Millikin Box Score

DECATUR, Ill. - The Elmhurst College men's basketball team dropped to 16-5 overall and 7-3 in CCIW play after falling to Millikin University 74-64 for the second time this season.

Elmhurst, ranked 15th in the latest D3hoops.com poll, fell behind right from the start and never led in the contest. Millikin (14-7, 4-6 CCIW) led by as many as 12 points in the first half and carried a 34-25 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Elmhurst started the second half by scoring four quick points to pull to within five points, but Millikin responded by scoring the next 12 points to take a 46-29 lead with 13:41 remaining. Millikin pushed its lead to 20 points (56-36) with 7:29 left, before Elmhurst mounted a rally to pull to within eight points with 3:42 left on the clock. A 9-2 run over the next two minutes gave the Big Blue a 15-point lead and put the game out of reach.

Elmhurst shot 41.0 percent (25-of-61) from the field, but struggled from beyond the arc, hitting only 5-of-18 attempts (27.8 percent). Millikin finished the game shooting 51.0 percent (26-of-51) from the floor and 37.5 percent (3-of-8) from downtown.

Brent Ruch led Elmhurst and all scorers with a game-high 24 points and 10 rebounds. Ryan Burks added 13 points while Dustin Bainter finished with six.

Tunde Ogunleye led Millikin with 21 points. Joscar Demby totaled 13 points and seven rebounds while Robert Burton added 10 points and seven boards.

The loss by the Bluejays dropped Elmhurst into a tie with Wheaton College at the top of the CCIW standings. The two teams will square off on Wednesday, February 11, at R.A. Faganel Hall.