Wheaton, Ill. – The Wheaton Thunder men's basketball team extended its win streak to six games on Saturday night with a 73-48 victory against Millikin University (7-14/1-9 CCIW) at home. Wheaton is now 16-6 overall and 9-2 in conference play.
Wheaton never trailed in tonight's win against the Big Blue, as the Thunder built a 16-4 lead in the first 7:30 of action. Wheaton led 26-17 with 7:25 left in the first half when Millikin put together a 10-3 run to trim the Thunder advantage to 29-27 with 2:55 remaining before halftime. Wheaton responded by scoring the final seven points of the first half as the hosts owned a 36-27 lead at halftime.
Wheaton out-scored the guests 12-4 in the first 4:30 of the second half to increase its lead to 48-31 with 15:30 remaining in regulation. The Thunder remained in control throughout the second half, out-scoring Millikin 37-21 after the halftime intermission. Wheaton senior Tyler Peters scored 11 points in the second half and he added seven rebounds, with six assists.
Peters led all players with 19 points, on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and he was 7-of-8 at the free throw line. The Thunder All-American also distributed eight assists and collected eight rebounds. Nate Haynes registered his fourth consecutive "double-double" with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Haynes was a force on the offensive glass with five offensive rebounds. The Thunder senior was 4-for-6 from the field.
Brayden Teuscher scored 11 points, with five assists and two steals. Senior Tad Fisher contributed nine points, draining a trio of three-pointers. Joel Smith added eight points and five rebounds. Junior Peter Smith grabbed eight rebounds.
Wheaton shot 41.7% (25-60) from the field, with 25% (7-28) from three-point range and 72.7% (16-22) at the free throw line. The Thunder out-rebounded Millikin 50-24, including a commanding 19-4 advantage on the offensive glass. Millikin posted a 37.5% (18-48) field goal percentage, with 41.7% (5-12) behind the three-point arc and 43.8% (7-16) at the free throw line.
Tives Gardner led Millikin with 14 points and four assists. Elijah Kinmon scored nine points off the Big Blue bench. Brody Bence and Brennan Coltrane each contributed eight points for the guests. Bence and Coltrane each grabbed a team-best five rebounds for Millikin.