Box Score ELMHURST, Ill. - The Elmhurst men's basketball team recorded its first CCIW victory of the season by upending Millikin University 69-64 at R.A. Faganel Hall.
The back-and-forth contest featured seven lead changes and six ties as the two squads traded buckets. Elmhurst (9-5, 1-2 CCIW) crept out to a six-point first-half lead and led 32-27 at the break after
Pat Coleman's jumper before the buzzer.
Millikin (6-8, 1-2 CCIW) evened the score in the second half and surged out to a five-point cushion with 11:51 remaining. Elmhurst battled back to knot the score at 48-48, but four straight points from Millikin gave the Big Blue a 52-48 lead with 7:45 remaining.
Kenny Payonk hit a pair of free throws and followed with a lay-up to cap a 7-0 Elmhurst run and put the Bluejays on top 55-52 with 5:19 remaining. Elmhurst would not trail the rest of the way. Millikin closed to within two points with a minute to play, but
Nick Sanford hit two free throws to give the Bluejays a four-point cushion with 32 seconds left. After Millikin pulled to within two with a pair of free throws with 16 seconds left, Elmhurst hit 3-of-4 free throws in the closing seconds to secure the five-point win.
Four Bluejays reached double figures in scoring to lead the squad to victory. Sanford totaled a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds while also blocking three shots. Coleman,
Taylor Baxter and
Bryant Ackerman scored 11 points apiece for the Bluejays. Baxter dished out a game-high six assists.
Will Nixon added seven points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots while Payonk totaled eight points.
The Bluejays shot 41.3 percent (19-of-46) from the floor and were solid at the free throw line, hitting 31-of-36 attempts (86.1 percent).
Millikin shot 40.0 percent (22-of-55) from the floor but struggled from the foul line, hitting just 59.3 percent (16-of-27). Deavis Johnson scored a game-high 14 to lead Millikin in the loss. TJ Griffin added 13 points and Tommy Pilackas added 10 points.
Elmhurst travels to North Park University on Wednesday, January 15.
