Wheaton, Ill. - A buzzer-beating shot that hit and one that missed punctuated a dramatic 78-76 overtime win for the Wheaton College men's basketball team over visiting Illinois Wesleyan University on Saturday.

The Thunder kept hold of the fourth spot in the CCIW standings and improved to 16-7 overall, 7-5 in conference. The No. 23-ranked Titans fell to 16-6, 7-4 in the CCIW.

"This was an unbelievably great game," Wheaton head coach Mike Schauer said. "Both teams competed extremely hard. Illinois Wesleyan is a class operation. This is one of those nights you can't believe someone has to lose."

It was the visitors who grabbed the early advantage with a quick 9-2 lead. Wheaton started to regain some energy via Tim McCrary. The junior power forward attracted a lot of attention each time he touched the ball, so he drove and dished for five assists in the first half.

The Thunder defense lost track of IWU power forward Doug Sexauer in the early going, and the senior stepped out from the paint and buried a trio of uncontested three-pointers from the top of the arc. The Titans continued to convert their opportunities by driving the lane and dishing. Sexauer was the main recipient with 19 first-half points.

Wheaton attempted to drive the paint with more purpose, but IWU clogged up the middle and challenged effectively enough to keep the shots from falling. McCrary was a steadying factor with 10 first-half points.

Illinois Wesleyan appeared in control with an eight-point lead at 26-18. However, the Thunder got a shot of life from Tyler Peters, who stole a pass and went in for a left-handed dunk that got the crowd roaring. The slam jump-started more intense play the rest of the half, capped by a Nate Serenius three-pointer and two McCrary free throws.

Down 32-30 at halftime, Wheaton came back with a renewed focus on reaching the paint instead of settling for jump shots. A three-point play from Spencer Schultze gave the Thunder a 39-36 lead in the first four minutes of the second half. Serenius contributed several other open jumpers as well.

IWU tried to get their guards more involved in the scoring, running guards Sean Johnson and Jordan Zimmer off screens to get them open. The Titans drove and kicked, looking for open threes.

With 11:19 remaining in the second half, the game was delayed 20 minutes as medical personnel tended to an injured Illinois Wesleyan player.

Both teams traded points in the post, with Sexauer being targeted almost every time down the floor. The Titans went back up 62-58 following several straight Wheaton turnovers and missed rebounding opportunities. But the Thunder rallied back once again, using a 7-2 run highlighted by a three-pointer from Jeremy Pflederer.

The final minute of regulation was packed with wild momentum swings. Andrew Jahns was fouled on a three-point attempt and the senior guard buried all three free throws to put Wheaton up 68-66. Sexauer and Schultze exchanged layups on the next two possessions to make it 70-68. Then with five seconds left, a go-ahead three-pointer from Johnson caught iron and was rebounded by McCrary. McCrary went 1-for-2 at the line, and IWU snatched the rebound and called timeout with 2.2 seconds to go. This time, Johnson's running pull-up trey swished through as the buzzer sounded, sending the game to overtime, 71-71.

The five-minute overtime played very evenly, until Peters buried a clutch three-pointer at the shot-clock buzzer to make it 78-73 Wheaton. Matt Schick answered right back with a deep three of his own to again make it one-possession game. With the chance to tie in the last 10 seconds, the Titans went right back to Sexauer. But Schultze came through with a huge block in the paint as the Thunder snatched the rebound.

Johnson had one more chance to be the hero, but his three-pointer rattled out as time expired to finalize the score 78-76 Wheaton.

"That's what I'm most proud of – how we rallied back," Schauer said. "We had two chances to win and Illinois Wesleyan tied it up. But our guys never quit. I'm especially proud of Spencer Schultze and Tyler Peters, who both hit huge shots late in the game."

Wheaton ended the night shooting 51 percent from the field (28-55), including 50 percent from three-point range (6-12) and 76 percent from the free-throw stripe (16-21). McCrary was the team leader with a complete effort of 21 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists. Schultze scored 14 points, Jahns tallied 12 points and seven rebounds, and Peters contributed 11 points. The Thunder won the rebounding battle 35-33.

The Titans finished with 43 percent shooting from the field (26-60), 35 percent from beyond the arc (8-23) and 67 percent from the free throw line (16-24). Sexauer ended up with 32 points and 10 rebounds while Johnson added 15 points.