Kenosha, Wis. – The Wheaton men's basketball team extended its win streak to five games with an 86-64 win against Calvin College on Friday night in the opening session of the seventh annual CCIW/MIAA Classic, hosted by Carthage College. Wheaton, ranked 21st in this week's D3hoops.com top-25 poll, will play Hope College on Saturday at 1 PM in Kenosha.
Wheaton took the lead within the first minute of the game and held on to that lead until Calvin gained a 30-29 lead with seven minutes left in the first half. The Thunder regained the lead to hold a 41-39 edge at halftime.
Wheaton scored the first 13 points of the second half to build up a 54-39 lead with 17:15 remaining in the second half. Wheaton increased its lead to as many as 31 points with an 80-49 advantage with 7:40 remaining in the game and continued its strong play to secure the 22-point victory.
Junior Spencer Schultze scored a season-high 21 points, with five rebounds to lead the Thunder. Schultze made 10 of his 12 field goal attempts in the game. Schauer noted, "Spencer Schultze was tremendous tonight." Senior guard Andrew Jahns made five three-point attempts as he scored 17 points, adding five assists. Junior Tim McCrary recorded his second "double-double" of the season with 13 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Sophomore guard Jeremy Pflederer scored 12 points, with five assists. Josh Kvam, John Shackelford and Tad Fisher each scored six points to aid the Thunder effort.
Brad Schnyders led Calvin with 13 points, on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor. Tom Snikkers scored 11 points, with six rebounds for the Knights.
The Thunder shot over 50% from the field for the fourth consecutive game with a 55.2% (16-29) field goal percentage. Wheaton made 57.1% (16-28) from three-point range and 50% (9-18) at the free throw line. The Knights shot 36.5% (23-63) from the floor, with a 36.8% (7-19) effort from three-point range and 91.7% (11-12) at the charity stripe. Calvin held a 38-35 rebounding edge, with a 17-11 advantage on the offensive glass.