North Park led by a score of 21-19 when Wheaton’s Tony Bollier drained a three-pointer with 5:05 left in the first half to give the Thunder a 22-21 lead, a lead the hosts would never relinquish. Bollier’s three-pointer sparked a 16-4 scoring run to close out the first half for the Thunder, giving it a 35-25 lead at halftime. North Park scored the first six points of the second half to cut Wheaton’s advantage to four points at 35-31 with 17:55 left in regulation, but then Wheaton countered with a 9-3 scoring run to regain a 10-point lead at 44-34 with 14:15 left in the game. North Park never got closer, as the Thunder led by as many as 24 points late in the game, as the hosts earned the 73-52 victory.
Senior co-captain Tony Bollier led the Thunder with a game-high 15 points tonight, adding six assists. John Mohan, Michael Fiddler and Andy Wiele each scored 14 points to help a balanced offensive effort for the Thunder tonight. Fiddler and Wiele each collected seven rebounds, while Mohan added five boards and three assists. Senior Jordan Kemper grabbed a game-high nine rebounds and scored six points.
Bjorn Berg scored 14 points to lead North Park, while Ed Whitaker added 13 points. Jay Alexander scored eight points, with a team-high eight rebounds and Devin Burnett contributed six points.
Wheaton posted a 53.8% (28-52) field goal percentage, with 37.5% (6-16) from three-point range and 73.3% (11-15) from the free throw line. North Park shot 34% (18-53) from the field, with 23.5% (4-17) from three-point range and 80% (12-15) from the free throw line. The Thunder dominated North Park on the glass with a 42-21 edge in rebounding and 16-11 advantage on the offensive glass.
North Park Univ. vs Wheaton College 1/14/06 7:30 PM at King Arena - Wheaton, Ill. At King Arena - Wheaton, Ill. WHEATON COLLEGE 73, NORTH PARK UNIV. 52 NORTH PARK UNIV. (3-12/1-3 CCIW) BERG, BJORN 6-12 1-2 14; WHITAKER, ED 4-11 3-4 13; ALEXANDER, JAY 3-11 2-2 8; BURNETT, DEVIN 2-4 1-1 6; GORDON, JASON 1-5 3-4 5; MATHISEN, BRETT 0-4 2-2 2; WILLERT, KEITH 1-3 0-0 2; VENTURA, MICHAEL 1-3 0-0 2; SARGENT, JEREMIAH 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-53 12-15 52. WHEATON COLLEGE (5-8/1-1 CCIW) Bollier, Tony 6-12 1-1 15; Fiddler, Michael 7-10 0-0 14; Wiele, Andy 5-8 4-5 14; Mohan, John 5-10 0-1 14; Kemper, Jordan 2-5 2-2 6; Denham, Phill 1-2 2-2 4; Noell, Dave 1-2 2-2 4; McAlpine, David 1-1 0-0 2; Sovocool, Tom 0-0 0-2 0; McKay, Jeff 0-1 0-0 0; Berntsen, Jeremy 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-52 11-15 73. North Park Univ............... 25 27 - 52 Wheaton College............... 35 38 - 73 3-point goals-North Park Univ. 4-17 (WHITAKER, ED 2-8; BURNETT, DEVIN 1-1; BERG, BJORN 1-5; GORDON, JASON 0-1; ALEXANDER, JAY 0-2), Wheaton College 6-16 (Mohan, John 4-7; Bollier, Tony 2-6; Kemper, Jordan 0-2; Noell, Dave 0-1). Fouled out--North Park Univ.-None, Wheaton College-Denham, Phill. Rebounds-North Park Univ. 21 (ALEXANDER, JAY 8), Wheaton College 42 (Kemper, Jordan 9). Assists-North Park Univ. 6 (GORDON, JASON 4), Wheaton College 16 (Bollier, Tony 6). Total fouls-North Park Univ. 17, Wheaton College 13.