Box Score Box Score

LISLE, Ill. - The Elmhurst College men's basketball team improved to 5-4 on the season after tipping Benedictine University 72-66 in Lisle.

The first half featured 10 lead changes before the Bluejays took a 27-26 lead with 2:30 left in the half on an Erik Dornfeld lay-up. A D'Ante Foster three-pointer at the buzzer gave Elmhurst a 33-29 lead at the half.

At the start of the second half, the lead changed nine more times with Benedictine (3-5) taking a 45-44 lead on a Raphael Oglesby put-back. Elmhurst responded with a 10-1 run over the next five minutes with five different Bluejays tallying points. Elmhurst pushed its lead to 10 points with 4:38 to play, but the Eagles ripped off seven straight points to close to within three points with 2:23 left on the clock. A pair of James Robertson free throws gave Elmhurst a five-point lead. After a steal by Robertson, a key offensive rebound by Jerome Robinson kept an Elmhurst offensive possession alive with under a minute to play, forcing the Eagles to foul. Foster helped salt the game away for the Bluejays by hitting five of his next six free throw attempts in the game's final 49 seconds.

Zack Boyd dropped in a game-high 21 points to pace the Bluejays in the victory. Boyd shot 8-of-13 from the floor and added four rebounds and three assists in the win. Foster chipped in with 15 points and three assists while Robinson finished with 10 points and eight rebounds. Robertson totaled eight points, three steals, and three assists while Justin Phipps came off the bench to score nine points and grab four rebounds.

Mark Pace led the Eagles in the loss, scoring 17 points while shooting 7-of-13 from the field. Montgomery Johnson added 11 points and five assists while Oglesby scored 10 points off the bench.

Elmhurst finished the game shooting 47.2 percent (25-of-53) from the floor, but just 18.2 percent (2-of-11) from three-point range. The Bluejays were solid from the foul line, hitting 20-of-26 attempts (76.9 percent). The Bluejays finished the game with a 37-31 edge on the glass.

Benedictine shot 42.2 percent (27-of-64) from the floor, but just 27.3 percent from downtown while taking 22 attempts from three-point range (6-of-22). 

Elmhurst hosts Alma College next Wednesday, December 21.