WHEATON, Ill. – Wheaton hit 13 three-pointers Saturday on its way to an 88-67 season-opening win over Augustana at King Arena. The Thunder victory spoiled Steve Schafer's head coaching debut at his alma mater. The Vikings will be back in action on Thursday, January 28, visiting North Central in Naperville, Illinois.
 
Nyameye Adom's layup put Wheaton on top 12-4 with 14:49 left in the first half before sophomore Carter Duwa (Pleasant Valley HS, Bettendorf, Iowa)—who missed all of last season with an injury—scored 11 points in a stretch of just over four minutes to give Augustana its first lead at 19-18.
 
Junior Luke Johnson (Longmont HS, Longmont, Colo.) pushed the advantage to 24-21 with a jumper at the 8:40 mark and the visitors still led 28-26 after a Daniel Carr (Regis Jesuit HS, Highlands Ranch, Colo.) bucket with 6:52 left in the half. However, Tyson Cruickshank drilled a pair of three-pointers in a 9-0 Thunder run that gave the hosts a lead they'd not surrender. An Adom trey just before the three-minute mark extended the margin to double digits (42-31) and an Andrew Williams free throw sent the hosts to the locker room with a 45-33 edge.
 
The margin reached 14 early in the second half, but a 12-2 Viking run saw Schafer's club pull to within 54-50 on Matt Hanushewsky's (Hersey HS, Arlington Heights, Ill.) triple with 13:15 to play. Sophomore Nate Ortiz (St. Charles East HS, St. Charles, Ill.) had a pair of buckets in the spree.
 
Wheaton scored 11 of the next 16 points, though, to stretch the margin back to double digits. Ortiz's field goal with 7:46 remaining cut the deficit to eight (67-59), but another three from Adom sparked a 19-6 Thunder over the next six minutes to put the contest out of reach.
 
Duwa hit three of five three-point attempts on his way to a team-high 13 points. Ortiz added a dozen and Carr 10, to go along with a team-best eight rebounds. Johnson dished out five assists without committing a turnover. Adom tallied 26 and Cruickshank 20 for the Thunder, with Luke Anthony (15) and Cade Alioth (11) joining them in double figures. Cruickshank added team highs of 10 rebounds and five assists.
 
Augustana finished 27 of 62 (.435) from the field, seven of 20 (.350) from three-point range and six of 12 (.500) at the foul line. Wheaton shot .561 (32-57) from the floor, .464 (13-28) from long range and .611 (11-18) from the charity stripe. The Thunder had a 36-29 edge on the glass and turned it over 11 times, to 10 for the Vikings.