Wheaton, Ill. -- The Wheaton men's basketball team returned to King Arena on Tuesday night to face the Benedictine Eagles, opening a three-game nonconference homestand. After a victory in their most recent home game against Lake Forest College, the Thunder looked to continue their momentum in friendly confines this evening. They did just that by defeating Benedictine 95–80 to move to 3–1 on the young season while the Eagles fell to 2–2.
A 13–2 run from Benedictine three minutes into the contest gave the visitors an early advantage. Facing a stout defensive effort from the Eagles, the Thunder were unable to generate the high-quality shots they had found in their first three games, where they averaged 89 points per game on 48 percent shooting.
A timeout by Coach Schauer helped Wheaton regain momentum, sparked by six points from
Reid Olson along with an assist in a four-minute stretch. The Thunder trimmed the deficit to 21–16 with 11 minutes remaining in the half.
Both teams traded baskets over the next six minutes, and Wheaton was aided by the play of
Kyan VanderWoude. He converted an and-one and knocked down a pull-up midrange jumper off an in-bounds pass, his second successful shot of that type on the night, cutting the deficit to six as Benedictine led 36–30.
The first half closed with Benedictine holding a 48–40 advantage as the teams continued trading scores. The Eagles shot a hyper-efficient 60.7 percent (17–28) from the field and 67 percent (6–9) from beyond the arc. Despite the deficit, the Thunder still shot 46.7 percent (14–30), won the turnover battle 8–6, and dished out seven assists to the visitors' six.
The second half opened with a burst from the Thunder. VanderWoude drilled multiple threes, Olson added one of his own, and two steals from
Soren Richardson helped Wheaton tie the game at 51 just three minutes into the half.
Benedictine regained the advantage over the next six minutes, going up 63–56. Wheaton cut this lead down to two, but a euro-step layup and a three from the top of the key helped the Eagles stay in front.
The Thunder grabbed their first lead of the night soon after. Richardson played a key role in the 69–68 advantage, hitting a fade-away midrange jumper and securing another clutch steal that
Devin Martin assisted to VanderWoude to tie the game.
Benedictine found themselves in foul trouble 10 minutes into the second half, giving Wheaton extra opportunities at the free-throw line. A banked-in three from Martin and major contributions from
Carson Grier (
pictured left) on both ends helped Wheaton
extend the lead to 84–75 with three minutes remaining. Grier tallied five points in two possessions and added a steal, pushing his team's lead from six to nine.
The hosts extended their edge into double-figures over the next two minutes via some accurate free throw shooting before another Richardson steal all but sealed the game for the Thunder. Wheaton managed to overcome two 11-point deficits from the first half and eventually pulled away for a 95–80 win in a contest that was competitive for the majority of the night.
Wheaton shot 52.6 percent from the field and 48 percent from deep. The Orange and Blue attempted 21 free throws in the second half and converted 16 of them, an improvement from their 6–12 mark in the first half and a major factor in their dominant 55–32 second-half performance. Wheaton also forced 19 turnovers and scored 29 points from these takeaways.
The Thunder racked up a noteworthy 13 steals in the game. Richardson led this defensive effort with four steals, one of six Thunder players to record at least one takeaway.
The Thunder out-rebounded Benedictine 33–26, thanks in part to a 14–6 edge on the offensive glass. Their effort produced a 16–5 advantage in second-chance points.
VanderWoude paced Wheaton with a career-high 28 points on 10-for-20 shooting while going a perfect 6-for-6 at the foul line. He also grabbed a game-high eight rebounds and added an assist and two steals. Richardson and Grier each scored 15 for the Thunder. Grier contributed five rebounds, three assists, three steals, and two blocks while shooting 5-for-6 from the field. Richardson added four assists and shot 5-for-7.
Kyle Neibch went 4-for-9 from three-point range and Olson shot 3-for-7 from beyond the arc, as both players finished with 12 points to help the Thunder bench outscore Benedictine's substitutes, 27–14. Martin distributed the ball effectively throughout the night, leading all players with six assists.
Next up for the Thunder is the annual Lee Pfund Classic. Wheaton will welcome the College of St. Scholastica, Rose-Hulman, and UW-La Crosse to King Arena this weekend for the four-team tournament, with the hosts facing St. Scholastica at 7:15 PM on Friday in the second semifinal contest.
