Chicago, Ill. -- After ending the calendar year with a comprehensive win at Wisconsin Lutheran College, the Thunder men's basketball team began its 2026 slate on Saturday with a trip into the Windy City to face the University of Chicago Maroons. UChicago, ranked sixth in the most recent D3hoops.com national poll, won today's game by a score of 94-73 in the latest edition of the two programs' annual series. Wheaton now owns an overall record of 7-5 at the conclusion of its non-conference schedule.

The Maroons, now riding an eight-game win streak, led wire-to-wire in this afternoon's contest to earn their tenth victory of the season. UChicago notched the first 14 points of the game before Kyan VanderWoude finally put the visitors on the board at the 15:20 mark with a layup on the fast break. The Thunder then mounted an 8-0 run that featured two baskets by today's leading scorer, Soren Richardson, to cut their deficit to 16-10, but the home side responded with another 15-3 surge to create permanent separation.

Wheaton rattled off seven-consecutive points in the closing seconds of the first half, but Chicago still entered the locker room with a 43-27 advantage. Buoyed by improved shooting numbers after halftime, the Thunder scored 46 points and twice drew within ten of the Maroons. But the talented and experienced UAA side was able to maintain its double-digit edge throughout the period and sealed an impressive home win.

UChicago enjoyed a 62.7% field goal mark for the day despite shooting just 35% from three-point range. Wheaton registered a 50% shooting tally in the second frame and finished with a 46% measure for the game while posting a 43% count from beyond the arc. Both sides had a strong showing at the free throw line, with the Thunder sinking 10 of their 12 foul shots and the Maroons going 13-16 at the stripe. UChicago carved out a significant advantage in the paint on Saturday and picked up 23 points from its bench compared to Wheaton's 14. Each team tallied 15 points off of turnovers. 

Richardson netted 28 points on 11-20 shooting to lead all scorers and sank a game-high four three-pointers while also grabbing a joint-high two steals. Brady Wynja led the Thunder with seven rebounds and scored eight points, while Carson Grier finished with nine points. VanderWoude scored eight and matched Richardson on two takeaways, and Devin Martin led all players with four assists.

After a month-long break from home court action and conference play, the Thunder will return to King Arena on Wednesday night, as Wheaton hosts Carroll University for a CCIW matchup at 7:00 PM.