Wheaton, Ill. --  The Carroll University men's basketball team dropped the second game of the weekend series with the No. 5 Wheaton Thunder, falling 55-81. Justin Steinike finished with a season-high 19 points to go along with five rebounds and two assists. Tarren Hall was close behind with 16 points on 4-7 shooting from behind the arc.
 
The Pioneers (3-5, 3-5 CCIW) were able to find their shooting in the second half, but it wasn't enough to overcome the Thunder. The men finished shooting 52.2% from the floor in the second half, and 37.8% overall for the game. The threes were connecting as well for the men, shooting with 38.1% accuracy from beyond the arc. The Pio bench once again saw plenty of minutes, scoring 15 points led by Ryan Mendoza (9 PTS, 2 AST).
 
Wheaton opened the game quickly with a 9-0 run through the first four minutes. Hall hit a jumper outside the paint off an offensive rebound to give the Pios their first points of the afternoon. Carter Sturgeon (3 PTS, 1 REB) took advantage of a Wheaton turnover and nailed a three-pointer with 14:03 left in the first. Steinike collected his first points of the game with two free-throws, followed by a Mendoza three-pointer to cut the Thunder lead to eight. Wheaton worked the lead up to 18 with 4:56 remaining in the first half, then Josh Hudgens (2 PTS, 2 REB) landed a jumper in the paint. The Thunder finished on a 10-0 run in the final 2:22 of the half.
 
Steinike and Hall started the offense for the Pioneers in the second half after Wheaton brought the lead to 29. Steinike connected on a three-pointer to give him six points with 18:26 remaining in the game. Hall hit on his own three-pointer off a Sturgeon assist at the 16:23 mark. Hall's third three of the game at 13:03 brought the lead down to 21 points. Steinike and hall scored seven straight Pioneer points in two minutes to cut the lead to 19. Steinike tried to keep the lead to under 20 after free-throws with 3:02 to play, but the Thunder scored the last seven points to finish with a 26-point victory.
 
The Pioneer men will host North Park on Tuesday, Feb. 23 at 7 PM in a make-up game from earlier this month. The men defeated North Park on the road 69-61 on Feb. 6. Hall recorded a double-double in that game with 26-points 13 rebounds.