Box Score Box Score

ELMHURST, Ill. - The Elmhurst College men's basketball team slipped to 7-6 overall and 1-1 in the CCIW following a 67-55 loss to Wheaton College.

The game was a back-and-forth affair for the majority of the contest until Wheaton (10-3, 1-1 CCIW) closed the game's final six minutes on an 18-6 run to pull away for the win.

Wheaton grabbed a 30-29 lead at the break and the first 14 minutes of the second half featured five ties and six lead changes as the two squads traded buckets. A three-pointer from Nate Serenius and a lay-up from Spencer Schultze gave the Thunder a 49-44 lead with 6:21 to play, but Zack Boyd splashed home a three-point to cut the Thunder's lead down to two.

A free throw from Schultze and back-to-back treys from Serenius allowed the Thunder to push their lead up to nine points with 4:26 left to play. The Bluejays managed to get to within six points on a D'Ante Foster three-pointer, but came no closer as the Thunder pulled away for the 12-point win.

Wheaton finished the contest shooting 50.0 percent (26-of-52) from the field, doing most of its damage in the pain, scoring 38 points in the lane. After missing their first nine three-pointers, the Thunder finished the game shooting 23.1 percent (3-of-13) from beyond the arc.

Elmhurst finished the contest shooting 35.8 percent (19-of-53) from the floor, but struggled in the second half, hitting only 29.2 percent (7-of-24) of its shots. The Bluejays shot 29.4 percent (5-of-17) from downtown and 80.0 percent (12-of-15) from beyond the arc.

Boyd led the Bluejays with 20 points while Foster scored 15 points and dished out eight assists.

Schultze finished with a game-high 23 points, shooting 9-of-11 from the floor, to lead the Thunder. Tim McCrary added 22 points and seven rebounds while Serenius scored all 13 of his points in the second half.

Elmhurst travels to North Central College on Tuesday, January 10.