Wheaton, Ill. – The Wheaton Thunder men's basketball team earned a critical 64-58 victory against Carthage College (11-13/6-7 CCIW) on Saturday night in Wheaton's King Arena. Wheaton, ranked 21st in this week's D3hoops.com Top-25 poll, is now 19-5 overall and 9-4 in CCIW Player. The Thunder will conclude the regular season on Tuesday in a 7:30 PM tipoff at Elmhurst College. Wheaton is assured a spot in next weekend's CCIW Men's Basketball Tournament. The Thunder will face North Central College in the first CCIW Tournament Semifinal at 5 PM in Bloomington, Illinois.
Wheaton and Carthage were tied at 31-31 at halftime of tonight's game. The second half was a tightly contested affair that was tied on eight occasions and tied four times. Neither team held a lead larger than three points until Wheaton mange to earn a four-point lead with 1:03 left in regulation.
The contest was tied at 53-53 with 3:30 left in regulation when Thunder sophomore Peter Smith buried a three-pointer to give Wheaton a 56-53 lead. Carthage's Tyler Pierce responded with a basket to cut Wheaton's lead to 56-55 with 3:23 remaining in the game. A pair of free throws by Wheaton junior Tyler Peters extended the hosts' lead to 58-55 with 2:36 left in regulation. Carthage made one of two free throw attempts with 1:08 remaining in regulation, but that would be the closest the Red Men would get to the Thunder, as Peters was 6-for-6 at the free throw line in the final 1:03 of the game to lock up the win for Wheaton.
Peters led all scorers with a game-high 24 points, making 13 of his 16 free throw attempts on the night. Peters also collected five rebounds, with four assists. Sophomore Brayden Teuscher scored 11 points, with four assists and Peter Smith added eight points with four rebounds. Nathan Haynes grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, with three blocked shots and two steals.
Wheaton shot 42.3% (22-52) from the field, with 40% (6-15) from three-point range and 63.6% (14-22) at the free throw line. Carthage posted a 46% (23-50) field goal percentage, with 28.6% (2-7) from behind the three-point arc and 58.8% (10-17) at the charity stripe. Wheaton out-rebounded the Red Men 36-30, with the Thunder holding a 14-8 edge on the offensive glass.
Pierce led Carthage with 20 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Mitch Thompson added 13 points, with 10 rebounds and three blocked shots. Reese Herth contributed nine points for the guests.