Waukesha, Wis. – The Carroll University Pioneer men's basketball team faced a resounding Wheaton Thunder program ranked No. 5 in the nation on Thursday night, falling 39-74 in Van Male Field House.
Justin Steinike led the Pio scoring with nine points,
Ryan Mendoza came off the bench and contributed seven, and
Isaiah Smith grabbed a career-high five rebounds.
The Pioneers (3-4, 3-4 CCIW) faced a tough Wheaton defense that coming into this bout was tied for 31
st in the nation allowing only 65.6 PPG. The Thunder didn't give an inch to the Pioneers behind the line, shooting only 4-14 from three-point land. Carroll went deep to their bench midway through the second half and scored 19 points.
A defensive clinic was on display to start the first half, with both teams tied at five apiece with 15:22 remaining. The Thunder slowly built their lead, as the Pioneers went cold for six minutes.
Justin Gruber (2 PTS, 2 REB) snapped the scoreless streak with an acrobatic layup in the paint. Steinike cashed in on a three-pointer on a second chance play to cut the lead to six.
Tarren Hall (4 PTS, 1 STL) scored his first basket of the night with 6:20 left in the first half down 11. The Thunder ended the half on an 8-0 run to go into the break up 19.
Tyler Miller (5 PTS, 1-3 FGM) opened the scoring for the second half, but the Thunder responded with a three-point jump shot. Mendoza collected an and-one three-point play off a running floater in the paint to keep the lead under 20. The Thunder went up 27 points with 14:24 to play forcing
Paul Combs to open his bench.
Rocco Ronzio collected his first field goal of the season with a deep three from the top of the key with 12:25 left in the game. Freshman
Paradisio Dante found his way to the free-throw line a team high for times, making two of the four attempts. Junior
Gio Carrillo scored six points including a three-pointer with 7:29 to play.
The Pioneers get a second chance at Wheaton this Saturday at King Arena on the campus of Wheaton College. The Pioneer men are 3-0 on the road this season.
