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Bluejay Men Topple Tri-State 75-65
Box Score
ORLANDO, Fla. - The 21st-ranked Elmhurst College men's basketball team ran its record to 5-1 by defeating Tri-State University in the first round of the RDV Sportsplex Tournament.
Elmhurst led from start to finish, never trailing in the contest, but Tri-State (2-5) hung around until the game's final two minutes when the Bluejays put the game away from the foul line.
Elmhurst built a nine-point first-half advantage and led 35-29 at the break. The Bluejays built a nine-point lead early in the second half and led by eight (59-51) with 5:35 to play, before Tri-State used a 6-0 run to cut the Bluejays' lead down to a bucket with 2:10 remaining.
A 3-pointer by Ryan Burks (Manito/Midwest Central) followed by a 3-point play from Brent Ruch (Farmer City/Blue Ridge) gave the Bluejays a 65-57 lead with 1:11 left on the clock. After a 3-pointer by Tri-State's Bryan Dutton, an a pair of free throws for Elmhurst's Chris Childs (Barrington/H.S.), Tri-State's Tony Benford hit a trey to cut the lead down to four points with 45 seconds to play. Elmhurst hit all eight of its free throws in the final 45 seconds to put the game away.
The Bluejays shot 41.5 percent (22-of-53) from the field and 44.0 percent (11-of-25) from beyond the arc. Elmhurst had a 35-30 edge on the glass.
Tri-State outshot Elmhurst, hitting 42.6 percent (26-of-61) from the floor and 30.4 percent (7-of-23) from downtown.
With Tri-State trying to contain Ruch in the post, the Bluejay guard combo of Burks, Childs and Matt Ryder (Bettendorf, Iowa/Pleasant Valley) combined to 47 points and hit 10 3-pointers.
Childs led the Bluejays with a career-high 19 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the floor, including 3-of-4 from long distance. He was also a perfect 8-of-8 from the charity stripe while dishing out four assists. Ryder also reached a career-high in scoring, totaling 19 points on 4-of-9 shooting. He hit 3-of-7 from beyond the arc and pulled down six rebounds in the win. Burks finished with 11 points, hitting 3-of-7 from downtown.
Ruch recorded a double-double for the Bluejays, scoring 15 points (5-of-9) and grabbing 11 rebounds.
Benford paced Tri-State with a game-high 29 points on 12-of-26 shooting (5-of-12 from 3-point range). Benford attempted over 40 percent of Tri-State's total shots. Andre Patrick added 14 points for Tri-State.
Elmhurst will face eighth-ranked Hope College tomorrow at 3:00 pm (EST).
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