BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- The No. 17-ranked Illinois Wesleyan men's basketball team lost its second straight College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin game, falling by a 107-95 score to Wheaton at the Shirk Center on Wednesday, Feb. 7.

The Titans slipped to 16-5 overall and 9-3 in the CCIW while the Thunder improved to 15-6 this season and 8-4 in the league. Go here to see latest CCIW standings.

The 107 points is the most surrendered by an Illinois Wesleyan squad since allowing 117 in a 150-117 win over Greenville, a "system"-playing team, on Nov. 17, 2015, and the most points allowed in a loss since falling by a 109-97 score at Florida Gulf Coast University on Dec. 30, 2003.

Illinois Wesleyan had five players score in double figures, led by junior Brady Rose with 27 points with 18 coming in the second half. Sophomore Alex O'Neill scored 14 points with junior Colin Bonnett and freshman Grant Wolfe, who came off the bench, scoring 13 points each. Junior Jason Gregoire added 12 points.

The Thunder, only the second team to score over 100 against IWU this season, were led by the 36-point outing of Aston Francis, who scored 22 in staking Wheaton to a 52-43 halftime lead. Wheaton scored the first 10 points of the second half to assume a 19-point lead at 62-43. Wheaton then went on a 19-10 run to grab a game-high 28-point advantage at 81-53 with 11:58 remaining.
The Titans made a late run, closing to within nine points on three occasions, the latest being 102-93 with 1:13 left.

Ricky Samuelson and Luke Peters each scored 17 points for the Thunder while Kobe Eichelberger added 16 and Jay Spencer scored 13 to put all five starters in double figures.
Eichelberger and Peters each snared seven rebounds as Wheaton had a 40-35 edge on the boards. Sophomore Miles Curry had a game-high eight rebounds for the Titans.

What's Next?
Illinois Wesleyan's "Seniors' Night" is Saturday (Feb. 10) with a 7 p.m. game against the Carroll Pioneers. Jaylen Beasley and Tyler Burdine are the honored seniors ... The Pioneers have won four games in a row after a 73-69 home victory over Carthage on Wednesday. Carroll stands at 9-12 overall and 5-7 in the CCIW ... IWU downed the Pioneers by an 82-70 score on Jan. 20 ... It is also a basketball alumni weekend with an IWU junior varsity game against a team of alumni beginning at 2 p.m. Saturday.