Wheaton Box Score

ELMHURST, Ill. - The Elmhurst College men's basketball team slipped into third place in the CCIW standings after falling to 10th-ranked Wheaton College 79-64.

Elmhurst, ranked 17th in the latest D3hoops.com poll, slipped to 16-6 overall and 7-4 in league play. With the victory, Wheaton (19-3, 8-3 CCIW) moved into sole possession of first place at the top of the CCIW standings.

Wheaton opened up an early 15-11 lead and then used an 11-3 run to open up a 12-point lead with 7:38 left in the half. Wheaton pushed its lead to 21 points (43-22) and led by 19 (43-24) at the break.

Elmhurst opened the second half by scoring the first seven points to pull to within 12 points, but could not get any closer as the Thunder continued to pull away. Wheaton opened up a 68-43 lead with 8:31 to play and cruised to the 79-64 victory.

Wheaton finished the contest shooting 50.9 percent (28-of-55) from the floor, including 40.0 percent (4-of-10) from beyond the arc. Elmhurst shot 42.0 percent (21-of-50) from the floor, including 41.2 percent (7-of-17) from beyond the arc.

Elmhurst struggled all night long with controlling the ball, turning the ball over 22 teams leading to 29 points for Wheaton. The Thunder also dominated inside the paint, outscoring Elmhurst 36-20 in the lane.

Wheaton held the Bluejays' all-American center Brent Ruch to a season-low six points in the contest. Ryan Burks and Robert Strzemp each scored 12 points apiece to pace the Bluejays. Chris Childs came off the bench to score seven.

Kent Raymond led the Thunder with a game-high 29 points on 12-of-21 shooting. Ben Panner added 14 points while Andy Wiele totaled 13 points and seven rebounds. Andrew Jahns came off the bench to score seven for the Thunder.

Elmhurst will look to snap its two-game skid on Saturday, February 14, when the Bluejays travel to North Park University.