Wheaton Thunder silenced

The Wheaton Thunder men's basketball team had its season ended Saturday night with an 83-70 loss to Hope College in the NCAA Division III Tournament sectional final.

Wheaton closes the season with a record of 22-8, the most wins by a Wheaton College team since the 1995-96 team posted a record of 25-2.

"Hope absolutely earned it," Wheaton coach Bill Harris said. "They shot the lights out.

"These kids have nothing to hang their heads about. They put together one of the best seasons in Wheaton history and they should be proud of that."

Hope shot 57.1 percent from the field, with 62.5 percent from 3-point range and 66.7 percent at the free-throw line. The Flying Dutchmen shot a sensational 76.9 percent from 3-point range in the second half.

Wheaton shot a 47.3 percent field-goal percentage, with 33.3 percent from 3-point range and 84.6 percent at the free-throw line. Wheaton outrebounded Hope 29-26, with a 10-5 edge on the offensive glass.

Junior Andy Wiele scored 18 points, on 8-of-12 shooting from the field, with 13 rebounds and 3 assists. All-America guard Kent Raymond contributed 18 points, with 5 assists. Freshman Andrew Jahns (Wheaton North) scored 13 points, with three 3-point field goals and 3 assists. Sophomore Ben Panner scored 12 points, with 7 rebounds.

Forward Jacob Carwell (Timothy Christian) scored 9 points.

Marcus Vanderheide led Hope with 23 points, with seven rebounds and three assists. Derek VanSolkema scored 15 points and Jesse Reimink added 14 points, with 4 assists and 5 rebounds.