Fontbonne Box Score
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - (December 16, 2008) - Elmhurst men's basketball coach Mark Scherer won his 200th career game while guiding the 10th-ranked Bluejays to a 74-61 win at Fontbonne University.
With the victory, Elmhurst improved to 7-1 on the season, while Fontbonne slipped to 6-2 with the loss.
Already ranked as Elmhurst's all-time winningest head coach, Scherer became the first Bluejay coach to reach the 200 career wins milestone.
With the score tied at 21-all late in the first half, Elmhurst took control with a 13-0 run to grab 34-21 lead. The Bluejays led 36-28 at the break, but Fontbonne battled back to knot the score at 44-44 with 14 minutes to play. An 18-7 run by Elmhurst gave the Bluejays a 62-51 lead with 6:45 remaining. Fontbonne could not get closer than a seven point deficit in the game's final minutes and the Bluejays earned the 74-61 win.
Both teams shot the ball well from the floor, as Elmhurst finished the game, shooting 45.0 percent (27-of-60) from the field, including 42.9 percent (6-of-14) from downtown. Fontbonne shot 52.2 percent (24-of-46) from the floor, including 56.1 percent (8-of-14) from beyond the arc.
Elmhurst finished with a 33-22 edge on the glass, including a 14-3 edge in offensive rebounds. The Bluejays scored 10 second chance points, while Fontbonne managed just three. Elmhurst's defense forced 23 Fontbonne turnovers that led to 29 Bluejay points.
Brent Ruch led Elmhurst with 21 points, shooting 10-of-16 from the floor. Ruch also pulled down a game-high nine rebounds and finished with three assists in the win. Ryan Burks added 17 points, hitting 6-of-11 shots, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range. Zack Boyd added 11 points and eight boards, while Dustin Bainter scored 10 points in the win. Robert Strzemp added eight points for the Bluejays.
Patrick McCoy paced Fontbonne in the loss by scoring a game-high 22 points while hitting 9-of-16 shots. McCoy splashed home four 3-pointers in the loss. Chris Forrest added 17 points in the loss.
Elmhurst hosts Benedictine University in the first round of the Bluejay Classic Tournament on Friday, December 19.
