Box Score
ELMHURST, Ill. - The Elmhurst College men's basketball team couldn't overcome a long scoring drought, falling 65-56 to Benedictine University in the championship game of the Bluejay Classic.
Elmhurst (5-6) raced out to 15-5 lead midway through the opening half, before running into shooting troubles. Elmhurst went the the final 10 minutes of the second half with a bucket allowing Benedictine (7-4) to use an 18-5 run and take a 23-20 lead at halftime. The Bluejays' five points in the final 10 minutes of the first half came on free throws.
The Bluejays' shooting woes continued in the second half. Elmhurst went scoreless for the opening five minutes of the half allowing Benedictine to build a 14-point advantage. The Eagles led by 14 with five minutes remaining but the Bluejays mounted a late rally. Elmhurst sliced Benedictine's lead down to just six points with two minutes to play, but the Eagles were able to seal the game from the foul line.
Elmhurst was led by
Zack Boyd's
11 points and six rebounds. Mike McCurdy added eight points while Steve Crane and James Robertson scored seven points apiece.
Benedictine was led by Nate Green's 17-point, eight-rebound, seven assist performance. Cameron Snelling recorded a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds. Terry Licht added 13 points and AJ Brown pitched in with 11.
Elmhurst was shooting below 20 percent for a large chunk of the game, before finishing the game at 32.2 percent (19-of-59). The Bluejays hit just 4-of-17 attempts from three-point range (23.5 percent). After outrebounding Benedictine by eight in the opening half, the Bluejays were outrebounded by nine in the second half.
Benedictine shot 45.7 percent (21-of-46) from the floor, including 27.8 percent (5-of-18) from downtown.
