Wheaton, Ill. -- Starting off the second half of its regular season conference slate, the Thunder men's basketball team took to the King Arena court against the Augustana Vikings on Wednesday for the last of three-straight home games. Tonight's scrappy battle featured 11 lead changes, strong defensive play, and no shortage of whistles as Wheaton eventually pulled out a 71-65 victory after outscoring the Vikings by ten points in the second half. With the result, the Thunder improve to 12-6 on the season, 6-3 in league play, and are just one win behind leaders Illinois Wesleyan and Carthage in
the CCIW standings. Augustana drops to 10-9 overall and 5-5 in conference action after failing to claim a regular season sweep over Wheaton.
Both sides scored baskets in the paint on their opening possessions this evening, but these early points did not prove to be an indicator of a high-scoring game to come. Augie jumped out to a 7-2 advantage three minutes in, before consecutive buckets from the CCIW Student-Athlete of the Week,
Soren Richardson, brought Wheaton back level. A layup in the lane from Richardson at the 14:38 mark nudged the hosts in front at 11-10, but the Thunder would not hold the lead again until the final 1:15 of the first half. The Vikings asserted themselves in the paint to build some momentum, and a quick three-pointer from a steal gave the Rock Island squad a 19-13 edge. But
Carson Grier took over the game in the following exchanges with three-consecutive paint layups to erase his side's deficit. Augustana answered this run with another triple and would hold the advantage on the scoreboard until the 2:15 mark of the period.
Despite having the edge for most of the first frame, Augie's lead never expanded to three possessions, as Wheaton made life difficult for its guest on the glass and the perimeter and came up with enough well-timed shots at the other end to remain within striking distance. After an offensive drought for the Thunder that involved one made basket in three and a half minutes,
Kyle Neibch drained a corner three to tie the score at 31-31 with just over two minutes remaining in the half. Three-consecutive free throw conversions then gave Wheaton a one-point edge heading into the last minute of the period. But the Vikings sank a triple of their own and ended the half the same way it began, with a layup in the lane, to establish a four-point intermission lead at 38-34.
Wheaton held Augustana to 27 points and a sub-par offensive showing in the second half to turn the game around and continue its strong home court form. Tonight's leading scorer,
Kyan VanderWoude, attacked the rim right away in the second frame to get the Thunder moving on the offensive end. But the western Illinois outfit forced two turnovers and drilled a three-ball on the other side of the floor to carve out its biggest lead of the night at 45-38 early in the second half.
Devin Martin then stepped up to lead the next surge for the home side, assisting another Grier paint bucket before coming up with two layups in the lane himself to bring Wheaton back within one. The Vikings responded with another five-point burst to remain in front, and this pattern gave the impression that the visitors might have enough in the tank to grab a valuable road win. But the Thunder rattled off a 7-0 run that would prove pivotal, as an and-one play by VanderWoude and a smooth jumper from Martin flipped the script to give Wheaton its first lead of the second half at 51-50 with 11 minutes to play.
The next ten minutes featured back-and-forth basketball, as neither side could maintain momentum for long before the other would find an answer and reclaim the edge. Each team earned a multitude of trips to the foul line as the game's physical style and the referees' whistles came to the fore. Trailing 57-53 with eight minutes left, Richardson found his spark with two-straight conversions to tie the game, and this began a personal ten-point scoring stretch that kept his team in the contest. After a layup in the paint and another jumper pushed Wheaton in front at 63-61, VanderWoude reeled off a fastbreak layup to give the Thunder a four-point edge and get the home crowd on its feet. A huge block by Richardson and a clutch offensive board from Grier led to a pair of free throws for the former that extended Wheaton's lead to six with less than a minute to go. But four-straight foul shots for Augie and a miss at the other end put the celebrations on temporary hold.
Leading 67-65 with 30 seconds remaining, Wheaton put the ball in VanderWoude's hands, and the sophomore kept his composure at the charity stripe to make it a four-point game once again. Augustana still had a chance at survival, but
Noah Hedrick capped the Thunder's impressive defensive effort in the second half with a massive rejection on the Vikings' next possession. Two more free throws from Richardson were enough to ice the game away and strengthen Wheaton's spot in the CCIW's top three.
Augustana shot 50% from the field in Wednesday's first half while sinking four three-pointers and held Wheaton to a 2-9 mark from range and a 40% field goal showing. But these numbers were reversed in the second frame, as the Thunder shot 48% and limited the Vikings to a lowly 32% figure with a 2-8 count from three-point land. Wheaton earned six more points from the free throw line this evening, as each side went approximately 73% from the stripe. The hosts held a slight 39-36 rebounding edge and grabbed ten steals to win the turnover battle, 15-10. Augie tallied a 15-point disparity in bench scoring, but Wheaton enjoyed advantages in all of the other categories, including a noteworthy 27-11 margin in fast break points, as the Thunder's pace ultimately won out over the Vikings' half-court style.
VanderWoude collected his first double-double of the season tonight thanks to game-highs of 22 points and 10 rebounds, while his 8-9 free throw shooting proved vital to Wheaton's win. Richardson went for 21 points, five boards, four assists, and a joint game-high three steals. Grier contributed 12 points on 6-8 shooting, eight rebounds, and two takeaways, while Martin tallied a game-best eight assists to go with the same number of points and three rebounds.
After logging back-to-back home wins, the Thunder squad will venture back out on the road this weekend. Wheaton travels to Wisconsin on Saturday for a 4:15 PM matchup with Carroll University in Waukesha.
