Wheaton, Ill. – The Wheaton Thunder men's basketball team earned a convincing 98-59 victory at home on Saturday night against North Park (4-8, 1-3). Wheaton improves to 10-3 overall and 4-1 in the CCIW as Wheaton remains tied for first place in the CCIW standings with Illinois Wesleyan at 4-1. The Thunder and the Titans are 1/2-game ahead of Augustana (3-1).

Aston Francis led five Thunder players in double digits tonight as the junior scored a game-high 20 points. Jay Spencer scored 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field. Ricky Samuelson contributed 13 points on 6-for-9 shooting, and Kobe Eichelberger tallied 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor. Zac Holman scored 10 points off the Wheaton bench.

Eichelberger collected a game-high nine rebounds and blocked two shots. Francis distributed eight assists, with six rebounds and three steals. Zack Kvam distributed five assists and Spencer Peterson grabbed four rebounds.

The Thunder shot a season-high 67.2% (39-of-58) from the field, including 51.9% (14-for-27) from three-point range. North Park posted a 39.7% (25-of-38) field goal percentage, including 33.3% (9-of-27) behind the three-point arc. The Thunder out-rebounded the Vikings 41-20, including a 7-3 edge on the offensive glass.

The Vikings led 9-7 with 14:25 remaining in the first half. Back-to-back Thunder dunks by Spencer and Trevor Gunter sparked 10 unanswered points for the hosts as Wheaton gained a 17-9 lead on the run. Wheaton never trailed following the key run. Wheaton led the Vikings 43-21 at halftime, as the 22-point margin was the largest Thunder lead of the first half. The Thunder shot 66.7% (18-of-27) in the first half. Francis led the hosts with 13 points and four assists at the halftime intermission and Eichelberger registered seven first-half rebounds with eight points.

The Thunder continued to hold a sizeable lead throughout the first half. Wheaton's largest lead of the game was a 45-point bulge at 90-45 with 4:45 remaining in regulation. The Thunder posted a 67.2% (39-of-58) field goal percentage in the second half, including 51.9% (14-of-27) from three-point range. Holman led Wheaton's second-half scoring with 10 points.

Josh Washburn scored 11 points with three steals for the Vikings. Colin Lake scored 10 points and Toby Marek contributed nine points.

The Thunder travel to second-ranked Augustana on Wednesday night for a key CCIW matchup against the Vikings.