Box Score ELMHURST, Ill. - The Elmhurst men's basketball team slipped to 3-7 on the season after the Bluejays faded in the second half in an 87-77 loss to Ripon College at the Bluejay Classic Tournament.

Elmhurst sprinted out to a 16-point lead with 2:47 to play in the opening half. The Bluejays used a 21-6 run over a five minute span to open up their 16-point cushion. Ripon (5-5) cut into Elmhurst's lead before the half by closing the final 2:47 on a 9-2 run. Elmhurst led 48-39 at the break.

Ripon slowly chipped away at the Bluejays lead in the second half. Trailing by 10 with five minutes gone by, Ripon used an 8-0 run to pull to within two points. Elmhurst built its lead back to six points with 10:30 to play, but the Red Hawks responded with 14-4 run to grab a 71-67 lead with 5:23 left to play. Elmhurst cut the lead down to one on a free throw from Kyle Wuest, but a pair of free throws and a three-pointer from Taylor Koth gave Ripon an eight-point advantage with three minutes left to play.

Elmhurst closed to within five points on a three-point play from Nick Sanford, but Ripon responded by closing the contest on an 11-6 run to earn the 87-77 win.

Elmhurst shot 45.2 percent from the floor (33-of-73), but struggled in the second half, shooting just 38.2 percent (13-of-34). The Bluejays were cold from long distance all night, hitting just 2-of-12 three-point attempts (16.7 percent).

Ripon shot 40.4 percent (23-of-57) from the field, including 21.1 percent (4-of-19) from three-point range. The Red Hawks were nearly flawless from the foul line, hitting 37-of-41 free throws (90.2 percent) and setting a new Bluejay Classic single-game tournament record, eclipsing the previous mark of 36.

Elmhurst had no answer for Koth as the Red Hawks guard poured in a game-high 37 points, shooting 8-of-17 from the floor, and hitting 19-of-20 free throws, setting a new tournament record in the process (the old mark was 15). Brad Brooks added 21 points, hitting 6-of-12 from the floor and 9-of-10 from the foul line. Zach Meulemans added nine points for Ripon.

Elmhurst was led by Sanford's 25 points and eight rebounds. Bryant Ackerman added 14 points while shooting 6-of-12 and Morgunov chipped in with 12 points.

Elmhurst will play in the tournament's consolation game tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. while Ripon plays in the championship game at 4:00 p.m.