Wheaton, Ill. -- Coming halfway between a Senior Night win in a celebratory return home and an upcoming bye weekend that provides the opportunity for some rest, Wednesday night's game posed an awkward challenge for the eighth-ranked side in the country. Facing off against a sharp-shooting and talented North Central squad, the Wheaton men's basketball team knew they would have to show up to earn their fourth straight victory. The first half of this evening's contest was competitive and scrappy, but the Thunder turned on the style after halftime and eventually eased to a 72-62 win. Tyson Cruickshank bagged another game-high point total by registering 33 on Wednesday, and Wheaton have now sealed a first round bye in the upcoming conference tournament thanks to their 12-2 CCIW record.

The first five shot attempts of tonight's game were from behind the three-point line, and Eli Considine converted the only one out of the five to put Wheaton on the board first. Another three at the 16:28 mark courtesy of TJ Askew gave the hosts an 8-2 advantage, and Cruickshank splashed in the first of his six field goals from beyond the arc a minute later. A pair of free throws saw the Thunder establish a 13-4 edge and seemingly grab firm control of the game as North Central struggled to score in the opening exchanges. But a five-point flurry from the Cardinals brought the visitors back into contention. NCC then answered another free throw duo by the Thunder with consecutive jump shots to pull back within two points at 15-13. The hosts managed to keep their noses in front of their Naperville visitors for the remainder of the first half without ever fully pulling away. The opening 20 minutes was largely a period of frustration for both teams as they failed to capitalize on good shooting looks, and Wheaton struggled to hang onto the ball while North Central found themselves in early foul trouble. With the scoreboard reading 20-19 in Wheaton's favor with just under five minutes left, Cruickshank tallied the next four points to provide a well-timed boost. Andrew Williams answered the subsequent North Central jumper with a three-pointer, but the away side got the last laugh of the first frame via a three-ball with 1:19 remaining. Both teams came up empty-handed on their final pair of possessions in the first half, and a surprisingly low-scoring affair saw Wheaton lead 27-24 at the intermission.

The offensive efficiency and scoring patterns that were lacking from the first period arrived after halftime. The two sides combined for 83 points in the second half, and the two leading scorers in the conference, North Central's Matt Helwig and Wheaton's Tyson Cruickshank, displayed why they occupy their lofty statistical positions. Helwig's brother, Ethan, dropped in a three on the Cardinals' first possession of the half to tie the game, then North Central claimed their first lead at 29-27 following a Thunder turnover. But a technical foul against the visitors helped swing the momentum back in Wheaton's favor. Cruickshank converted both resulting free throw attempts to tie the game at 29 points apiece, and Williams earned an old fashioned three-point play to restore the hosts' edge. North Central reclaimed the lead at 34-33 near the 14-minute mark, but this was the final advantage that the Cardinals would hold. Cruickshank scored another three-pointer to move the home side back in front and followed this up with a tough jumper in the lane to give Wheaton a 38-34 tilt. The ultimate turning point of the contest arrived at the 12:15 mark when Nick Schiavello and Nate Sock combined for three straight triples to build a double-digit lead for the Thunder. Some stingy defensive work from the best scoring defense in the CCIW kept North Central off the board during this run, and Cruickshank rounded off the surge with another deep shot to put Wheaton up 50-37 with nine minutes to play. Matt Helwig converted a contested jumper to get the visitors back within ten with seven and a half minutes remaining, but Considine drilled a corner three 20 seconds later to keep the Thunder beyond reach. The game then turned into Late Night with Tyson Cruickshank, as the graduate guard accounted for Wheaton's next 13 points to provide an 18-point cushion for the hosts with 3:15 left to play. North Central fought valiantly to stay in the contest and managed to go on a nine-point run of their own to trim the deficit down to eight, but the damage was done, and not enough time remained for the Cardinals to pull off a stunning comeback. Schiavello registered the game's final points from the foul line, and Wheaton notched their third double-digit victory in the last four games.

Wheaton shot a blistering 59% from the floor in the second half to finish the game with a 47.6% shooting total, while limiting NCC to a 34.9% figure. The Thunder tallied a scorching 14 threes across both halves and were nearly perfect from the free throw line, making 18 of their 20 attempts. The Cardinals also had an excellent night at the charity stripe with a 91.7% clip but could only manage a 7-22 mark from beyond the arc with six of these conversions coming in the second half. Surprisingly, fast break points was the only scoring category in which the hosts held the advantage on Wednesday. With Wheaton earning a slim 33-31 rebounding edge and North Central winning the turnover battle, the Thunder's surplus of seven more three-pointers and seven free throws made an obvious difference in the final scoreline.

In addition to his former career-high -matching 33 points, Tyson Cruickshank earned a joint game-best five assists, blocked one shot, and forced a steal. Nick Schiavello was the only other Wheaton player to hit double-figures in scoring on Wednesday, as the junior contributed ten points, four boards, an assist, and a takeaway. TJ Askew tallied nine points, five assists, the same number of rebounds, and two blocks in the win. Andrew Williams gathered in a game-high ten boards and chipped in with eight points. Eli Considine and Nate Sock each registered six points and four rebounds.

After tallying their 20th win of the season and posting 12 wins over conference opponents for the third straight year, the Thunder men's team will get to enjoy a weekend away from the court. Wheaton will host Carroll University in their next outing, and the Thunder enter the matchup knowing that a win would see them clinch a share of the regular season conference title. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7 PM next Wednesday night in King Arena.