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Bluejay Men Move to 9-1 With Win Over Benedictine
Box Score
LISLE, Ill. - The 14th-ranked Elmhurst College Bluejays moved to 9-1 overall by defeating Benedictine University 82-72.
Elmhurst led from start to finish, never trailing in the contest. The Bluejays led by as many as 16 points in the first half and enjoyed a 43-33 halftime advantage.
The Bluejays pushed their lead back to 16 points with eight minutes to play in the second half and cruised to the 82-72 victory.
Elmhurst shot a season-best 67.4 percent from the floor as the Bluejays missed only 15 of their 46 attempts (31-of-36). Elmhurst was deadly from the outside, shooting a season-high 62.5 percent from beyond the arc (10-of-16). Elmhurst's only struggle came from the foul line where the normally solid Bluejays shot a season-low 55.6 percent (10-of-18) from the charity stripe. The Bluejays also turned the ball over only 11 times.
Ryan Burks (Manito/Midwest Central) and Robert Strzemp (Oak Park/Oak Park-River Forest) each poured in 19 points to pace the Bluejays. Burks finished with 19 on 7-of-12 shooting, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range. Strzemp came off the bench to hit 7-of-8 shots to score 19. Brent Ruch (Farmer City/Blue Ridge) shot 6-of-8 from the floor to finish with 13 points. He pulled down a team-high six rebounds in the win. Matt Ryder (Bettendorf, Iowa/Pleasant Valley) hit 4-of-5 from long range to total 12 points. Dustin Bainter (Macomb/H.S.) came off the bench to score nine points while Chris Childs (Barrington/H.S.) added seven assists and five points.
Benedictine (4-8) shot 54.0 percent (27-of-50) from the floor and 35.0 percent (7-of-20) from long distance.
Jared Bailey was a one-man force for the Eagles, coming off the bench to score a game-high 33 points on 12-of-16 shooting. Andre Brown added 14 points while Tim Swanson and Brian Genslinger each finished with eight points in the loss.
Elmhurst will play its second game in less than 24 hours by hosting Alma College tomorrow (January 6) at 4:00 p.m.
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