Wheaton led the Cardinals by a narrow 36-35 advantage at halftime. It was a 61-60 Thunder lead with 6:10 left in regulation when a three-pointer by Raymond and a basket by senior Martin Trimiew increased Wheaton’s lead to 66-61 with 4:43 left in the game. North Central rallied with six unanswered points to take a 67-66 lead with 1:10 left in regulation. Wheaton regained the lead on a three-pointer by Jonathan Steven with a minute left to take a 69-67 advantage. North Central’s Anthony Simmons made a layup with 29-seconds left to tie the score at 69-69. The Thunder brought the ball down the court and Nielson got open to sink the jumper that put the hosts ahead by two points at 71-69 with 4.5-seconds left. North Central had a chance to win or tie the game, but the Cardinals turned the ball over with 2.2-seconds left and were forced to foul Raymond with 0.9-seconds left in regulation, but the freshman calmly drained the charity shots to secure the victory.
Raymond led the Thunder with 24 points, sinking four three-point field goals and four assists. Trimiew and Steven each scored 12 points and collected four rebounds for the hosts. Nielson scored 11 points, with six assists and four steals. Senior Andrew Lettinga scored eight points and fellow senior Jim Fortosis was Wheaton’s leading rebounder with five boards, while adding six points and three assists in a solid effort.
North Central’s Anthony Simmons led all scorers with 32 points on 11-for-12 shooting from the floor and he collected 11 rebounds. Mike Wilson added 18 points, with four rebounds. Daniel Walton scored six points with six rebounds.
Wheaton shot 45.2% (28-62) from the field, with 47.8% (11-23) from three-point range and 75% (6-8) at the free throw line. North Central posted a 60% (12-20) field goal percentage, with 25% (3-12) from three-point range and 76.2% (16-21) from the free throw line. North Central out-rebounded the Thunder 33-25, with Wheaton holding a 10-7 edge on the offensive glass.
North Central College vs Wheaton College 2/5/05 7:30 PM at King Arena - Wheaton, Ill. At King Arena - Wheaton, Ill. WHEATON COLLEGE 73, NORTH CENTRAL COLLEGE 69 NORTH CENTRAL COLLEGE (13-8/3-7 CCIW) Anthony Simmons 11-12 10-13 32; Mike Wilson 6-13 4-4 18; Daniel Walton 3-4 0-0 6; Patrick Flanigan 2-4 0-0 4; Daniel Doyle 2-5 0-1 4; Ray Vicario 1-4 1-1 4; Adam Kumtinger 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 25-44 16-21 69. WHEATON COLLEGE (16-3/6-2) Raymond, Kent 7-15 6-7 24; Steven, Jonathan 5-9 0-0 12; Trimiew, Martin 6-13 0-0 12; Nielson, Jon 4-11 0-1 11; Lettinga, Andrew 3-8 0-0 8; Fortosis, Jim 3-4 0-0 6; Bollier, Tony 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 28-62 6-8 73. North Central College......... 35 34 - 69 Wheaton College............... 36 37 - 73 3-point goals-North Central College 3-12 (Mike Wilson 2-5; Ray Vicario 1-2; Patrick Flanigan 0-1; Daniel Doyle 0-2; Daniel Walton 0-1; Anthony Simmons 0-1), Wheaton College 11-23 (Raymond, Kent 4-7; Nielson, Jon 3-7; Steven, Jonathan 2-5; Lettinga, Andrew 2-3; Bollier, Tony 0-1). Fouled out--North Central College-Mike Wilson, Wheaton College-None. Rebounds-North Central College 33 (Anthony Simmons 10), Wheaton College 25 (Fortosis, Jim 5). Assists-North Central College 7 (Ray Vicario 2; Daniel Walton 2), Wheaton College 18 (Nielson, Jon 6). Total fouls-North Central College 15, Wheaton College 17.