Wheaton, Ill. – The Wheaton Thunder men's basketball team pulled away early and never looked back tonight in an 87-54 victory at home against Carthage (14-7/7-3 CCIW). Wheaton and Carthage each entered tonight's game with 7-2 records atop the CCIW standings. Tonight's win now puts Wheaton at 15-6 overall and 8-2 in conference play, ½-game in front of Illinois Wesleyan (7-2) in the conference standings.

Wheaton took a 10-2 lead in the first three minutes of the game thanks in large part to a pair of three-pointers by Caleb DeMoss. Wheaton led by as many as 18 points in the first half, including the 44-26 Thunder advantage at halftime. Brayden Teuscher led the hosts with 17 first-half points and Nate Hayne contributed 10 rebounds with eight points in the first 20 minutes.

Wheaton's largest lead of the game was 33-point bulge with the Thunder leading 87-54 in the final minute of regulation. Tyler Peters shot 5-of-6 from the field in the second half to score 12 points. Teuscher added 11 more points after halftime.

Teuscher recorded a career-high 28 points, draining six three-pointers. He also grabbed five rebounds, with four assists for the Thunder. Peters scored 17 points, with six assists. DeMoss made three field goals from behind the three-point arc to register 13 points and he added three assists. Haynes scored 10 points with 14 rebounds to record his fifth "double-double" of the season and third consecutive.

Wheaton posted a 60.3% (17-30) field goal percentage, including 70% (14-20) from three-point range and 50% (3-6) at the free throw line. Carthage shot 35% (21-60) from the field, with 25% (3-12) from behind the three-point arc and 90% (9-10) at the charity stripe. The Thunder out-rebounded the Red Men 37-29, with an 11-8 advantage for the hosts on the offensive glass.

Marlon Senior led Carthage with 15 points and four rebounds. Mike Kastel scored seven points, with seven rebounds. Malcom Kelly, Carthage's leading scorer, entered the game averaging 19.8 points per game and a league-best 22.2 points per game in CCIW contests. The stingy Thunder defense held the Carthage standout to five points on 1-for-13 shooting from the floor.