Wheaton, Ill. – The Wheaton Thunder men's basketball team withstood a strong North Park rally in the second half to earn an 80-76 victory against the Vikings at home on Saturday night. Wheaton is now 11-4 on the year, with a 2-2 record in conference play. North Park falls to 7-8 overall, with a 1-3 record in conference play.

Wheaton jumped out to a 28-11 victory with 6:57 remaining in the first half and the Thunder owned a 39-28 advantage at halftime. Wheaton led 49-38 with 14:30 remaining in the game when the Vikings put together a 14-6 scoring run to cut Wheaton's lead to 55-52 with 9:00 left in the game.  The Vikings got within one point of the Thunder with 68-67 Wheaton lead with 2:00 remaining in the game.  Wheaton withstood two late Viking three-pointer in the final 10-seconds of the game thanks to a 12-for-14 effort at the free throw line for the hosts in the final two minutes of the game.

Senior captain Andrew Jahns led all players with a game-high 24 points, as he made five three-pointers and was 7-for-8 at the free throw line and he distributed four assists. Sophomore Jeremy Pflederer scored 14 points, with four three-point field goals. All-American Tim McCrary registered his sixth "double-double" of the year with 12 points and 12 rebounds. The junior also distributed eight assists, with four blocked shots. Spencer Schultze scored 10 points and Jon DeMoss added seven points.

Roshawn Russell led North Park with 19 points and Jorge Gonzalez added 15 points, with eight rebounds. Emanuel Crosby and Issa Avery each scored 10 points. Avery added six rebounds, with three blocked shots.

Wheaton posted a 53.1% (26-49) field goal percentage, with 61.1% (11-18) from behind the three-point arc and 85% (17-20) at the free throw line. North Park shot 45.8% (27-59) from the field, with 46.2% (6-13) from three-point range and 72.7% (16-22) at the free throw line. The Vikings out-rebounded Wheaton 33-25, with a 17-7 edge on the offensive glass.