Wheaton, Elmhurst fall at tourney

The Wheaton College men's basketball team lost an 81-78 decision to Illinois Wesleyan on Friday night in the first semifinal of the CCIW Tournament.

Wheaton is 19-7 on the year. Illinois Wesleyan advances to the CCIW Tournament championship game with a record of 16-10.

Illinois Wesleyan led the Thunder 41-38 at halftime of tonight's game. The Titans never trailed in the second half.

"We just didn't get it done tonight," Thunder coach Bill Harris said. "I thought we played hard, we just didn't get it done."

Kent Raymond led the Thunder with 34 points, including five 3-pointers and he grabbed 5 rebounds. Junior center Andy Wiele scored 14 points, with 9 rebounds, including 4 offensive boards.

Freshman guard Andrew Jahns (Wheaton North) and sophomore Ben Panner each contributed 9 points. Jahns added 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Sophomore Steve Young scored 6 points, with 5 rebounds.

Travis Rosenkranz led the Titans with 20 points, on 8-of-13 shooting from the field, with 4 assists. Sean Johnson scored 16 points, with a pair of 3-pointers. Brett Chamernik (Benet) scored 12 points for Illinois Wesleyan, with 5 rebounds.

In the other semifinal at Augustana, Elmhurst took the host school to overtime before losing 69-68. Brent Ruch scored 20 points and had 11 rebounds for the Bluejays, and Matt Ryder chipped in 11 points.