St. Louis, Mo. - The Wheaton men's basketball team defeated Washington University in St. Louis 63-61 on Saturday night in the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament Second Round. Wheaton improves to 22-6 on the season and advances to the Sectional Round of the Division III Tournament for the sixth time in program history.
Next weekend's Sectional will be hosted by Illinois Wesleyan University. Wabash College and Williams College will face off on Friday, March 11 at 4:30 p.m. Wheaton will play in the second Semifinal game on Friday as the Thunder take on the host Titans at 7:30 p.m. The two advancing teams on Friday will play in the Sectional Final on Saturday, March 12 at 7:30 p.m. in Bloomington.
Nyameye Adom led the Thunder with 22 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. Cade Alioth tallied a 'double-double' with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Alioth made a team-high four three-pointers. Tyson Cruickshank scored 13 points and five rebounds. Luke Anthony added eight points, making a pair of three-pointers.
The matchup was even throughout the night. The largest lead either team built in the game as a seven- point edge for the Bears early in the second half. Wheaton's largest lead of the game was four points. The game was tied seven times and experienced 11 lead changes.
The Bears jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the first five minutes of the game. The Thunder responded with a quick 11-2 run as Wheaton gained its first lead at 13-11 with 11:45 remaining in the first half. Anthony scored five points in the run, and Cruickshank added four points as the duo combined to register nine of the team's 11 points in the scoring surge.
Wheaton led 15-14 with 9:00 left in the first half when the hosts outscored the Thunder 7-2 to take a 21-17 lead with 7:00 left in the game. WashU held a four-point lead at 29-25 with 2:14 remaining in the first half, when the Thunder put together an 8-2 run to close out the half as the Thunder led 33-31 at halftime. The first points of the run came on a key three-pointer by Alioth with 2:00 left in the opening half.
Cruickshank scored a team-high 11 points in the first half, and Adom added nine points. Alioth had five first-half rebounds. Kevin Davet led WashU with 11 first-half points, and Jack Nolan scored nine points.
The Bears led for the majority of the second half, including a seven-point advantage at 61-54 with just 2:50 remaining in regulation. Davet scored a basket to give the hosts the seven-point bulge; it was the last points Bears scored in the game.
Adom made a three pointer with 2:28 left to cut the WashU lead to four points at 61-57. WashU had an offensive foul on its next possession as Wheaton regained the ball. Adom again made a basket to trim the Bears' lead to 61-59 with 1:55 left in the game. The Thunder defense clamped down on the Bears in WashU's next possession and forced the hosts into a shot clock violation to turn the ball over. Wheaton missed a shot on the possession that followed, however Cruickshank grabbed the offensive rebound to give the guests another opportunity. Adom passed the ball to Alioth behind the three-point arc and Alioth made the trey to give Wheaton a 62-61 lead with 50-seconds left in the game.
On the Bears' possession that followed, a WashU miss was collected by Alioth for a critical defensive rebound. He was fouled on the rebound and made the first of two free throws to give Wheaton a 63-61 lead with 35-seconds left. WashU had one final possession and opportunity, but the Thunder defense continued its strong play as a possible game-tying shot missed and Wheaton secured the win.
The Thunder posted a 47.2% (25-of-53) field goal percentage, including 33% (9-of-27) behind the three-point arc. The Bears shot 38.6% (22-for-57) from the floor, including 37.5% (6-for-16) from three-point range. The Bears shot 84.6% (11-of-13) at the free throw line and the Thunder had a 44.4% (4-of-9) effort at the charity stripe. Wheaton outrebounded the Bears 33-30, with each team collecting three offensive boards.
Nolan led WashU with 20 points, making three three-pointers. Kevin Davet scored 16 points, with six rebounds. Hayden Doyle tallied 11 points, with six assists and four rebounds.