wheaton advances to ncaa division iii sectional

WHEATON, Ill. -- For the second year in a row, Wheaton advanced to the sectional round of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament with a 74-69 overtime win against Wisconsin-Platteville on Saturday.

The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) has now had a team advance to the sectional round of the NCAA Tournament in three of the last four seasons. In 2006, Illinois Wesleyan advanced all the way to the Final Four, finishing third. That same season, Augustana also advanced to the sectional round. Last year, Wheaton made it all the way to the sectional final before losing to Hope.

Between 2001 and 2004, the CCIW had at least one team qualify for the sectional round in each of those seasons. In 2001, Illinois Wesleyan finished third in the nation while Carthage finished third in 2002.

The farthest Wheaton has ever gone was a national title in 1957 in the NCAA College Division. The last national title the CCIW achieved in men's basketball came in 1997 when Illinois Wesleyan took home the championship.

Against Wisconsin-Platteville, Wheaton all-American Kent Raymond (Cumberland, Ind./New Palestine) finished with a team-high 24 points while Ben Panner (Austin, Texas/Bowie) chipped in 17 points and five assists.

Wheaton will host Washington University next Friday at 8 p.m.