Box Score ELMHURST, Ill. - The Elmhurst men's basketball team recorded its fifth straight victory by upending Trine University 72-68 in the Bluejays' home-opening contest.

The first half was back-and-forth with the lead changing hands 11 times and neither squad leading by more than four points. Trine (3-3) led 30-29 at the half.

Elmhurst (5-2) quickly grabbed control of the contest early in the second half. Trailing by three, Elmhurst used a 23-10 run in a seven minute span to take a 52-42 lead. Trine slowly clawed their way back into the contest, using an 7-0 run to pull even at 62-62 with 3:31 remaining. The Bluejays' went back on top on a Kyle Wuest three-pointer with 3:18 remaining, but Trine evened the score at 66-all with 2:16 left on the clock.

Weust fed an open Will Nixon under the hoop for a bucket and a foul to put the Bluejays back on top. Nixon converted the three-point play to give Elmhurst a 69-66 lead with 1:54 left. Elmhurst pushed their lead back to four points with 1:26 left. After an Elmhurst miss, Trine sliced the lead in half with a pair of free throws with 22 seconds left to play.

Bryant Ackerman sealed the win for Elmhurst with a pair of free throws in the final seconds.

The Bluejays finished the contest, shooting 50.0 percent (24-of-48) from the floor, including 31.3 percent (5-of-16) from long distance. The Bluejays were solid from the foul line, hitting 19-of-23 free throws (82.6 percent).

The Bluejays dominated the pain, outscoring Trine 32-14 in the lane and outrebounding the Thunder 26-24. Turnovers plagued Elmhurst in the contest as Trine turned 17 turnovers into 19 points.

Trine finished the game shooting 41.5 percent (22-of-53) from the field, including 43.8 percent (7-of-16) from long distance.

Wuest led a balanced Elmhurst attack, finishing with 15 points and four assists. Kenny Payonk came off the bench to score 11 for Elmhurst while Nixon finished with 10. Nick Sanford scored nine points while dominating on the glass, grabbing a game-high 16 rebounds. Pat Coleman  and Ackerman finished with eight points apiece in the win. W

Will Dixon paced Trine in the loss, scoring a game-high 32 points while shooting 11-of-20. Tyler Good added 15 points, nine rebounds and five assists while Nick Tatu scored 12 for the Thunder.

Elmhurst hosts Fontbonne University on Saturday, December 14.