|
| Tyler Peters, Wheaton's team
leader in points, assists and steals, went for 29 points and 10
rebounds in the Thunder's win at IWU that clinched the CCIW
automatic bid. Wheaton athletics file photo |
By Josh Smith
D3sports.com
The Wheaton (Ill.) men’s basketball team has endured a tough season. From injuries to disciplinary issues and a grinding schedule in the CCIW, the Thunder has continued to plug away.
Even when Wheaton lost its final two regular season games – in the process missing out on the league title – the team continued to persevere.
The Thunder’s hard work was rewarded last weekend when they won the CCIW tournament for the first time since 2009 and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
“Obviously we’re very excited (and) positive. We feel good about where we are,” said Wheaton coach Mike Schauer, whose team enters tournament play 19-8 overall.
“The conference tournament title and the win at Illinois Wesleyan just speaks to the resolve of this team,” he continued. “We’re excited but I think we’re at a good mental place because we’ve not had much come easy this year. We’ve really had to work for what we’ve got.”
Wheaton was poised to claim the CCIW championship in the final weeks of the regular season. However the Thunder stumbled into the conference tournament, losing back-to-back games to North Central (Ill.) and Illinois Wesleyan. The loss to the Titans prevented Wheaton from securing even a share of the league title.
“To lose that was definitely tough, but I think it just prepared us a lot more for the conference tournament,” said senior Tyler Peters, who is averaging a team-high 20.3 points per game this season for Wheaton.
Entering the CCIW tournament coming off consecutive losses did not sit well with Schauer.
“I was concerned about a couple things. First of all, we had not defended very well at all. Both North Central and Illinois Wesleyan exceeded their season point averages by about 10 in both games,” Schauer said. “And my second concern is really simple. Augustana is really good. We could have played well Friday night and still lost.”
But the Thunder turned it around when they opened the conference tournament, taking down Augustana 66-55. Wheaton took advantage of 19 turnovers by Vikings and had four players turn in key contributions.
Peter Smith led the way with 19 points, Peters scored 16 and Brayden Teuscher added 11. Nate Haynes finished with nine points and nine rebounds.
The Thunder followed up their win with an 87-66 decision the next night at Illinois Wesleyan – the No. 4 ranked team in the country.
“On Saturday, I could just tell I had a team that was not real happy with the way we played the week before,” Schauer said. “Illinois Wesleyan had wrapped up a bid. They had wrapped up a host at the point. They had wrapped up the regular season title. I think, emotionally, the game meant more to us Saturday night. I think we were pretty motivated to get rid that bad taste in our mouth from the week before.”
Peters turned in an incredible performance scoring 29 points – including a 13-for-14 showing at the line, collecting 10 rebounds and dishing out eight assists.
“Most nights, we have the best player on the floor. Tyler Peters is just a really special player in that he can dominate or contribute in every facet of the game. His game Saturday night obviously exemplifies that,” Schauer said.
Haynes and Smith scored 16 and 14 points, respectively, versus Illinois Wesleyan and Tad Fischer chipped in 12.
“(Smith) is sort of our bridge guy. When he plays well, we’re really, really good,” Schauer said. “With Peter, he allows us to go big because he’s versatile enough to defend a perimeter player even though he’s 6-6. And yet, he’s athletic enough to defend a post-player if necessary.
“He’s a key guy. I thought his weekend contributions were significant.”
Wheaton shot 55 percent from the floor in the conference tournament title game, including a 7-for-14 mark from 3-point range. The Thunder also shot 30-of-33 from the stripe to put the game out of reach.
“Coming into the conference tournament we really made it a point to establish where we were at defensively. I think we really disrupted some of those teams on offense,” Peters said. “We had a lot of guys on the team step up. Some of the young guys coming off the bench and some of the senior leaders like Tad Fischer, Michael Berg and Joel Smith and Peter Smith just really gave us some good minutes. We had a lot of guys contribute in those two wins, which is what you’re going to need going into the postseason tournament.”
Peters hopes his team can keep things rolling when Wheaton take on Rose-Hulman at Hope College in Holland, Mich., in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
“We are really confident because we have played one of the toughest schedules. Night in and night out, playing in the CCIW there is a lot of teams you’re going against that we feel are some of the best teams in the country,” Peters said. “I think there is a ton of potential to this squad.
“But we know that you can’t take anyone for granted in this tournament,” he added.
If they win, the Thunder would face either host Hope or Penn State-Behrend.
“We’re fortunate enough to have gotten in this thing enough not to try and worry too much about draws. You can’t control them,” said Schauer, who has led Wheaton to the NCAA Tournament the last three seasons. “Rose-Hulman is good. But everybody’s good now. Not too many bad teams get into the NCAA Tournament.”
Although Schauer and the Thunder are taking its matchup with Rose-Hulman seriously, the team feels confident about advancing in the tourney.
“I think I’d be selling my team short if I didn’t acknowledge that I think we can advance and advance deeply,” Schauer said. “That’s not predicting it. But the way we played Saturday against, legitimately, one of the best five teams in the country on the road, it’s hard for me to say that we’ll see anybody I don’t feel like we can beat.
“I like where my team is. I like how battle-tested we are. I love the spirit of my team yesterday in practice.”