#3-Wheaton rolls to 81-53 victory over Millikin in CCIW Quarterfinals

Gavin Hawkins

The third-ranked Thunder men's basketball team opened its participation in the CCIW Tournament on Saturday afternoon with an 81-53 victory over Millikin University at King Arena. Wheaton opened the game by hitting four-straight three-pointers to take an early double-digit lead and never trailed in improving to 11-0 on the season. Millikin's season comes to a close with a record of 1-12. Wheaton will host Augustana in a CCIW Tournament Semifinal on Tuesday night at 7 pm. Wheaton rode a hot-shooting first half that saw the Thunder make six of their first eight three-point attempts to a 43.6% (24-55) shooting clip while finishing 9-25 (36%) from beyond the arc. The Thunder were efficient at the free throw line, converting on 24-of-27 free throw attempts. Millikin shot 32.8% (19-58) from the field and finished at 20% (4-20) after missing its first 12 three-point attempts. The Big Blue were 84.6% (11-13) at the free throw line. Wheaton won the battle on the boards 41-31 and turned the ball over just seven times in the game. Gavin Hawkins (6'7''-F) got Wheaton off to a quick start by hitting a three-pointer on Wheaton's first two possessions of the game before Nyameye Adom (6'1''-G) connected on three-pointers on Wheaton's next two possessions to build a 12-2 Thunder lead just three minutes into the game. Millikin would pull back to within six points at 18-12, but Wheaton answered with a 10-0 run capped by an Adom lay-up to push the lead to 28-12 and would not let the lead drop back into the single figures for the remainder of the game. Adom finished the first half with 19 of his game-high 27 points as the Thunder build a 40-27 halftime advantage. The Thunder ran off eight straight points to open the second half and push the lead to 20 points for the first time on a Luke Anthony (6'3''-G) lay-up. Millikin would get as close as 15 points on consecutive three-pointers by Jake Hampton (6'0''-PG) and again on another Hampton three, but Wheaton put the game on ice with a 13-0 run to lead 72-44 with 6:29 to play. Wheaton would lead by as many as 30 points down the stretch en route to an 81-53 final score. Adom finished with a game-high 27 points to go and was joined in double figures by Tyson Cruickshank (5'11''-PG) with 19 points and five assists. Luke Anthony chipped in 10 points and Cade Alioth (6'5''-F) grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Calvin Fisher (6'6''-G) led the Big Blue with 13 points.
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