Bloomington, Ill. -- Following three consecutive home games, the Thunder men's basketball team headed out on the road for the first time in two weeks on Saturday to take on fifth-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University in the latest chapter of the two sides' storied history. The Titans are in the middle of a strong campaign in which they have dropped just one CCIW game all season, and today's hosts were able to avoid the overtime trap that gave them a scare in the reverse fixture in King Arena earlier this month with a 90-68 win that sees them improve to 16-2 overall and 8-1 in conference action. Wheaton's search for a first league win in 2025 continued as the second half of its regular season conference slate got underway in Bloomington this afternoon.
Kyan VanderWoude, who scored a joint team-high 20 points today, made his first of four three-pointers to open the scoring before tipping a rebound home to tie the score at 5-5 four minutes into the contest.
Cayden Mudd's first collegiate basket gave the Thunder an 8-5 advantage, and Wheaton gained its largest lead of the day at 13-8 after another VanderWoude bucket followed a triple from
Soren Richardson. But Illinois Wesleyan responded to this early momentum push from the Thunder with a 9-0 run around the 13:00 minute mark to edge back in front. Two more shots from beyond the arc by VanderWoude and his fellow 20-point scorer Richardson came either side of two IWU free throws to level the score at 19-19. But the Titans went ahead by two with nine minutes left in the first half and would hold the lead for the remainder of the game.
The home side's interior strength proved to be a difference-maker on Saturday, as Illinois Wesleyan scored 38 points in the paint to Wheaton's 14 and was an impressive 14-15 at the foul line in the first half while only allowing their guests to reach the free throw line twice. The Thunder continued to battle either side of halftime and managed to cut IWU's lead to six points early in the second. But the nationally-ranked hosts reasserted control one minute into the period and led by double-digits the rest of the way.
Illinois Wesleyan shot 43% from the floor this afternoon and Wheaton posted a 40% figure, but the Titans attempted 18 more shots than their visitors thanks to a sizable 24-8 offensive rebounding disparity. The Thunder were more accurate from range than their hosts, going 10-31 from three-point land compared to IWU's 10-38 mark and knocked down an impressive seven threes in the first half. The two sides had comparable percentages for the game at the foul line, as Wheaton went 16-22 and Illinois Wesleyan was 20-25 with the uneven number of attempts in the first half leveling out after halftime. The home side won the turnover battle and enjoyed advantages in each of the major scoring categories in a display that underlined their lofty ambitions for the season.
In addition to his team-high scoring performance, VanderWoude led the Thunder in rebounding and assists today with eight and three to his credit, respectively. Richardson matched his rookie teammate on 20 points, grabbed three boards, and came up with two steals.
Kyle Neibch also forced two takeaways and chipped in with nine points.
Devin Martin tallied eight points on 3-4 shooting and was one of 11 Wheaton players to see the court on Saturday.
The Thunder will look to pick up their first CCIW victory of the year when they return to action on Wednesday night. Wheaton welcomes local rivals Elmhurst to town for a 7 PM contest in King Arena.
