Illinois Wesleyan Box Score
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Brent Ruch poured in 25 points and Chris Childs came off the bench to score a career-high 22 points to lead the Elmhurst College men's basketball team to a 90-72 win at Illinois Wesleyan University.
Elmhurst (11-4, 2-2 CCIW) never trailed in the contest, leading from start to finish. The Bluejays opened the game on a 16-4 run to take a quick 12-point lead. The Bluejays continued to lengthen their lead, building a 22-point advantage (49-26) with 2:14 to play. The Titans closed the half on a 7-0 run to pull to within 15 points at the break.
Illinois Wesleyan (9-6, 1-3 CCIW) pulled to within 11 points (62-51) with just under 12 minutes to play in the contest, but the Bluejays used an 11-2 run over the next four minutes to push their lead back to 20. The Titans managed to get no closer than 12 points over the final nine minutes.
Elmhurst shot 53.8 percent (28-of-52) from the field, including 53.3 percent (8-of-15) from downtown. The Bluejays knocked down 26-of-32 free throw attempts (81.3 percent). Illinois Wesleyan finished the game shooting 45.6 percent (26-of-57) from the field, but only 23.5 percent (4-of-17) from 3-point range. The Titans also struggled from the charity stripe, hitting just 16-of-26 free throws (61.5 percent).
The Bluejays dominated on the glass, outrebounding the Titans 37-25.
Ruch poured in 25 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the floor to pace the Bluejays. He hit 11-of-14 free throws and pulled down nine-rebounds. Childs came off the bench to score a career-high 22 points while shooting 6-of-9 from the floor, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range. Robert Strzemp added 11 points and nine rebounds while Ryan Burks totaled 10 points. Dustin Bainter, Mike McCurdy, and Zack Boyd all added six points apiece in the win.
Illinois Wesleyan was led by Travis Rosenkranz's 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting. Doug Sexauer added 15 points while Sean Johnson and Jordan Zimmer added 10 points apiece.
Elmhurst hosts North Central College on Wednesday, January 21, at 7:30 p.m.
