Box Score LISLE, Ill. - The Elmhurst men's basketball team scored its first win of the season after holding off Benedictine University for a 77-76 road victory.

Benedictine (0-1) grabbed an early seven-point lead in the opening half, but Elmhurst pulled even and the two squads traded leads seven times for the remainder of the half. Five points in the final minute from Bryant Ackerman gave Elmhurst (1-2) a 35-31 lead at the half.

The two teams continued to exchange buckets and leads early in the second half until Benedictine used a 16-6 run to grab 56-47 lead with 11 minutes left to play. Elmhurst answered back with an 11-2 run to close to within a point with 8:31 remaining. Elmhurst pulled even on a Kyle Wuest lay-up with 5:28 left.

With the score knotted at 67-67, Elmhurst went on top on a Nick Sanford lay-up. Sanford hit a pair of free throws 50 seconds later to give Elmhurst a 71-67 advantage. A Tucker Harlan lay-up with 2:29 left gave the Bluejays a six-point cushion.

Benedictine hit a free throw to trim the lead down to five with 1:30 left on the clock. Michael Blaszczyk hit a lay-up with 14 seconds lef to bring Benedictine to within three points. After a pair of missed free throws from Elmhurst, Benedictine cut the lead down to one on a pair of Michael Woolf free throws with six seconds left.

Ackerman drained a pair of free throws to give Elmhurst a three-point cushion. As Woolf raced to mid-court, he was fouled by Elmhurst and banked home a half-court shot, but the officials ruled Woolf was not in the act of shooting at the time. Woolf hit a pair of free throws with four second left to bring the Eagles to within one. The Bluejays' stepped on the baseline on their ensuing possession, giving Benedictine a chance to win the game with just under four seconds to play. Elmhurst managed to knock away the inbounds pass and Blaszczyk's desperation three-pointer came up short to give the Bluejays the one-point win.

Elmhurst finished the contests, shooting 45.5 percent (25-of-55) from the floor. After struggling from long range in their first two contests, the Bluejays knocked down 8-of-14 attempts from three-point range (57.1 percent). Elmhurst also scored 18 points off of the fast break.

Ackerman came off the bench to lead Elmhurst with 20 points. He finished the contest shooting 7-of-10, including 3-of-4 from downtown and added five assists. Sanford finished with a double-double, totaling 17 points and 10 rebounds. Kyle Wuest shot 6-of-12 from the floor to score 17 while also added six rebounds. Harlan added eight points and two steals for the Bluejays.

Benedictine shot 36.5 percent (23-of-63) from the floor, including 9-of-25 (36.0 percent) from three-point range. Woolf pumped in 22 points and grabbed seven boards to lead the Eagles. Blaszczyk added 17 points and nine rebounds while John Dodson chipped in with 12 points and five assists.

Elmhurst travels to Lawrence University on Saturday, November 23.