Wheaton, Ill – The Wheaton men's basketball team hosted Carroll University on Wednesday night for CCIW matchup in King Arena. The Thunder defeated the Pioneers 78-71 thanks in large part to a strong second half performance for the hosts.
Five Wheaton player scored in double digits tonight.
Soren Richardson led the Thunder with 20 points tonight as the freshman shot 7-of-11 from the field, including 3-for-5 from three-point range.
Nick Schiavello scored 13 points, with five rebounds, and four assists.
Noah Hedrick was 5-for-5 from the field in scoring a career-high 12 points, adding two steals.
Kyle Neibch tallied 11 points, with five rebounds, while
Nate Sock added 10 points with five rebounds, and four blocked shots.
Connor Braun scored nine points with four assists.
The Thunder shot 50% (30-for-60) from the field, including 36.7% (11-of-30) from three-point range. The Pioneers had a 40.9% (27-for-66) field goal percentage tonight, including 36.4% (8-22) behind the three-point arc. Wheaton shot 63.6% (7-of-11) at the free throw line while the guests had a 56.3% (9-for-16) effort at the charity stripe. Carroll had a 40-35 advantage in rebounding tonight, including a 13-4 edge on the offensive glass.
Braun and Schiavello each made three-pointers in the first two minutes of the game to give Wheaton an early 6-0 lead. The Pioneers quickly responded to cut the hosts' lead to 11-10 with 14:00 left in the first half. A three-pointer by Schiavello and a basket by Neibch gave Wheaton five unanswered points to extend the Thunder lead to 16-10 with 12:30 remaining in the first half. The Pioneers responded with a 21-7 run as the guests took an eight-point lead at 31-23 lead with 2:00 left before halftime. Wheaton closed out the half with a 7-2 run as the Pioneers lead 33-30 at halftime.
Richardson led all players with 12 points in the first half. Schiavello added 11 points for the hosts. Justin Steinike led the Pioneers with 10 first-half points. Jacob Naber scored eight points with five rebounds for the guests.
Wheaton gained its first lead of the second half at 48-47 with 13:35 remaining in the second half. Carroll battled back to gain a 60-57 lead with 7:50 remaining in the game. However, it was at that point that Hedrick (PICTURED LEFT) made a pair of layups on back-to-back possession to give Wheaton a 61-60 advantage with 7:35 remaining in the second half. Hedrick's layups sparked a 12-2 Thunder run that gave the hosts a seven-point lead at 69-62 with 5:35 left in the game.
Wheaton's defense played a key role in the performance by the Thunder in the final eight minutes as Wheaton out-scored the Pioneers 21-5 in that span. The Thunder defense held Carroll to a 20% (3-for-15) field goal percentage in that stretch as the guests were 0-for-6 behind the three-point line in that period. Hedrick tallied eight of his career-high 12 points in the game's final eight minutes.
Steinike scored 16 points for Carroll, and Kobe Simpson tallied nine points. Eckahelo Simpson grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds for the guests.
Tonight's game concluded a three-game homestand for the Thunder. Wheaton takes to the road on Saturday for a 4:15 p.m. tipoff at No. 21 Elmhurst.
