Wheaton, Ill. - The Wheaton Thunder men's basketball team earned a convincing 84-50 against North Park in King Arena on Saturday night. Wheaton improves to 8-2 on the season and is a perfect 3-0 in CCIW play.
Luke Anthony scored a game-high 21 points off the Wheaton bench. Anthony made four three-pointers and dished out two assists. Tonight's game was just the second of the season for Anthony, who rejoined the basketball team with two minutes of action in last Tuesday's game at Calvin, following his 13 games at quarterback for the Thunder football team this fall.
Junior Cade Alioth registered his second "double-double of the season with 15 points and 12 rebounds, including six offensive boards. Alioth shot 7-for-11 from the field. He blocked four shots with two assists. Gavin Hawkins scored nine points, on 3-for-3 shooting from three-point range. Nyameye Adom scored seven points with four assists. Collin Uveges tallied seven points, with five assists. Andrew Wlliams and Anajuwon Spencer each scored six points. Spencer grabbed seven rebounds and Williams collected four boards.
The Thunder shot 53.7% (29-of-54) from the field, including 63.6% (14-of-22) from three-point range. North Park posted a 35.3% (18-for-51) field goal percentage, including 28.6% (4-of-14) behind the three-point arc. Wheaton shot 80% (12-of-15) at the free throw line and the Vikings had a 66.7% (10-for-15) effort at the charity stripe. Wheaton out-rebounded the Vikings 33-27, however, the Vikings had a 9-7 edge on the offensive glass. Wheaton took advantage of the Vikings' 13 turnovers as the Thunder out-scored the guests 17-7 in points off of turnovers.
Toby Marek led North Park with nine points and he distributed four assists. Michael Briggs scored seven points for the Vikings. Matt Szuba, Izaiah Sanders, Adam Bulwa, Lawrence Pointer and Karl Polk, Jr. each scored six points for NPU.
North Park led 8-4 with 16:27 remaining in the first half when Alioth made a basket that sparked a 17-4 run for the Thunder to give Wheaton a 21-12 lead with 9:25 remaining in the first half. Alioth scored the first six points of the key run and Hawkins made a pair of three-pointers during the Wheaton surge. Wheaton held a 20-point lead three different times in the first half, including the 44-24 halftime lead for the Thunder.
Anthony scored 15 points in the first half. Alioth had 10 points in the opening half, with eight rebounds and three blocked shots.
The Thunder remained in control during the second half, holding a double-digit lead throughout. Wheaton's 34-point lead in the 84-50 final score was the largest lead of the game for the hosts.
Wheaton returns to action on December 30 when the Thunder hosts St. Mary's (Minn.) at 7:00 p.m. in the opening night of the Wheaton Thunder Holiday Tournament. The tournament begins at 5:00 p.m. on December 30 as Dubuque faces Hanover College. The tournament resumes on December 31 with the tournament's consolation game at 2:00 p.m. and the championship game at 4:00 p.m.