Box Score NORTHFIELD, Minn. - The Elmhurst men's basketball team opened the 2012-13 season with a 68-56 loss at Carleton College.

Elmhurst started strong, opening up a seven-point lead (25-18) in the first half. Elmhurst led 29-23 with 2:30 lef in the opening half, but Carleton closed the half with a 13-2 run to open up a 36-31 led at the break.

Carleton built a double-digit lead five minutes into the second half on a Shane McSparron layup. Elmhurst chipped the lead down to four points with 8:39 left on the clock after a D'Ante Foster bucket. Carleton quickly responded, using a 10-4 run over the next three minutes to push its lead back up to 10 points. The Bluejays brought the lead down to seven points, but came no closer as Carleton pulled away for the 68-56 win.

Elmhurst struggled with its shooting, finishing the contest hitting just 35.5 percent (22-of-62) from the floor. The Bluejays also struggled from downtown, hitting just 3-of-16 attempts (18.8 percent) from beyond the arc.

Carleton finished the contest shooting 50.0 percent (25-of-50) from the field, including 40.9 percent (9-of-22) from three-point range.

Foster was the only Bluejay to reach double figures in scoring, totaling 12 points while shooting 4-of-12 from the floor. Nick Sanford added nine points and a game-high 10 rebounds for the Bluejays. Erik Dornfeld came off the bench to score eight points and collect seven rebounds. Eric Leonard added six points for the Bluejays in the loss.

Four Carleon starters reached double figures in scoring. Tom Sawatzke led the charge with 22 points while shooting 7-of-15 from the floor, including 4-of-9 from downtown. McSparron added 15 points while Scott Theisen scored 13. Taylor Hanson totaled 10 points and a team-leading seven rebounds.

Elmhurst hosts the University of Dubuque next Tuesday (November 20).