North Central defeats Wheaton College men 79-67

Wheaton, Ill. – The Wheaton Thunder men's basketball team dropped its first home game of the season on Saturday night with a 79-67 loss to North Central College (10-9/6-2 CCIW). Wheaton is now 13-6 on the year, with a 4-4 conference record. The Thunder will start a two-game stretch of road games on Wednesday night with a 7:30 PM tipoff at Carthage College.

The Cardinals broke a 16-16 tie with 11:30 left in the first half on a three-pointer by Aaron Tiknis and never trailed for the remainder of the game. The guests held a 42-31 lead at halftime and led by as many as 19 points in the second half. The Thunder got within five points of North Central when the Cardinals held a 64-59 lead with 4:30 left in the game, however the Cardinals went on a 10-2 run to stretch its advantage to 74-61 with 1:49 left in the game.

Senior Andrew Jahns led Wheaton with 22 points, making four three-pointers on the night. Tim McCrary contributed 14 points, with 12 rebounds and six assists. Freshman Tyler Peters scored nine points off the Wheaton bench on 3-for-3 shooting from the field.

Derek Raridon scored 25 points, with six rebounds to lead North Central. Landon Gamble scored 21 points, with nine rebounds and Kevin Gillespie scored 12 points.

Wheaton recorded a 35.6% (21-59) field goal percentage, with 47.4% (9-19) from three-point range and 80% (16-20) at the free throw line. The Cardinals shot 60% (27-45) from the floor, with 45.5% (5-11) from three-point range and 66.7% (20-30) at the free throw line. The Cardinal out-rebounded the hosts 35-30, with Wheaton holding a 15-9 edge on the offensive glass.