|
Men's Hoops Team Falls in OT
Box Score
ROCK ISLAND, Ill. - The Elmhurst College men's basketball team closed out the 2007-08 season with a 69-68 overtime loss to Augustana College in the first round of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament.
Elmhurst (18-8) started the game ice cold, as the Bluejays were held without a point for the first seven minutes. Augustana (21-5) jumped out to an 8-0 lead before Elmhurst got on the scoreboard. Elmhurst slowly chipped away at the lead pulling to within three points (24-21) at halftime.
Both teams struggled with their shooting in the first half. Elmhurst hit only 27.3 percent (6-of-22) of its shots while the Vikings shot 39.3 percent (11-of-28).
After Augustana grabbed a 26-21 lead early in the second half, Elmhurst got rolling on offense as the Bluejays opened up a 16-4 run to take a 37-30 lead with 13 minutes left.
Augustana answered back as the Vikings chipped the lead down and finally evened the score at 49-all. A
With less than a minute to play and the score tied at 54-54, Augustana's Dain Swetalla and Elmhurst's Brent Ruch (Farmer City/Blue Ridge) traded buckets in the paint to knot the score at 56-all with 45 seconds to play. After an Augustana turnover, the Bluejays held the ball for one final shot, but Ruch's jumper in the paint rattled out forcing overtime.
In the extra period, the two teams traded baskets early before Alex Washington scored five straight points to give the Vikings a 63-48 lead with 2:00 minutes to play. A Ruch lay-up cut the lead down to three with 1:40 left, but Augustana's Chandlor Collins hit a jump hook with 1:20 remaining to push the Vikings back to a five-point lead. Chris Childs (Barrington/H.S.) hit a lay-up with under a minute to cut the Vikings' lead back down to three points. Collins was fouled on Augustana's next possession and hit both free throws to give Augustana a 67-62 lead with 26 seconds left on the clock. The Vikings pushed their lead up to six points before Ryan Burks (Manito/Midwest Central) hit a trey with four seconds left.
Brett Wessels gave the Vikings a four-point lead with a free throw with three seconds left. Ruch hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer as the Bluejays fell by the final score of 69-68.
Elmhurst finished the game shooting 39.1 percent (25-of-64) from the field and 27.8 percent (5-of-18) from beyond the arc.
Augustana shot 44.4 percent (28-of-63) from the floor and 33.3 percent (5-of-15) from 3-point range. Augustana outrebounded Elmhurst 43-35.
Elmhurst was led by Ruch's 25 points and 11 rebounds. Ruch became the 20th player in Elmhurst history to break the 1,000 point career scoring mark. He currently has 1,012 points after three seasons as a Bluejay.
Burks and Matt Ryder (Bettendorf, Iowa/Pleasant Valley) each finished with 11 points in the loss.
Augustana was led by Collins' 16 points and 12 rebounds. Swetalla and Washington each scored 14 points while Wessels chipped in with 12.
With four returning starters and only one senior lost to graduation, the Bluejays appear poised for another successful season next year.
|
