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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- In a game that saw three ties and 18 lead changes, the No. 8-ranked Illinois Wesleyan men's basketball team lost a 90-88 decision to Wheaton on a 3-pointer at the buzzer on Wednesday, Dec. 5, at the Shirk Center.
The Titans lost for the first time in eight games and are 7-1 overall while the Thunder improved to 6-2 overall. Both teams are 1-1 in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play.
Illinois Wesleyan got a career-high 21 points from senior
Jason Gregoire, who knocked in four of six 3-pointers, and 19 points from senior
Colin Bonnett, who was three of four from beyond the arc. Senior
Brady Rose netted 17 points and also made three of four 3-pointers. As a team, IWU drained 14 of 22 3-pointers for a season-best .636 percentage.
Sophomore
Charlie Bair contributed nine points and a game-high 12 rebounds, his third double-digit board game of the season.
Wheaton's Aston Francis, the national Division III scoring leader with a 31.7 average, scored 27 points including the 3-point game-winner as time expired. He was 10 of 21 from the field and made 7 of 14 from beyond the 3-point arc. As a team, Wheaton was 16 of 33 in 3-point shooting (.485).
Nyameye Adom (14 points), Kobe Eichelberger (12), Luke Peters (11) and Tyson Cruickshank (10) also scored in double figures for the Thunder.
With 3:04 remaining, Wheaton led 83-77 after a Francis 3-pointer but IWU outscored the Thunder 8-1 to get an 85-84 lead with 1:18 left on 3-pointers from Rose and Gregoire and a basket by Matt Leritz.
After an exchange of free throws, Rose connected on two free tosses with 17.5 seconds left to stake the Titans to an 88-85 lead. But Wheaton found Cruickshank alone under the basket for a layup to cut Wheaton's deficit to one at 88-87. A Titan turnover with 5.2 seconds left gave the ball back to the Thunder, leading to Francis's dagger.
The Titans shot .482 (27 of 56) from the field while Wheaton shot .538 percent from the floor (35 of 65). Each team had 31 rebounds.
What's Next?
Illinois Wesleyan plays at No. 3 Augustana in Rock Island, Ill., on Saturday, Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. The Vikings, who have won four in a row, are 1-0 in the CCIW and 6-1 overall after a 78-54 nonconference road win over MacMurray on Wednesday night. Senior guards Nolan Ebel (21 points) and Chrishawn Orange (20) combined for 41 points in the victory.
