Carthage Box Score

KENOSHA, Wis. - The Elmhurst College men's basketball team, ranked 17th in the latest D3hoops.com poll, won its fifth straight contest by routing Carthage College 86-66.

Leading by two points with just under nine minutes to go in the first half, Elmhurst (14-4, 5-2 CCIW) pulled away, closing the half on a 22-7 run to take a commanding 38-21 lead at halftime.

The Bluejays quickly built a 20-point advantage early in the second half, never allowing Carthage (12-6, 4-3 CCIW) to get closer than 16 points.

The Bluejays shot 55.6 percent (35-of-63) from the floor, including 50.0 percent (7-of-14) from long distance. Carthage shot 40.7 percent (24-of-59) from the field, but only 30.8 percent from 3-point range. Carthage attempted 26 3-pointers in the contest, hitting only eight.

The Bluejays dominated on the glass, outrebounding the Red Men by 14 (42-28).

Five Bluejays reached double figures in scoring. Carthage had no answer for the Bluejays in the paint, as all-American center Brent Ruch finished with a team-high 16 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Ruch scored 13 of his 16 points in the first half, including Elmhurst's first eight points of the game. The Bluejays finished with a 40-26 edge in points in the paint.

 Ryan Burks added 14 points, including 11 in the second half. Zack Boyd added 12 points while Dustin Bainter came off the bench to score 11. Aaron Hintzsche came off the bench to score a career-high 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Chris Childs added eight points while Matt Bernier scored seven in the victory.

Steve Djurickovic led the Red Men with 17 points and five assists. Elmhurst held the CCIW's leading scorer to 12 points below his scoring average of 29. Adam Tolo added 11 points while Max Carey came of the bench to score nine.

Elmhurst will look for its sixth straight win when the Bluejays host Illinois Wesleyan University on Saturday, January 31.