Augustana’s last lead of tonight’s game came with 17:30 remaining in the first half as the Vikings led 6-5. Wheaton led for the rest of the game from that point on, but the two teams remained tightly contested for most of the game. Wheaton led 23-21 with 8:25 remaining in the first half when the Thunder used an 11-2 run to increase its lead to 34-23 with 3:35 left before halftime. The hosts led Augustana 35-28 at halftime.
Over the first 4:30 of the second half Wheaton increased its advantage to a 12-point lead, its biggest margin of the game, at 45-33 with 15:30 left in regulation. The Vikings used an 11-3 run to cut Wheaton’s lead to 48-47 with 8:15 remaining in the game. With 2:10 remaining in regulation Jay McAdams Thornton of Augustana made a layup to cut Wheaton’s advantage to 60-58. Thunder sophomore John Mohan made the first free throw of a one-and-one attempt to give Wheaton a 60-58 lead with 2:00 remaining in the game.
Augustana missed two key free throws that would have tied the game with 50-seconds left in regulation. Wheaton senior co-captain Tony Bollier scored on a jumper with 16-seconds left to increase his team’s lead to 62-58. Augustana’s Drew Wessels countered with a field goal with 9.2-seconds left in regulation to make it a 62-60 Wheaton lead. On the ensuing in-bounds pass Augustana promptly fouled Mohan who calmly drained a pair of free throws on a one-and-one opportunity to give the Thunder a 64-60 lead with 7.5-seconds left in the game. Augustana attempted a three-point basket with one second left, but the shot fell out of bounds and Wheaton emerged with the stunning win. Thunder head coach Bill Harris said of his team’s effort, “I am so proud of our kids. They played hard tonight.”
Mohan led Wheaton with 18 points, draining four three-point field goals and adding four steals. Bollier scored 15 points, with five rebounds and five assists. Junior forward Michael Fiddler scored 10 points with seven rebounds, seven assists and three blocked shots. Senior Jordan Kemper played well with a strong effort of 4-for-4 from the field to score eight points and grab 11 rebounds. Junior Johnnie Standard scored seven points on a 3-for-4 effort from the field. Sophomore Phill Denham had a solid game with six points and five rebounds.
Dain Swetella led Augustana with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Senior Rick Harrigan added 10 points. McAdams-Thornton and Nate Swetella each scored nine points, while Wessels added eight points.
Wheaton shot 47.1% (24-51) from the field, with 40% (6-15) from tree-point range and 62.5% (10-16) at the free throw line. Augustana had a 45.8% (22-48) field goal percentage, with 42.9% (6-14) from three-point range and 55.6% (10-18) at the charity stripe. Wheaton played well in transition all night as the Thunder out-scored the guests 14-5 in fast break points.
Augustana vs Wheaton College 2/8/06 7:30 PM at King Arena - Wheaton, Ill. At King Arena - Wheaton, Ill. WHEATON COLLEGE 64, AUGUSTANA 60 AUGUSTANA (20-2/10-1) Swetalla, Dain 5-5 3-3 13; Harrigan, Rick 4-9 2-2 10; McAdams-Thornton, Ja 2-7 4-7 9; Swetalla, Nate 3-8 1-5 9; Wessels, Drew 3-4 0-0 8; Brusveen, Pat 3-5 0-0 7; Delp, Jordan 1-1 0-0 2; Rose, Shaun 1-4 0-1 2; Rorer, Oliver 0-1 0-0 0; Johnson, Sam 0-3 0-0 0; Kolze, Mike 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-48 10-18 60. WHEATON COLLEGE (8-13/4-6) Mohan, John 5-13 4-6 18; Bollier, Tony 6-14 2-2 15; Fiddler, Michael 5-11 0-1 10; Kemper, Jordan 4-4 0-1 8; Standard, Johnnie 3-4 0-0 7; Denham, Phill 1-4 4-6 6; Wiele, Andy 0-0 0-0 0; Noell, Dave 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-51 10-16 64. Augustana..................... 28 32 - 60 Wheaton College............... 35 29 - 64 3-point goals-Augustana 6-14 (Wessels, Drew 2-3; Swetalla, Nate 2-4; McAdams-Thornton, Ja 1-1; Brusveen, Pat 1-2; Johnson, Sam 0-1; Kolze, Mike 0-1; Harrigan, Rick 0-2), Wheaton College 6-15 (Mohan, John 4-8; Standard, Johnnie 1-1; Bollier, Tony 1-6). Fouled out--Augustana-None, Wheaton College-None. Rebounds-Augustana 28 (Swetalla, Dain 12), Wheaton College 32 (Kemper, Jordan 11). Assists-Augustana 12 (Swetalla, Dain 2; Swetalla, Nate 2; McAdams-Thornton, Ja 2; Brusveen, Pat 2; Rorer, Oliver 2), Wheaton College 15 (Fiddler, Michael 7). Total fouls-Augustana 15, Wheaton College 17.