Box Score

Decatur, Ill. - The Elmhurst College men's basketball team fell to 5-7 overall after dropping its CCIW opener 56-54 to Millikin University. 

Elmhurst struggled with its shooting in the first half, hitting just 9-of-28 attempts (32.1 percent). While the Bluejays struggled, Millikin shot 63.6 percent (14-of-22) to take a 29-24 lead at halftime.

Both teams struggled in the opening six minutes of the second half as the two squads scored just two points apiece. While Elmhurst's shooting woes continued, Millikin (6-6, 1-0 CCIW) finally caught fire, as the Big Blue opened up a 39-28 lead with just under 10 minutes to play.

The Bluejays responded with an 8-0 run to pull to to within three points with 7:25 left. Colby Long splashed home a 3-pointer to give Millikin a 44-38 lead with 5:44 left on the clock. Matt Bernier brought Elmhurst back to within three points when he hit a trey with 4:25 left. 

Millikin pushed its lead back up to seven points with less than 1:30 to play, but Dustin Bainter hit a lay-up and was fouled to cut the Big Blue lead back down to four with a minute left on the clock. 

After a Millikin miss, Zack Boyd knocked down a jumper with 22 seconds left to bring the Bluejays to within two points. After two missed free throws by Millikin, Chris Childs tied the game with a pair of free throws with 15 seconds left.

Corey Mitchell drove to he paint and hit a scoop lay-up with 4.1 seconds left to give Millikin a 56-54 lead. Bainter's 3-point attempt at the buzzer fell short as Millikin hung on for the win.

Boyd led Elmhurst and all scorers in the loss with 18 points while shooting 8-of-13. Childs and Aaron Schroeder added 10 points apiece while Bainter scored eight.

Millikoin was led by Charles Warren's 15 points. Mitchell added 13 points while Joscar Demby totaled four points, seven rebounds, and five blocked shots.

Elmhurst shot 33.3 percent (19-of-57) from the floor, including 31.6 percent (6-of-19) from downtown. Millikin finished the contest hitting 58.5 percent of its shots (24-of-41) from the floor, including 37.5 percent (3-of-8) from beyond the arc.

Elmhurst hosts Augustana College on Saturday, January 9.