Calvin scored the first points of the game, but Wheaton answered with a quick three and never looked back, holding a lead over the Knights from that point on. The first half closed 46 to 34 in Wheaton’s favor. Kent Raymond led the team with 18 points in the half; Michael Fiddler had eight of his nine points on the night in the Thunder’s successful start.
The second half showed no real change; the Knights trailed the Wheaton men throughout, only closing the lead to single-digits twice in the half, nine points each time. The Thunder led 70-59 with just over 45 seconds left to play in the game, and Calvin was forced to foul Raymond, who made the second free throw of the double bonus. The Knights’ Caleb Veldhouse made a three-pointer, but to no avail; following possession by Wheaton saw Ben Panner at the line, taking the Thunder to a four possession lead. The game finished 73-62.
Raymond led the Thunder men, going 9-for-17 in field goal attempts and contributing a total of 24 points to the winning effort. Matt Ankeny added 12 points and went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. Ben Panner was 4-for-7 with 10 points. Raymond and Ankeny both had two steals on the night. Fiddler and Wiele led the team in rebounds, each with six, but Johnnie Standard and Raymond both followed closely with five.
The team was 14-for-20 from the free throw line and shot 5-for16, or 31%, from beyond the arch; four of the total five three-point goals came in the first half. The team shot 47% on the night.
For the Calvin Knights, Caleb Veldhouse was 6-for-14, totaling 16 points, and Derek Griffin and Kyle Snoyeink both added 10. Josh Meckes had two steals and Tyler Zoerhof led the team in rebounding with 6. Veldhouse was 4-for-9 from beyond the arch. The team was 22-for-49, shooting 44%.
Wheaton faces off tomorrow at 2:00 against the Flying Dutchmen of Hope College. The game will be announced by WETN Sports Radio, on the internet at www.wetn.org, or at FM 88.1 in the Wheaton Area.
Newspaper Box Score Wheaton (Ill.) vs Calvin 12-1-06 6 p.m. at Kenosha, Wis. (Carthage PEC) At Kenosha, Wis. (Carthage PEC) WHEATON (ILL.) 73, CALVIN 62 WHEATON (ILL.) (3-2) Raymond, Kent 9-17 2-3 24; Ankeny, Matt 3-7 6-6 12; Panner, Ben 4-7 2-3 10; Fiddler, Michael 4-9 1-2 9; Standard, Johnnie 3-10 0-0 6; Wiele, Andy 2-4 0-1 5; McKay, Jeff 1-2 1-1 3; Berntsen, Jeremy 1-1 0-1 2; Denham, Phill 0-0 2-3 2; Young, Stephen 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-57 14-20 73. CALVIN (3-2) Caleb Veldhouse 6-14 0-0 16; Kyle Snoeyink 5-9 0-0 10; Derek Griffin 1-2 7-8 10; Tyler Zoerhof 3-5 3-4 9; Josh Meckes 3-4 1-3 7; Dustin Smith 1-4 2-3 4; John Mantel 2-5 0-0 4; Matt Veltema 1-4 0-0 2; Eric DeVries 0-0 0-2 0; Micah Chappell 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 22-49 13-20 62. Wheaton (Ill.)................ 46 27 - 73 Calvin........................ 34 28 - 62 3-point goals-Wheaton (Ill.) 5-16 (Raymond, Kent 4-8; Wiele, Andy 1-2; Panner, Ben 0-1; Standard, Johnnie 0-3; Ankeny, Matt 0-2), Calvin 5-15 (Caleb Veldhouse 4-9; Derek Griffin 1-2; Tyler Zoerhof 0-1; Dustin Smith 0-3). Fouled out--Wheaton (Ill.)-None, Calvin-None. Rebounds-Wheaton (Ill.) 37 (Fiddler, Michael 6; Wiele, Andy 6), Calvin 29 (Tyler Zoerhof 6). Assists-Wheaton (Ill.) 15 (Raymond, Kent 7), Calvin 6 (Tyler Zoerhof 2). Total fouls-Wheaton (Ill.) 19, Calvin 21. A-200