Anthony, Wheaton College fall short in upset bid

Wheaton College already was having a good men's basketball season, but the Thunder got a little better when Luke Anthony transferred in at the semester break.

A Wheaton North graduate, Anthony quickly proved a valuable addition. On Wednesday he helped the Thunder nearly upset No. 2 Augustana College in a CCIW game in Wheaton.

Anthony, a 6-foot-3 sophomore guard, transferred from the University of Dayton, where he played football. He plans to play football at Wheaton also.

"They're very welcoming, great guys," Anthony said of his new teammates. "I mean there are really no better guys out there."

"It's been great," Thunder coach Mike Schauer added. "It's really remarkable really how well he's played given how much time he had off before he came to us. I can kind of tell he's a little sore. He doesn't quite have his legs yet. He's using some muscles for basketball he hasn't used for a little while."

Anthony came off the bench to score 11 points and grab 4 rebounds in 23 minutes.

The Thunder (12-5, 5-3) led at halftime 41-40. But Wheaton couldn't score from the floor the first seven minutes of the second half, falling behind 51-42. An Aston Francis basket cut the Augustana lead to 52-51, but the Thunder never did pull even again.

"I was really pleased with the effort," Schauer said. "I don't think we played particularly well. Obviously, they're very good."

Francis hit a 3-pointer with 34.7 seconds to play to cut the Augustana lead to 74-73. Augustana's Crishawn Orange, a Jacobs High School graduate, hit a free throw, but Francis' 3-point attempt with nine seconds to play bounced off the rim, and Augustana rebounded it.

"Obviously, we want to have Aston with the ball," Schauer said. "... From our end it looked like it had a chance. He's obviously made that shot before against (Illinois) Wesleyan."

Francis was held just below his average of 31.6 points a game, scoring 30. He also grabbed 9 rebounds.

Orange scored 9 points for Augustana (16-1, 8-0), and Downers Grove South graduate Donovan Ferguson added 6 points.