshman
Ty Ferguson added four assists with four rebounds.
Wheaton recorded a 36.8% (21-of-57) field goal percentage, including 28.6% (8-for-28) behind the three-point line. Millikin shot 35.1% (20-of-57) from the floor, including a 42.9% (6-of-14) three-point field goal percentage. The Thunder shot 76.9% (10-of-13) at the free throw line, while Millikin had a 76% effort at the charity stripe (19-of-25). The guests out-rebounded Wheaton 41-38, including a 10-6 advantage on the offensive glass.
The Thunder jumped out to a seven-point lead at 18-11 in the first nine minutes of the game. Seven points was Wheaton's largest lead of the first half, with the Thunder holding a two-point lead at halftime, 30-28. Richardson led Wheaton's first-half scoring with seven points, and he added four rebounds. Sock added six points for the hosts. Braun, Neibch, and Garza each contributed five first-half points and Schiavello had five assists in the opening half. Chase Travis led Millikin with eight points in the first half.
Sock made a basket in the first 15 seconds of the second half, and he followed less than a minute later with a three-pointer to give Wheaton a 35-28 lead to match the hosts' largest lead of the night at seven points. However, the Big Blue quickly responded with six-consecutive points to trim Wheaton's lead to 35-34 with 16:30 remaining in the second half.
The contest was tied at 48-48 when Millikin's Frazier Ott made a layup to give the Big Blue a 50-48 lead with 5:05 remaining in the game. The guests' lead at that point was Millikin's first lead in the second half. Ott made a basket with 3:23 left to give MU a three-point advantage at 54-51. Wheaton responded on the ensuing possession, as Braun converted an and-one to tie the game at 54-54 with 2:48 remaining in the game. The two squads traded possessions and then Millikin gained a 56-54 lead with 1:59 remaining thanks to a pair of free throws by Demarcus Bond. The Thunder missed a three-point attempt on the ensuing possession and JT Welch made a three-pointer for the guests to extend Millikin's lead to 59-54 with 1:08 remaining in the game. A three-point attempt by Wheaton missed on the hosts' next attempt missed and then Wheaton turned the ball over following an offensive rebound. Millikin was 6-of-8 at the free throw line in the final 45 seconds to secure the win against Wheaton.
Welch led Millikin with 18 points, grabbing five rebounds. Frazier Ott scored 14 points, with five rebounds. Travis Straughter and JT Welch each scored 10 points for the guests. Bond had team-highs of eight rebounds and six assists to go with seven points.
Wheaton remains at home on Wednesday to close out a three-game homestand. The Thunder host Carroll University on Wednesday night in a 7:00 p.m. tipoff in King Arena.
