Wheaton, Ill. -- After two weeks away from King Arena, the Thunder men's basketball team returned to its home court on Saturday to welcome local rivals Elmhurst University for an early-season CCIW battle. Wheaton trailed for much of its conference home opener this evening, but the hosts shrugged off a 13-point deficit in the second half to eventually grind out a valuable 82-81 victory. The result takes the Thunder's overall record to 6-3 with a 1-1 mark in CCIW action, while the Bluejays are now 5-2 on the year following their first league contest of the season.
Elmhurst put up 45 points in an impressive first-half display, but Wheaton slowed its suburban neighbor down after halftime and outscored the Bluejays, 42-36, in the second frame to complete the comeback. The Thunder did not quite manage to continue its season form of shooting over 50% for the game, but it was still a strong outing for Wheaton offensively, as the team finished with a 49% field goal mark. Elmhurst tallied a 45.8% figure but only managed an 11-29 shooting total in the second half, as the Thunder's defensive pressure produced a dry spell for the Bluejays that would prove pivotal on the night. Each side registered a 34% count from three-point range and shot 70% from the charity stripe, but Wheaton earned ten more free throws than Elmhurst on Saturday and took advantage of this disparity, knocking down 23 foul shots to their opponent's 16. The guests won the turnover and rebounding battles by narrow margins, but the Thunder led in fast break points and bench scoring. Both squads logged 14 points off of turnovers, and Wheaton carved out a slender 32-30 edge in points in the paint.
Following his game-high points tally in Wednesday's trip to Augustana College,
Soren Richardson (
pictured right) again led the Thunder in scoring this evening, going for 22 points on 7-13 shooting.
He also earned a game-best four assists and grabbed seven rebounds.
Kyan VanderWoude racked up 16 points, nine of which came at the foul line, four boards, two dimes, and two steals.
Devin Martin and
Carson Grier each scored 14 points in Saturday's win, with the former going a perfect 5-5 from the floor along with three assists and the latter earning a double-double thanks to his 12 rebounds.
Noah Hedrick tallied 11 points and a team-best three three-pointers in 20 minutes off the bench.
Grier began establishing his double-double on the opening possession of the game by collecting a missed shot attempt and laying it home to give Wheaton the first points. Richardson completed an old-fashioned three-point play shortly after, and the Thunder built an early 5-0 tilt. But Elmhurst responded by reeling off a 10-0 run and would hold the lead for the next seven minutes of play. Trailing 16-9 seven minutes into the contest, the hosts received layups from Martin and Richardson to slice into the deficit. Two more buckets from close range by Grier and Richardson either side of the period's halfway point brought the home side back on level terms at 20-20. Martin then earned half of his entire points total for the evening on three-consecutive trips down the floor to give Wheaton a 30-27 edge. The visitors would mount another run, however, scoring nine of the next 11 points to move in front by two possessions heading into the closing minutes of the half.
The Bluejays' leading scorer drained a three-point shot, and a Thunder turnover followed by an Elmhurst layup extended the guests' lead to eight points at 41-33. Wheaton answered back with a 7-1 surge to pull within two in the last 30 seconds of the period. But the Bluejays had the final say of the first frame with an and-one layup that made the score 45-40 at the break.
Elmhurst carried this momentum into the second half, notching the first eight points of the frame to extend its advantage to 53-40. Grier halted the damaging stretch with a triple, but the Bluejays found space in the paint and retained a comfortable edge on the scoreboard. After back-to-back paint baskets from VanderWoude and Richardson gave Wheaton a boost, the senior Hedrick (
pictured left) seized control of proceedings. He started his
own personal scoring streak with another layup in the lane before answering an Elmhurst bucket with the first of three triples from range. With the Thunder trailing 62-55 nine minutes into the second half, Hedrick drained another three-ball and followed up a made free throw with a noteworthy steal-and-score trey to tie it up at 62 apiece halfway into the period. VanderWoude then came up with another defense-into-offense sequence to give Wheaton its first lead of the second period, having wiped out its double-digit deficit in just nine minutes.
As has often been the case in recent meetings between the two programs, the closing stages of Saturday's contest were back-and-forth and competitive with no clear winner emerging until the final seconds. Each time Wheaton would edge in front and seize the momentum in front of its home faithful, Elmhurst came up with points at the other end to stay within touching distance. But high-energy defensive work from the Thunder and chilly shooting stretches for the visitors meant that the Bluejays failed to build a lead of their own. A tough basket in the lane from Martin put the hosts up 74-70 with three and a half minutes remaining. Wheaton converted two out of three free throws a minute later to grow this advantage to six points. But the Bluejays drained a three on their following possession to stay right on the Thunder's tail.
VanderWoude showed poise over the next 40 seconds of game play, coolly knocking down all six of his free throw chances to give the hosts a seemingly secure 82-75 lead with 16 seconds remaining. But a quick triple by the Bluejays' top scorer gave Elmhurst a glimmer of hope. The guests forced a turnover on Wheaton's next possession, and the same player promptly drilled another huge three with ten seconds left on the clock to bring Elmhurst back within one point at 82-81. The Thunder successfully inbounded the ball and drew another foul, but both subsequent free throws were missed, giving Elmhurst five seconds to win the game. Grier then made one of the most important plays of the day, getting a finger on the foul shot rebound to knock it out of the gathering Bluejays player's hand, forcing him to chase down the loose ball and wasting two extra seconds off the clock. He still managed to launch a would-be game-winner off in time, but his attempt came from a long distance in the back court and fell just short, handing Wheaton a dramatic and important CCIW win.
After opening their conference account in exciting fashion on home floor, the Thunder have the upcoming midweek slot off before traveling to Carthage College next Saturday for a 4:15 matchup.
