Naperville, Ill. – The Wheaton men's basketball team earned a tightly contested 64-61 victory at North Central College on Saturday. The score was tied nine times tonight, including twice in the final four minutes and as late as the final 1:47 of regulation.

Wheaton is now 18-5 this season, with a 9-3 CCIW record. North Central falls to 16-7 overall and 10-2 in the conference, as Wheaton pulls within one game of the league-leading Cardinals. Tonight's win marked Wheaton's first victory at North Central's Gregory Arena since Feb. 11, 2004

The Thunder pulled out to a 16-9 lead with 13:20 left in the first half and held a 22-15 advantage with 10 minutes left in the opening half. The Cardinals responded with seven unanswered points to tie the game at 22-22 with 5:45 left before halftime. The two teams battled back and forth, with Wheaton holding a 32-30 lead at halftime thanks to a Jeremy Pflederer basket with 42-seconds left in the half.

A three-pointer by Wheaton sophomore Tyler Peters opened the scoring the second half and a basket by Spencer Schultze extended the guests lead to 37-30 just 1:30 into the second session. Wheaton's seven-point lead tied its largest lead of the night and that would be the largest lead for either team the rest of the game. North Central responded with six consecutive points to trim Wheaton's lead to 37-36 with 16:45 remaining in the game.

A basket by Peters with 7:15 left in regulation gave Wheaton a 54-48 lead, however, the Cardinals responded with an 11-2 run that gave the Cardinals a 59-56 lead with two minutes left, the hosts' first and only lead of the game

On Wheaton's next trip down the court, Pflederer drained a three to tie the game at 59-59 with 1:45 left. On the ensuing Cardinals' posession, Wheaton blocked a North Central shot and Peters grabbed the rebound, allowing Wheaton to re-take the lead at 52-59. when Aaron Garriott made a three-pointer on Wheaton's offensive end with 54-seconds remaining.

The Wheaton defense stymied the Cardinals on their next two trips down the court as North Central missed a pair of three-pointers. Each team made two free throws in the finals 10-seconds and a 35-foot shot attempt by the Cardinals missed as time expired to secure the key conference and regional win for the Thunder.

Peters led the Thunder with 17 points. The Thunder guard added seven rebounds and four assists. Tim McCrary scored 12 points, with eight rebounds and four assists. Pflederer scored 10 points, making a pair of three-pointers. Schultze scored eight points, with six rebounds and Garriott added six points.

Landon Gamble led North Central with 19 points and five rebounds. CJ Goldthree scored 15 points and Aaron Tiknis tallied 12 points with nine rebounds for the hosts.

Wheaton recorded a 48% (24-50) field goal percentage, with 42.9% (6-14) from three-point range and 71.4% (10-14) at the free throw line. North Central shot 44.9% (22-49) from the field, with 26.3% (5-19) from three-point range and 66.7% (12-18). Wheaton out-rebounded the Cardinals 33-23 with a 12-9 edge on the offensive glass that helped lead the guests to a 17-10 advantage in second-chance points.