Wheaton, Ill. – The fourth-ranked Wheaton men's basketball team earned their tenth victory of the season on Thursday night, defeating North Central 79-73. The Thunder continue their unbeaten run and move to 10-0 overall (10-0 CCIW), while North Central falls to 5-5 on the year (5-5 CCIW).
 
Luke Anthony was exceptional for Wheaton on Thursday, scoring a career-high 28 points on 6-of-9 shooting from behind the three-point line. He also grabbed six rebounds and led the Thunder with 8-for-9 accuracy from the free-throw line. Cade Alioth recorded an outstanding performance, hauling in a career-high 18 rebounds to go along with 12 points and two blocks. Alioth earned his sixth "double-double" of the season, which ranks second in Division III.
 
Tyson Cruickshank added three three-pointers on his way to 17 points, while Nyameye Adom scored 14 points, collected three rebounds and dished out seven assists. Gavin Hawkins also made two three-point shots, and Collin Uveges added two points.
 

Senior guard Blaise Meredith scored 22 points for the Cardinals, made five three pointers and sunk all five of his free throw attempts. Matthew Helwig scored 19 points and led North Central in three categories with six rebounds, five assists and three steals.
 
Wheaton shot 45.6% (26-of-57) from the field, including 44.1% (15-of-34) from three-point range. North Central managed a 45% (27-of-60) field goal percentage to go along with 48.1% (13-of-27) shooting from behind the three-point line. The Thunder shot 75% (12-of-16) at the free-throw line and the Cardinals shot 85.7% (6-of-7) from the stripe. Wheaton outrebounded North Central 39-28 and scored seven second-chance points, while North Central did not score off of an offensive rebound. Both teams recorded 11 fast-break points.
 
It was evident from the beginning of the game that three-point shooting would go on to be a deciding factor on Thursday night, as Wheaton opened the contest with a pair of triples from Alioth and Adom on their first two possessions. The Thunder started the night on a 15-4 run through the first five minutes of the game and maintained at least a five-point lead throughout the first 20 minutes. At the closest point of the first half the Thunder led 26-21 with 7:52 remaining. But in just over two minutes, Wheaton went on a 9-0 run to extend their lead, thanks to back-to-back three-pointers from Adom and another from Anthony. The Thunder went into the halftime break leading 40-26.
 
Strong shooting bolstered Wheaton's lead in the first half, as the Thunder shot 9-for-18 from behind the three-point arc during the period. However, North Central charged back into contention in the first seven minutes of the second half when Wheaton's shooting faltered. After the Thunder shot only 3-for-11 during that span, the Cardinals went on a 23-9 scoring run, tying the game at 49-49 with just 13:04 remaining. During a four-minute stretch starting at 15:35, Anthony rattled off eleven straight points for the Thunder to end the Cardinal run and retake a five-point lead after the game had been tied.
 
Just two minutes later, the Thunder lead was back up to 10 following an Adom basket and a Hawkins three-pointer. Although the game was as close as 78-73 following a deep three-point shot by Meredith with 18 seconds left, Wheaton made a free-throw and controlled the ball in the final seconds to hold on for a 79-73 win. The Thunder shot 9-for-11 from the free-throw line and Anthony made 4-of-6 three-pointers in the second half to lead the Thunder to victory.
 
Wheaton will travel to North Central College for a rematch against the Cardinals on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. in Naperville.