Wheaton led 35-33 at halftime and Millikin trailed by just three points with 13:20 to play in the game when the Thunder led 47-44. The hosts closed the final 13:00 minutes of the game with a 30-12 advantage with solid play on both offense and defense. Wheaton shot 69.6% (16-23) from the field in the second half and held the Big Blue to just 28% (9-32).
Junior Jonathan Steven led the Thunder with 17 points, adding two assists and two steals. Senior All-American Joel Kolmodin scored 15 points with 14 rebounds and three assists. Junior guard Jon Nielson scored 14 points with two three-point field goals and seven assists. Junior Martin Trimiew scored nine points on 3-4 shooting from the field, along with a career-high four assists and senior forward Will Landry grabbed eight rebounds.
Guard Carlon Butler led Millikin with 16 points on 7-12 shooting from the field and two assists. Senior Kevin Causley scored 12 points with nine rebounds off of the bench for the Big Blue. Junior guard Chuck Williams scored 13 points with three field goals from behind the three-point arc.
Wheaton shot 55.6% (30-54) from the field, with 38.5% (5-13) from three-point range and 80% (12-15) from the free throw line. Millikin hit 35.5% (22-62) from the field, 21.4% (3-14) from three-point range and 64.3% (9-14) from the free throw line. Wheaton held a 38-32 rebounding advantage on the night and the Thunder out-scored the Big Blue 48-26 in the paint.
Millikin vs Wheaton 1/21/04 8:00 PM at King Arena - Wheaton, Ill. At King Arena - Wheaton, Ill. WHEATON 77, MILLIKIN 56 MILLIKIN (10-5/2-2 CCIW) Butler, Carlon 7-12 2-4 16; Williams, Chuck 4-14 2-2 13; Causley, Kevin 5-9 2-2 12; Brooks, Lance 2-6 3-6 7; Schneider, Phil 3-8 0-0 6; Graven, Bryon 1-1 0-0 2; Long, Korte 0-2 0-0 0; Klemm, Rob 0-1 0-0 0; Russell, Adam 0-3 0-0 0; Fisher, Jason 0-4 0-0 0; Jones, Reid 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 22-62 9-14 56. WHEATON (14-1/3-1 CCIW) Steven, Jonathan 8-15 0-0 17; Kolmodin, Joel 5-10 5-7 15; Nielson, Jon 4-7 4-5 14; Trimiew, Martin 3-4 3-3 9; Bollier, Tony 3-4 0-0 7; Landry, Will 3-6 0-0 6; Lettinga, Andrew 2-2 0-0 5; Standard, Johnnie 1-1 0-0 2; Trusty, Jeremiah 1-1 0-0 2; Fortosis, Jim 0-3 0-0 0; Kemper, Jordan 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-54 12-15 77. Millikin...................... 33 23 - 56 Wheaton....................... 35 42 - 77 3-point goals-Millikin 3-14 (Williams, Chuck 3-6; Schneider, Phil 0-1; Russell, Adam 0-1; Fisher, Jason 0-3; Jones, Reid 0-2; Butler, Carlon 0-1), Wheaton 5-13 (Nielson, Jon 2-4; Lettinga, Andrew 1-1; Steven, Jonathan 1-3; Bollier, Tony 1-2; Kolmodin, Joel 0-3). Fouled out--Millikin-None, Wheaton-None. Rebounds-Millikin 32 (Causley, Kevin 9), Wheaton 38 (Kolmodin, Joel 14). Assists-Millikin 9 (Fisher, Jason 3), Wheaton 19 (Nielson, Jon 7).