WHEATON (Interstat) — Soren Richardson scored 25 points and handed out six assists as Wheaton (Ill.) rolled to a 104-60 victory over Illinois Tech in a men’s NCAA Division III basketball game Wednesday at King Arena in Wheaton, Ill. Carson Grier added 14 points and eight rebounds for Wheaton, which improved to 2-0. Illinois Tech fell to 0-1. Attendance was 313.

Wheaton set the tone early. Brady Wynja opened the scoring with a layup, Carson Grier followed with two close-range baskets, and Richardson converted free throws and a turnaround jumper as the Thunder built an 11-2 lead. Pharaoh Amadi hit a pullup jumper for Illinois Tech’s first field goal, but Wheaton answered with a 10-0 run that included a Reid Olson 3-pointer and a Richardson 3. Kyle Grier added a 3-pointer, and after Lamarkis Graham and Aleksa Ilic scored inside for Illinois Tech, Reid Olson hit another 3. Aris Duni made two hook shots, Devin Martin scored on a floater and a dunk, and Kyan VanderWoude made four free throws and a driving layup as Wheaton kept its lead. Nick Galati hit a 3-pointer for Illinois Tech, Omar Salman added a 3, and Brendan Nesbary and Nikolai Stanic scored late in the half, but Richardson made two 3-pointers and a layup in the final minutes, and Graham scored at the buzzer to make it 53-32. Wheaton shot 38 of 62 from the floor, including 11 of 24 from three-point range, and made 17 of 28 free throws. Illinois Tech shot 22 of 63 overall, 5 of 16 from beyond the arc and 11 of 23 at the line.

Wheaton kept control after halftime. Richardson made a layup, Evan Montandon scored inside, Carson Grier hit a jumper and Richardson added another layup as the lead grew to 61-32. Igor Filipovic hit a 3-pointer for Illinois Tech, and Amadi made free throws, but Kyan VanderWoude answered with a layup and a 3-pointer. Reid Olson hit two 3-pointers and Brady Wynja made two free throws as Wheaton pushed the margin to 82-41. Illinois Tech got 3-pointers from Omar Salman and Filipovic, and Nick Galati made a driving layup, but Wheaton maintained a comfortable cushion. Later, Jace Olson hit a 3-pointer, Larenzo Floyd made a layup, and Filipovic hit another 3-pointer for Illinois Tech. Montandon made two free throws, Kyle Grier hit a 3-pointer, and Jace Olson and Brady Lam scored as Wheaton closed the game. Christian Veirs made a free throw and a driving layup, Kenny Donnelly made a layup, and Will Ryan made a free throw for Wheaton. Kalel Maxey made a free throw for Illinois Tech. Devin Martin finished with 11 assists, and Richardson, who had 30 points in Wheaton’s season-opening win over Milwaukee Engineering, led all scorers with 25 points. Carson Grier had 14 points, eight rebounds, two assists and one block. VanderWoude scored 14 points, Olson had 12, Amadi scored 10 for Illinois Tech, Filipovic had eight points and two blocks, and Galati added six points and two assists. Brady Wynja added seven points, six rebounds, one assist and one block for Wheaton. Evan Montandon had six points, five rebounds and one assist. Wheaton finished with a 50-28 advantage in points in the paint, a 22-8 edge in fastbreak points and a 16-9 edge in points off turnovers.

Wheaton had six offensive rebounds to Illinois Tech’s eight, nine assists to seven, five blocks to three, 12 turnovers to 19 and 18 fouls to 20. Illinois Tech scored 60 points from 85 possessions, an offensive rating of 70.7. Wheaton scored 104 points from 81 possessions, an offensive rating of 127.9.

Illinois Tech (0-1) next plays at Central (Iowa), while Wheaton (2-0) next hosts Piedmont. Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Wheaton (Ill.) 80, Illinois Tech 68. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Wheaton (Ill.) with a 96.3 percent probability to win.