ADRIAN, Mich. - Kyle Wuest scored 18 of his game-high 23 points in the second half to lead the Elmhurst men's basketball team to a 62-58 road victory at Adrian College.

Elmhurst improved to 8-1 with the victory while Adrian slipped to 2-5 on the year with the loss. The back-and-forth affair featured 12 lead changes and seven ties with neither team leading by more than six points.
 

Trailing 17-16 in the opening half, Elmhurst used a 6-0 run to grab a 22-17 lead. Wuest knocked down a three-pointer, Bryant Ackerman added a ,lay-up and Erik Crittenden hit a free throw to account for Elmhurst's points in the run.

Adrian pulled to within a point with two minutes to go, but a three-pointer from Nathan Rogers and layup from Michael Jerkovich gave Elmhurst its biggest lead of the night at six points (30-24) with 35 seconds left to play. Adrian's Curtis Gordon hit a pair of free throws to pull the Bulldogs to within four points at the half.

Adrian surged back in the second half using an 8-0 run keyed entirely by Ben Rodak to turn a four-point deficit into a four-point lead (46-42) midway through the half. The Bluejays pulled even at 51-51 with 3:23 left to play after a jumper from Crittenden. A steal and a bucket from Wuest put Elmhurst in front for good with less than three minutes left to play. Elmhurst went in front by five after a pair of Wuest free throws, but Adrian answered back with a pair of free throws from Rickey Jackson, cutting Elmhurst's lead down to three points. Rogers split a pair of free throws to give Elmhurst a 59-55 lead with 30 seconds left, but R'mand Harp knocked down a three-pointer to bring the Bulldogs to within one with 22 seconds left. Free throws from Wuest and Nixon in the final 20 seconds helped salt the game away for the Bluejays.

Elmhurst shot 35.4 percent (11-of-26) from the floor, including 31.3 percent (5-of-16) from three-point range. The Bluejays won the battle on the glass, outrebounding Adrian 40-29.

Fresh off of a career-high 31-point performance last week, Wuest led Elmhurst with a game-high 23 points. He shot 6-of-11 from the floor (3-of-7 from downtown) and 8-of-9 from the foul line. He shot 4-of-7 in the second half to total 18 of his points in the game's final 20 minutes.

All 11 players who entered the game for Elmhurst put points on the scoreboard. Nixon and Rogers added seven points apiece while Crittenden totaled five points and seven rebounds. Nixon also added seven rebounds in the victory.

Adrian shot 35.6 percent (16-of-45) from the floor, but only 21.1 percent (4-of-19) from long distance. Jackson led the Bulldogs in the loss with 14 points while Rodak chipped in with 13. Gordon, Earl Swift and Harp contributed eight points apiece.

Elmhurst hosts St. John's University on Friday, December 19.

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