HOBOKEN, N.J. -  After falling behind 10-0 in the first half, the Oneonta men's basketball team could not recover and lost 79-67 to No. 15 Wheaton on Thursday evening in the Stevens Holiday Tournament. The Red Dragons fall to 8-3 with the loss, while the Thunder move to 9-2 overall. Oneonta will now play Dickinson in the consolation game on Friday at 1 p.m.

"Wheaton came out and took it to us," said head coach Cameron Conover. "It's hard to beat a good team like them starting down 10-0. Our guys battled and fought back, but we must improve."

Wheaton got rolling when Eddie Scott drained an opening three-pointer and followed with a layup. He hit another triple a 17:28 to put the Thunder up 10-0. Oneonta broke the streak when sophomore Graham Wooden (Oneonta, NY/Oneonta) converted a pair of free throws, but Wheaton's Tyson Cruickshank hit a trey to push the lead to 13-2. 

The Thunder maintained a double-digit lead throughout the first half, and the Red Dragons struggled to find any offensive rhythm. At 12:21, Tyler Harts (Queens, NY/Sewanaka) hit a three to cut the lead to eleven, and then senior Daniel Derice (Tampa, FL/Wesley Chapel) hit a jumper to make it 24-11. Wheaton responded with a 6-0 run before Joseph Bull (Bronx, NY/Mount St. Michael Academy) scored inside. The Thunder continued to build its lead and led 44-30 heading into halftime. 

Oneonta opened the second half with a Wooden three-pointer to put the score at 44-33, but Wheaton's TJ Askew answered with a three. The Red Dragons could not pull within single digits, but layups from Bull and Micahel Ortale Jr. made it a 12-point game. Derice hit a three with 22 seconds remaining to make it 78-67 as the Thunder held on for the win. 

"Consistency has been a struggle for us, and we will work hard to become more consistent. Our guys are eager to play Dickinson tomorrow."

Derice led the team with 18 points and had eight rebounds with two blocks. Bull finished with a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds.

Cruickshank had a game-high 22 points, while Eddie Scott netted 19 points.

Oneonta faces Dickinson on Fri. Dec. 30 in the consolation game at 1 p.m.