Raymond scores 47 in Thunder victory

Wheaton guard Kent Raymond scored a career-high 47 points as the Thunder defeated Whitworth College 76-67 to advance to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament on Friday night.

"I can't take credit for tonight," Raymond said. "It is just one of those nights where God blesses you with a hot hand and it just felt good."

The Thunder will face Hope College (25-3) at 6 p.m. today at Hope's DeVos Fieldhouse with a Final Four berth at stake. Hope defeated Ohio Wesleyan 81-73.

Raymond's 47 points is the third-highest single-game total in school history. He was 12 of 21 from the floor and tied the school record for 3-pointers with 7. Raymond has scored a school single-season school-record 716 points this year, surpassing Tom Dykstra's previous record of 682 points during the 1969-1970 season.

"Kent is just a special player," coach Bill Harris said. "I have said it so many times that people are tired of me saying it, but it's true. I have seen him do some incredible things on the basketball court, and tonight was right up there."

Freshman Andrew Jahns (Wheaton North) scored 14 points with 5 rebounds, including 3 offensive boards. Junior center Andy Wiele scored 7 points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. Sophomore Stephen Young gave the Thunder a considerable contribution on defense tonight, coming off of the Wheaton bench. Wheaton shot 51.1 percent from the field, with 57.1 percent from 3-point range and 84.6 percent at the free-throw line.

Whitworth's Ryan Symes scored 29 points and Calvin Jurich added 10 points, with 6 rebounds. Whitworth shot 48.1 percent from the field, with 25 percent from 3-point range and 93.3 percent at the free-throw line. Wheaton outrebounded the Pirates 27-25 and each team collected 9 rebounds.

Whitworth led the Thunder 17-16 with 8:21 remaining in the first half when Wheaton scored 9 unanswered points to take a 25-17 lead with 6:50 left before halftime. Wheaton never relinquished the lead after that run as the Thunder held a 33-28 lead at halftime. Wheaton led 57-47 with 7:20 left in regulation, however, the Pirates put together a 9-0 run to cut Wheaton's lead to 57-56 with 5:35 left in the second half. A basket by Raymond with 4:50 left in regulation was the first 2 points of 10 consecutive points for the All-American as his personal 10-0 run extended Wheaton's lead to 67-56 with 2:35 left in regulation.