Wheaton, Ill. -- A difficult three-game home stretch against the top sides in the CCIW continued for the Wheaton men's basketball team on Saturday night, as the Thunder welcomed the 15th-ranked Elmhurst Bluejays to King Arena. The visitors held the lead for nearly all of the first half this evening, but Wheaton turned the tide of the game after halftime and scored an impressive 45 points in the second period to claim the upset in front of a sizable and vocal home crowd. Saturday's win moves the Thunder's record in conference play up to 3-4, while Elmhurst has now lost two consecutive CCIW games to slip from the top spot in the conference standings. The result marks Wheaton's first regular season victory over a team ranked in the national Top 15 since its last home win over tonight's opponent in January of 2022.

The conference's leading scorer, John Ittounas, gave Elmhurst the first basket of the contest on its opening possession, and after a two and a half-minute scoring gap for either team, Soren Richardson put Wheaton on the board via a layup in the paint. Another three by Ittounas 50 seconds later pushed the Bluejays' lead to 8-2, and the game quickly developed a back-and-forth flow, as Elmhurst was unable to pull away from its host and Wheaton could not manage to overhaul their guest on the scoreboard. Having trailed the Bluejays by single digits since the opening minute, the Thunder claimed their first lead of the night with six minutes remaining in the half thanks to a Connor Braun three-pointer. But Elmhurst responded with the following four points to ease back in front, and the visitors would hold the advantage for the remainder of the first half.

Trailing 36-30 at the break, Wheaton conceded the first seven points of the second frame to see Elmhurst build its largest lead of the game at 43-30. But any member of the Wheaton faithful inside King Arena who thought the game was out of the hosts' hands was proven wrong, as the Thunder rapidly worked their way back into the contest. Facing the 13-point deficit with 17 minutes left, Wheaton needed just three and a half minutes of play to flip the scoreline on its head. An 18-4 surge powered by four three-pointers from the top long-range shooter in the conference, Kyle Neibch stunned the Thunder's highly-ranked opponents and cranked up the volume inside the crowded gym. A classy hand-switch layup at speed from Nate Sock moved Wheaton in front at 48-47, and two free throws from Nick Schiavello capped the hosts' 12-0 run to build a 50-47 advantage. Elmhurst knocked down a subsequent pair of jumpers in the lane to reclaim a slim lead, but Wheaton stole it back with just over ten minutes remaining and held the lead for the rest of the game in a professional closing-stretch display.

The Bluejays were able to get within one possession of their hosts on multiple occasions in the final minutes of Saturday's battle, but Wheaton kept coming up with answers on the offensive end to remain in front. Schiavello buried a three to push the Thunder's lead to 67-60 with a few ticks under five minutes left in the game. Elmhurst hung around and trimmed the home side's advantage down to three points as the clock crept under two minutes. But another Neibch three-ball and an authoritative dunk from Braun with 45 seconds left effectively wrapped up the upset victory for Wheaton. 

The Thunder's defense impressed once again on Saturday, as the team held the CCIW's top-scoring outfit to 69 points and a shooting percentage of just 37.7%. Elmhurst sank eight triples this evening and went an excellent 15-17 from the foul line, but the Bluejays could not cash in on enough of their trips down the floor to overpower their spirited underdog rivals. Wheaton posted a solid 48% field goal percentage tonight and drained 11 three-pointers in a confident showing. The Thunder found their shooting touch in the second half, particularly, posting figures of 56% from the field and 54% from beyond the arc while bumping up their free-throw conversion rate by 10%. Elmhurst captured the rebounding and turnover stat lines, but Wheaton's superiority in the paint and from behind the three-point line nullified these advantages.

Neibch scored 18 points and connected on a game-high five three-pointers to key Wheaton's second-half comeback. The sophomore also grabbed five rebounds and made all three of his free throws. Schiavello registered 14 points and led all players in rebounding and assisting on Saturday, tallying eight in both categories to cement an all-around display. Braun and Sock each contributed 15 points and five rebounds, with the latter dishing out a pair of assists and shooting over 50% from the field. Richardson was Wheaton's fifth scorer in double-figures tonight, posting 11 points and adding a steal and a blocked shot.

Wheaton will conclude its home gauntlet against the teams at the top of the conference pile on Wednesday night when Illinois Wesleyan comes to town. IWU has won six-straight CCIW games and sits alone atop the conference standings after Saturday's results. Tip-off between the Thunder and the Titans is scheduled for 7 PM in King Arena.