Box Score KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Elmhurst men's basketball team won its fourth straight contest by edging Kalamazoo College 78-75.

Elmhurst (4-2) scored the game's opening bucket and led from start to finish, holding off a late surge from Kalamazoo (3-2) to preserve the victory.

The Bluejays opened the contest on a 22-7 run over the game's first 10 minutes to open up a 15-point advantage. Elmhurst led by as many as 19 points in the opening half and carried a 40-27 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Elmhurst pushed their lead back up to 19 points midway through the second half before Kalamazoo mounted a rally. The host Hornets sliced the Bluejays' lead down to 10 points with 2:15 remaining. Trailing by nine with less than a minute to play, Mark Ghafari knocked down a three-pointer to trim Elmhurst's lead to six. A pair of free throws gave Elmhurst an eight-point cushion with 41 seconds left.

Ghafari hit a lay-up with 35 seconds left and after an missed free throw by Elmhurst, he buried another three-pointer to bring Kalamazoo to within three points with 29 seconds left. Bryant Ackerman hit a pair of free throws to extend Elmhurst's lead back to five points, but Ghafari buried his seventh three-pointer of the game with eight seconds left to bring the Hornets to within two points.

Ackerman split a pair of free throws with five seconds left and the Bluejays fouled Kalamazoo with four seconds left. Cam Schwartz split his free throw attempts and the Hornets promptly fouled Ackerman. After missing his first free throw, Ackerman hit the second to give Elmhurst a 78-75 lead with four ticks remaining. Ghafari's last second, game-tying attempt, was no good allowing the Bluejays to return home with the victory.

The Bluejays shot 44.8 percent (26-of-58) from the field, including 33.3 percent (4-of-12) from beyond the arc. Kalamazoo shot 39.1 percent (25-of-64) from the floor, including 37.9 percent (11-of-29) from long distance.

Nick Sanford powered the Bluejays in the victory, pouring in 21 points while shooting 7-of-13 from the field. Sanford pulled down a team-leading nine rebounds in the victory. Ackerman came off the bench to score 15 while Will Nixon finished with 10 points.

Ghafari was a one-man wrecking crew for Kalamazoo, scoring a game-high 41 points while hitting 13-of-23 shots. Ghafari finished 7-of-13 from three point range and 8-of-12 from the foul line. Adam Peters and Grant Carey added nine points apiece for Kalamazoo.

Elmhurst plays its first home game of the season on Sunday, December 8. The Bluejays host Trine University at 3:00 p.m.