Chicago, Ill. -- Ten days after traveling to North Park University for a regular season matchup, the Thunder men's basketball team returned to Chicago on Tuesday night for a CCIW Tournament quarterfinal against the Vikings. Wheaton entered this year's conference tournament as the #5 seed, while North Park earned the #4 seed and the accompanying hosting rights for this evening's game. After two exciting and high-scoring clashes in the past month, the squads saved their most dramatic battle for last, as tonight's meeting needed two overtime periods and over 200 total points to be decided. The home side eventually pulled out a hard-fought 107-100 victory to earn a 16th win of the year and advance to Friday's semifinal round, where the Vikings will take on the CCIW's regular season champion and tournament host, Illinois Wesleyan. Wheaton's season concludes with an overall record of 13-13 after Tuesday's result.
This evening's extended contest marked just the third overtime game in the 20-year history of the CCIW Men's Basketball Tournament and the second to involve multiple extra periods, along with a triple overtime marathon between Augustana and Carthage in 2021. Wheaton's tally of 100 points tonight was a season-high and the most for the program since last February's 102-89 road win over the same opponents.
There were 17 ties and 13 lead changes in Tuesday's back-and-forth game, as neither team owned an advantage larger than seven points on the scoreboard. North Park finished with a 46% shooting mark on the night while Wheaton posted a 44% figure, with both sides struggling to find consistency from three-point range. The Vikings were a solid 30-38 from the free throw line and made 11 of their 12 attempts in overtime, while the Thunder settled for a 26-39 measure. Wheaton carved out a noteworthy advantage on the glass, out-rebounding North Park by a 52-42 margin and bringing down 22 offensive boards. But the hosts won the turnover battle, 16-11.
Not for the first time this season, the Thunder controlled the paint, putting up 60 points in the lane compared to the Vikings' 44. Wheaton also cashed in 23 second chance points while surrendering 18 the other way. North Park enjoyed significant advantages in bench production and points off of turnovers in Tuesday's matchup.
Soren Richardson, who ends his junior campaign as the league's top scorer for the second-consecutive year, matched his season-high points total with 36 to lead all players on Tuesday. The unanimous First Team All-Conference honoree shot over 50% from the floor and 9-11 from the foul line while grabbing eight rebounds and posting joint game-highs of three three-pointers and six assists.
Kyan VanderWoude notched his second double-double of the season this evening, going for 16 points and a team-best ten rebounds.
Devin Martin tallied a career-high 20 points, six boards, three dimes, and was 6-7 at the free throw line tonight.
All-CCIW Second Team selection
Carson Grier contributed 19 points, seven rebounds, and three assists to close out an impressive debut season for the Thunder. Fellow freshman
Brady Wynja finished with nine points and eight boards on a 4-5 shooting total.
Grier opened the scoring with a put-back layup to spark a quick start for the Thunder, who jumped out to a 9-4 lead that was capped by another Grier bucket in the lane. Richardson registered his first points of the contest with a layup to make it 11-6, before a 10-4 surge by the home side gave the Vikings their first lead of the night seven minutes in. The two squads canceled each other out on the offensive end over the next four minutes until two three-pointers handed North Park its largest edge of the half at 32-25 with eight minutes remaining. But a clutch sequence from Richardson pulled Wheaton back, as the preseason All-American sank a contested jumper before being found by Martin (
pictured below) on the next trip to nail a transition three that made it a one-point game again.
The visitors extended this into a 12-0 run to build a 39-34 advantage with four minutes left in the half. A close-range basket from Grier and a free throw add-on by VanderWoude then set Wheaton's advantage at 42-36. But the Windy City side closed the first frame on a 5-0 run to get back within a point heading into the intermission.
This momentum carried over into the start of the second half, as North Park logged the first four points to claim a three-point tilt, and Wheaton would not lead again until the final six minutes of regulation. A jumper in the paint by the Vikings' Second Team All-Conference guard Kolden Vanlandingham bumped his team's lead up to six with seven and a half to play. But the Thunder did enough defensively to stay within striking distance and quieted the noisy home crowd with a 6-0 response that was finished off via an impressive and-one effort from Martin. Wynja then went to work in the interior, banking in consecutive layups to flip the script and establish a 73-70 edge for Wheaton with 4:30 on the clock.
But after a Thunder free throw pushed the lead to four, North Park held its guest scoreless on the next three possessions and knotted the game up at 74-74 heading into the last two and a half minutes of regulation. Two hard-fought layups for either team followed, before a sharp finish from Grier put the Thunder ahead by two points with 50 seconds to play. A foul call on NPU's subsequent trip down the floor gave the home side a chance to tie the game, and both free throws were converted to make it 78-78 as the clock showed 30 seconds left. Wheaton had the final look in regulation and put the ball in Richardson's hands to win it, but his effort from the top left corner of the lane was well-defended, and time ran out before either side could launch a desperation heave to avoid the extra frame.
The Minnesota native quickly shrugged this off and drilled a contested three-ball in the corner to put the Thunder ahead on the first possession of overtime. But North Park's All-CCIW First Team representative, Mike Vuckovic, reeled off the next five points of the game to restore the Vikings' home court momentum. By this point, two players from each side had fouled out of the game, and the referees' whistles did not slow down after regulation, as the teams combined for 13 free throw attempts in both overtime periods. After a three-point play for the hosts, three-consecutive foul shot conversions from Richardson gave Wheaton an 88-86 edge at the two-minute mark.
North Park's center executed a smooth hook shot to tie it up at 88 apiece, but Martin answered with a cutting layup to help the Thunder hit 90 for the eighth time this season. An old fashioned three-point play for the Vikings gave them a one-point lead heading into the final minute, and a huge shot block on the visitors' next trip seemingly set North Park up for the win. But their leading scorer fumbled the ball away, and a foul on Martin sent him to the stripe with a chance to tie or take the lead with less than ten seconds to play. His first attempt rimmed out, but he sank the second one to make it 91-91, and the first overtime ended there.
Martin drove right to the basket again to begin the second extra frame. But this would mark Wheaton's final lead of the night, as the Vikings answered with a layup of their own and a big three-pointer to move ahead at 96-93. Two free throws from Richardson made it a one-score game again, but Vuckovic took over proceedings with two foul shots at the other end and a powerful driving layup on consecutive series to help North Park win the race to 100. After another paint basket from the Vikings' star guard made it 102-96, VanderWoude (
pictured left) brought Wheaton back into the contest with a close-range finish with 33 seconds remaining. The hosts missed one
of their two free throw attempts after the ensuing foul, but the Thunder failed to capitalize on their next possession, and two successful charity shots stretched NPU's lead to seven with 20 seconds left on the clock.
The Vikings allowed VanderWoude to tally the last points of Wheaton's season with 12 seconds to go. But the fourth-seeded team sank two final free throws to make it a three-possession game and put the result beyond doubt after another thrilling encounter between the two programs that lived up to on-paper expectations.
