Wheaton, Ill. - After a high-scoring first half, the Wheaton College men's basketball team grinded it out in the second half to defeat Elmhurst College 76-65 on Saturday.
The No. 23-ranked Thunder move into second place in the CCIW with a 17-4 overall record and 8-2 in conference. The Bluejays slip to 10-11 overall, 4-6 in the CCIW.
The first half was all about offense for both sides. Wheaton jumped out to a 25-15 lead in the first 10 minutes thanks to four-straight layups. But Elmhurst clawed its way back with an 11-0 run to briefly take a 30-29 advantage. A three from Tyler Peters and a Nate Haynes free throw put Wheaton back ahead at the break 43-38.
Wheaton shot 59 percent (16 of 27) in the opening half while Elmhurst hit 50 percent (15 of 30) of its attempts. Jeremy Pflederer tallied 13 points in that span to lead the Thunder.
It was nip and tuck for the first eight minutes of the second half as well. Every time the Thunder started to pull away, the Bluejays answered back. The turning point came on a driving layup by Jon DeMoss in transition that became a three-point play. With a 54-47 lead in hand, Wheaton's advantage did not dip below six points the rest of the game.
However, Wheaton's defense held on and forced key turnovers in the perimeter passing lanes. A left-handed lay-in by Tim McCrary followed by another Garriott drive to the hoop finished off any potential comeback in the final two minutes.
The Thunder ended up shooting 26 of 53 from the field (49 percent), 5 of 12 on three-pointers (42 percent) and 19 of 22 on free throws (86 percent). Garriott tallied 22 points on 8 of 11 shooting on the night. McCrary came up big on the boards, snatching a season-high 17 rebounds to go with 10 points, six assists and four steals. Pflederer ended with 13 points and Peters scored nine.
The Bluejays shot 23 of 50 from the field (46 percent), 4 of 13 from long distance (31 percent) and 15 of 24 at the line (62 percent). Grubl and Nick Sanford were the leading scorers with 16 points. James Robertson tallied 12 points.
Wheaton will head to Carthage College on Tuesday for a 7:30 PM game.