Augustana Box Score
WHEATON, Ill. - The Elmhurst College men's basketball team advanced to the CCIW Tournament Finals by defeating Augustana College 59-53 in the tournament semifinals at Wheaton College.
Elmhurst (20-6), ranked 20th in the latest D3hoops.com poll, had to overcome a near 10-minute drought without a field goal in the second half to topple Augustana (18-8).
"I'm very proud of they way our team weathered the scoring drought in the second half," said Elmhurst head coach Mark Scherer. "We never panicked and showed tremendous poise while keeping the score close."
In the first half, Elmhurst built a seven-point lead with 6:46 left to play when Ryan Burks hit a 3-pointer and was fouled in the process. Burks converted the four-point play to put Elmhurst up 21-14. Augustana answered back with an 8-0 run to take a 22-21 advantage. The run was keyed by back-to-back treys from Jordan Delp The two teams traded baskets for the next four minutes with Elmhurst taking a 27-26 lead into the locker room after a Brent Ruch lay-in with 40 seconds left in the half.
The two teams continued to trade buckets and leads to start the second half before Elmhurst built a 37-33 lead with 13:20 left to play after a Chris Childs basket. Elmhurst then went ice cold from the field, going almost 10 minutes without a hoop. Augustana slowly chipped away at the Bluejays' lead and built a 44-40 advantage after Chandlor Collins slammed home a rebound.
Burks broke the Bluejays' scoring drought by hitting a 3-pointer with 3:20 left to cut the Vikings lead down to just one. Dustin Bainter reclaimed the lead for Elmhurst when he splashed home a trey from the top of the key with 2:30 remaining. A rejection by Ruch led to a breakaway lay-up from Burks, giving Elmhurst a 48-44 lead with jut over two minutes left. Matt Pelton hit a 3-pointer with 1:25 left to cut the lead back down to one, but Robert Strzemp answered with a 3-pointer from the corner to push Elmhurst's lead back up to four (51-47). After a Viking miss, Bainter hit a pair of free throws to give Elmhurst a 53-47 lead. Augustana made one last charge as Delp buried a 3-pointer and was fouled in the process. Delp hit the free throw to cut the Bluejays' lead down to two (53-51) with 38 seconds left on the clock. The Vikings fouled Bainter on the inbounds play, and the Bluejay guard hit both free throws to give the Bluejays a 55-51 edge. After an Augustana miss, Ruch hit a pair of free throws to push the Bluejays' lead back to six points with 19 seconds left. Ruch put the game away with a pair of free throws with nine seconds left. A late bucket by Augustana gave the Bluejays the 59-53 win.
The Bluejays shot 33.7 percent (20-of-53) from the floor, and 31.3 percent (5-of-16) from beyond the arc. All three of the Bluejays' second half 3-pointers came in the final four minutes of the half. The Bluejays were solid from the charity stripe, hitting 14-of-15 attempts.
Augustana shot just 33.9 percent (21-of-62) from the floor, including 31.3 percent (5-of-16) from downtown. The Vikings shot 60.0 percent (6-of-10) from the foul line.
The Vikings dominated the Bluejays on the glass, outrebounding Elmhurst 44-29, setting a new CCIW Tournament record for rebounds in the process. The Vikings grabbed 17 offensive rebounds, leading to 12 second-chance points.
Ruch and Strzemp poured in 14 points apiece to pace the Bluejays in the win. Burks added 12 points while Bainter score nine. Ruch added eight rebounds and four blocked shots for Elmhurst.
Delp led Augustana with 13 points. Collins and Kyle Nelson scored 10 points apiece for Augustana in the loss. Collins set a CCIW Tournament record by pulling down a whopping 20 rebounds, surpassing the previous mark of 15.
With the victory, the Bluejays advanced to the CCIW Tournament Finals for the second time in three seasons. Elmhurst will face the winner of the North Central College/Wheaton College game on Saturday, February 28, at Wheaton College. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
