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Men's Basketball Scores 81-79 Win at Carthage
Box Score
KENOSHA, Wis. - The Elmhurst College men's basketball team scored a crucial 81-79 win over Carthage College. The win gave the Bluejays sole possession of fourth place in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW).
The top four teams in the CCIW qualify for the conference tournament with the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament going to the conference tournament winner.
Elmhurst (16-6 overall, 6-5 CCIW) jumped out to a 10-point first half lead (41-31) with three minutes to play, but Carthage (11-11, 5-6 CCIW) battled back and trimmed the Bluejays' lead down to 43-38 at halftime.
The Bluejays opened up an 11-point lead in the second half, but the Red Men kept fighting back. A Steve Djurickovic 3-pointer with 4:11 to play evened the score at 69-all. Elmhurst answered right back, however, as Ryan Burks (Manito/Midwest Central) drained a trey and then converted a lay-up and a free throw on Elmhurst's next two possessions to give the Bluejays a 75-69 lead with three minutes to go.
Carthage managed to trim the Bluejays' lead down to just two points with 1:41 to play after a pair of baskets. Carthage's Billy Shemerdiak missed a 3-pointer that would've given Carthage the lead with only 45 seconds left. Chris Childs (Barrington/H.S.) and Brent Ruch (Farmer City/Blue Ridge) put the game away for the Bluejays by hitting six free in the game's final 36 seconds.
Elmhurst finished the game shooting 55.1 percent (27-of-49) from the floor and 64.3 percent (9-of-14) from downtown. The Bluejays were solid from the foul line, hitting 18-of-21 attempts (85.7 percent).
Carthage finished the contest shooting 48.5 percent (33-of-68) from the field and 33.3 percent (8-of-24) from downtown. The Red Men hit only 5-of-10 free throw attempts.
Burks led Elmhurst with 23 points on 7-of-12 shooting. He added six assists in the win. Ruch added 17 points and three rebounds while Robert Strzemp (Oak Park/Oak Park-River Forest) came off the bench to net 14 points. Childs added 10 points and Jared Hintzshe (Kirkland/Hiawatha) added eight points and seven rebounds.
Carthage was led by Djurickovic's game-high 29 points and nine rebounds in the loss. Trey Bowens hit 9-of-12 shots to finish with 22 points. Shemerdiak added 11 points.
Elmhurst hosts North Park University on Saturday, February 16. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
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