Box Score ELMHURST, Ill. - The Elmhurst men's basketball team closed out the non-conference portion of its schedule with an 80-66 win over Wabash College in the consolation game of the Bluejay Classic.
Elmhurst (4-7) never trailed in the contest, and held off a few second half surges from Wabash (3-8) to earn the win. Leading 6-5 early in the contest, the Bluejays used a 12-4 run to build a nine-point cushion. Wabash chipped the lead down to four points with 11:41 remaining, but Elmhurst answered back with a 19-10 run to take a 39-26 lead with five minutes left in the half. The Bluejays built a 15-point lead in the half and carried a 47-34 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Elmhurst slowly pushed their lead up to 18 points in the second half only to see Wabash trim the lead down to 11 points on two occasions. Leading 67-56 with eight minutes remaining, the Bluejays built their lead back to 16 points on a
D'Ante Foster lay-up with 4:22 left to help put the game out of reach.
Elmhurst finished the contest shooting 46.3 percent (22-of-54) from the floor, including 62.5 percent
(5-of-8) from beyond the arc. The Bluejays hit 25-of-40 (62.5 percent) free throw attempts.
D'ante Foster poured in a game-high 20 points to lead the Bluejays in the win. The senior guard shot 8-of-10 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from long distance. Foster added six steals in the win.
Nick Sanford recorded a double-double, finishing with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Bryant Ackerman finished with 12 points while Alex Morgun added eight for the Bluejays.
Taylor Baxter,
Alex DeBack and
Kenny Payonk all scored seven points in the Elmhurst win.
Wabash shot 37.7 percent (20-of-53) from the floor, including 36.4 percent (8-of-22) from downtown. The Little Giants struggled with turnovers, giving the ball to Elmhurst 22 times resulting in 25 points for the Bluejays.
Daniel Purvlicis led the charge for Wabash, finishing with 18 points and nine rebounds. Andy Walsh came off the bench to score 13 while Ross Sponslor connected on three three-pointers to finish with 13 points.
Elmhurst opens CCIW play on Wednesday, January 2, by hosting North Central College.
