ELMHURST, Ill. – The Elmhurst men's basketball team opened the 2014-15 season with an impressive 92-75 win over Greenville College in the CCIW/SLIAC Challenge.

After a close 17 minutes to open the game, Elmhurst outscored Greenville by 17 for the final 23 minutes of the contest.
 

The first half featured nine ties and six lead changes, but Elmhurst closed with a flurry, scoring 10 straight points over the final three minutes to take a 41-31 lead at the half. Erik Crittenden and Bryant Ackerman sparked the run, combining for all 10 points. Crittenden hit back-to-back buckets to bring his first half total to 10 points and Ackerman followed with consecutive three-pointers to give the Bluejays a 10-point cushion at the half.

Elmhurst stayed red-hot to start the second half, opening the on a 17-4 run to build a commanding 21-point advantage with 14:30 to play. Elmhurst pushed its lead to as much as 25 points before coasting to the 17-point victory the rest of the way.
 
Elmhurst shot 52.4 percent from the floor, hitting 33-of-63 attempts. The Bluejays hit 9-of-21 shots from beyond the arc (42.9 percent) and 17-of-21 from the foul line (81.0 percent).
 

Crittenden turned in a career night to lead the Bluejays in the win. He came off the bench to score a career-high 24 points, shooting 8-of-10 from the floor and a perfect 7-of-7 from the foul line. Ackerman added 19 points on an 8-of-11 shooting performance. Nathan Rogers added 11 points and six rebounds for the Bluejays. Kyle Wuest and Jalen Loving scored seven points apiece while Kenny Payonk and Will Nixon totaled six points each.
 
Greenville shot 38.9 percent (21-of-54) from the field, including 37.5 percent (6-of-16) from downtown. Michael Hohm led the Panthers with 17 points while Andrew Scott totaled a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Elmo Smith finished with 12 points and Ron Harris scored 10.
 
Elmhurst will face Westminster tomorrow, November 16, at 3:00 p.m.