Wheaton, Ill. – The Wheaton men's basketball team never trailed tonight in earning a 70-67 victory at home against #25-ranked North Park in King Arena. The win against North Park is Wheaton's first victory against a ranked opponent since a 76-68 win against #19-ranked Elmhurst on February 7, 2015.
Tonight's win improves Wheaton's overall record to 11-11 and 7-6 in CCIW play. Wheaton is tied with Carroll for fifth in the CCIW standings in a log-jammed conference race that has seven team's vying for the four spots in the upcoming CCIW Tournament. Wheaton hosts Illinois Wesleyan (8-5 CCIW) on Wednesday night in the final home game of the year for the Thunder. Wednesday's matchup with the Titans has key CCIW Tournament implications for both teams.
Sophomore Aston Francis led all players with 28 points tonight, making six three-pointers. Francis' final points came on a fade away three-pointer with the shot clock expiring with 3:14 remaining in regulation. The trifecta was Francis' 80th three-pointer of the season as he established a new Wheaton single-season record for threes. His mark surpasses the long-standing record of 79 that was established by Nate Collord in 2002-03. Francis also dished out four assists with three steals tonight.
Wheaton took an early 11-4 lead in the first five minutes tonight as Francis, Kobe Eichelberger and Ricky Samuelson all hit three-pointers in the opening stretch. The Vikings responded with a 12-6 run to cut the Thunder lead to 17-16 with 9:50 remaining in the opening half. Wheaton scored six unanswered points in response to extend its lead to 23-16 with 7:49 left in the first half.
Wheaton maintained a healthy advantage for the remainder of the first half as the hosts led 39-33 at the halftime intermission. Francis led the Thunder with 16 first-half points and he added three assists with two steals. Eichelberger tallied 10 points in the first half for the hosts.
The Vikings trimmed the Thunder lead to 39-37 in the first 1:20 of the second half, but Wheaton countered with a 14-3 run to extend its lead to 13 points at 53-40 with 15:05 remaining in regulation. Wheaton held a 13-point lead on three occasions in the second half, marking the largest Thunder advantage of the night.
Thunder freshman Spencer Peterson drained a three-pointer with 10:15 remaining in the game to give Wheaton a 59-48 lead. On North Park's next trip down the court, Jordan Robinson made a basket with 10:02 left in the game. Robinson's basket ignited a 14-3 run for the Vikings to tie the game at 62-62 with 5:35 remaining in regulation. The final field goal in the NPU run was a layup by T.J. Cobbs.
Francis followed Cobbs' basket by making a three-pointer with 5:15 remaining in the game to give the hosts a 65-62 lead. A basket by Cobbs cut Wheaton's lead to 65-64 with 3:45 left in the game, but Francis again responded with a three-pointer on Wheaton's next trip down the floor. Francis' record-setting trey with 3:14 left in regulation banked off the backboard and into the net as the shot clock expired to improve Wheaton's lead to 68-64.
North Park missed a field goal attempt on its next trip down the floor and as Wheaton gained possession, Samuelson tallied a field goal that increased the hosts' lead to 70-64 with 2:27 remaining in regulation. Cobbs again tallied a field goal for the guests with 58-seconds remaining to cut Wheaton's lead to 70-66. Wheaton turned the ball over late on its next possession. North Park's Robinson was fouled and made one of his two free throw attempts to trim the Wheaton lead to 70-67 with 21-seconds left. Colin Lake of NPU grabbed the offensive rebound when Robinson missed his second free throw attempt and the Vikings had three shot attempts in the final 13 seconds, including a shot by Robinson that was blocked by Trevor Gunter and rebounded by Francis as Wheaton secured the win.
Eichelberger scored 11 points for the Thunder tonight. Samuelson tallied 10 points, with four assists. Luke Peters recorded a well-rounded effort with seven points and 10 rebounds. The sophomore also dished out six assists and blocked three shots.
Wheaton shot 47.1% (24-of-51) from the field, including 45.8% (11-of-24) behind the three-point arc. North Park posted a 35.2% (25-of-71) field goal percentage, with 18.2% (6-of-33) from three-point range. Wheaton shot 78.6% (11-of-14) at the free throw line and North Park had a 55% (11-of-20) effort at the charity stripe. The Vikings out-rebounded the Thunder 41-38, including a 19-7 edge on the offensive glass.
Robinson led the Vikings with 22 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. Cobbs scored 15 points, with six rebounds and four steals. Joe Biko recorded eight points with six rebounds.