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Bluejay Men Pound Wheaton; Secure CCIW Tourney Bid
Boxscore
WHEATON, Ill. - The Elmhurst College men's basketball team assured itself of a CCIW Tournament spot by hammering Wheaton College 89-65 in its regular season finale.
The Bluejays, ranked 25th in the latest D3hoops.com poll, improved to 9-5 in league play and 17-8 overall while Wheaton fell to 10-14 overall and 6-7 in CCIW play.
Elmhurst never trailed in the contest, pulling away from the Thunder early in the first half. After an early 5-5 tie, Elmhurst gradually built a five-point advantage at 18-13 and then used a 14-4 run open up a 15-point lead. After Wheaton trimmed the lead down to 14, the Bluejays closed the half to take a commanding 44-23 lead at halftime. Elmhurst shot a blistering 60.7 percent (17-of-28) from the floor in the first half while Wheaton struggled, hitting 35.7 percent of its shots (10-of-28).
The Bluejays continued to pull away in the second half, opening up a 31-point advantage (73-42) 8:30 into the half. The Thunder never managed to trim the lead under 24 points for the remainder of the game as Elmhurst came away with the 89-65 victory.
The Bluejays finished the game shooting 56.7 percent (34-of-60) from the floor and 41.2 percent (7-of-17) from 3-point range. Elmhurst dominated inside the lane, scoring a whopping 50 points in the paint to Wheaton's 26.
Wheaton finished the game shooting 43.6 percent from the floor (24-of-55) and 35 percent (7-of-20) from beyond the arc.
Elmhurst dominated on the glass, outrebounding the Thunder by 11 and cashing 10 offensive rebounds into 15 second chance points.
Chris Martin (Eureka-H.S.) poured in a game-high 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the floor. He also grabbed eight rebounds in the win. Nick Michael (West Chicago-H.S.) totaled a double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Chris Ihlenfeldt (Gurnee-Warren) added 15 points and Brian Lee (Orland Park-Sandburg) finished with 12 points. Pat Bacon (Orlando, Fla.-Olympia) came off the bench to score eight points. Brent Ruch (Farmer City-Blue Ridge) dished out a game-high nine assists.
Wheaton was led by Tony Bollier's 15 points. John Mohan added 12 points and Johnnie Standard finished with 11.
Elmhurst, Illinois Wesleyan and North Central all finished the CCIW season at 9-5. Because of North Central's season split with top-seeded Augustana, the Cardinals earned the two-seed for the upcoming tournament. Elmhurst and Illinois Wesleyan, who each lost a pair to Augustana each split their contests, will have its tie broken by head-to-head records against Wheaton. Based on Elmhurst's two-game series sweep over the Thunder, the Bluejays will be the three-seed in the tournament and face North Central in the first round. Augustana will play Illinois Wesleyan in the second game.
The tournament will begin on Friday, February 24, at Augustana College. Elmhurst fans may purchase tickets beginning on Monday (February 20) at the Elmhurst Athletic Office. Additional details can be obtained by contacting the athletic office at 630-617-3140.
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