North Park Box Score

ELMHURST, Ill. - The Elmhurst College men's basketball team, ranked 20th in the latest D3hoops.com poll, snapped a three-game skid with an 88-76 win over North Park University. Elmhurst improved to 10-4 overall and 1-2 in league play, while North Park slipped to 8-7 overall and 0-4 in CCIW competition.

Elmhurst never trailed in the contest and put almost put the game out of reach in the first half. Leading 9-7 early in the half, the Bluejays outscored North Park 42-18 to take a commanding 51-25 halftime lead.  The Bluejays increased their lead to as many as 29 points in the second half. North Park slowly chipped away at the Bluejays' lead in the second half, closing the deficit down to 20 points 5:30 to play. The Vikings managed to pull to within 11 points in the final 1:31 of the contest, but could come no closer.

Elmhurst shot 46.4 percent (32-of-69) from the field. After hitting 5-of-7 from downtown in the first half, the Bluejays were 0-of-8 from beyond the arc in the second, finishing the game shooting 33.3 percent (5-of-15) from 3-point range.

North Park shot 49.1 percent (27-of-55) from the field, including 28.6 percent (4-of-14) from downtown.

Elmhurst won the battle on the glass, outrebounding North Park 37-29. The Bluejays turned 13 North Park turnovers into 17 points, while turning the ball over a season-low four times.

Ryan Burks led Elmhurst with 27 points on 8-of-16 shooting. He added a team-high nine rebounds in the win. Brent Ruch added 17 points and three assists while Chris Childs came off the bench to total 10 points and six assists. Dustin Bainter added eight points for the Bluejays.

Roshawn Russell led North Park and all scorers with a game-high 31 points on 10-of-23 shooting. Kendall Greer came off the bench to add 10 points for the Vikings.

Elmhurst travels to Illinois Wesleyan University on Saturday, January 17.