ELMHURST, Ill. – Bryant Ackerman and Brandon Schwebke combined for 37 points to lead the Elmhurst men's basketball team to an 88-72 victory over Millikin University at R.A. Faganel Hall.
 
Elmhurst (16-4, 6-3 CCIW) led for nearly the entire contest, building an early 20-9 lead just 5:30 into the contest. Millikin (8-12, 3-6 CCIW) surged back over the next seven minutes, using a 16-4 to take a 25-24 lead after a TJ Griffin jumper.
 

Back-to-back three pointers from Schwebke and Ackerman quickly put the Bluejays back in front 30-25 with six minutes left to play. Millikin closed to within a point with 1:10 left to play in the first half but the a three-point play from Will Nixon and a three-pointer from Ackerman just before the end of the half, gave the Bluejays a 40-33 lead at the break.
 
Elmhurst built a quick 10-point lead to start the second half, but Millikin sliced the lead in half, pulling to within five with 12 minutes left after a three-pointer from Griffin.
 
The Bluejays took control for the next six minutes, ripping off a 21-6 run ignited by treys from Nathan Rogers, Peyton Wyatt and Ackerman. The run gave Elmhurst a 79-59 lead with six minutes left to play.  Millikin came no closer than a 10-point deficit the rest of the way as Elmhurst cruised to the 16-point victory.
 

Elmhurst finished the contest shooting 50.8 percent (32-of-63) from the floor, including a blistering 60.7 percent (17-of-28) in the second half. The Bluejays were on fire from beyond the arc, hitting 12-of-23 attempts to finish the game shooting 50.8 percent from three-point range. Elmhurst was also solid from the foul line, shooting 80.0 percent (12-of-15).  The Bluejays also blocked nine shots in the paint.
 
Ackerman led the Bluejays with 21 points, shooting 8-of-13 from the field, including 5-of-8 from downtown. Schwebke added a season-high 16 points, hitting 5-of-7 shots, including 4-of-5 from long distance.  Rogers came off the bench to finish with 11 points and five rebounds while Will Nixon totaled 10 points and seven boards. Erik Crittenden and Kyle Wuest added eight points apiece in the victory. Wuest dished out a team-leading six assists in the win.
 
Millikin shot just 37.7 percent (23-of-61) from the floor, including 37.5 percent (6-of-16) from downtown. The Big Blue hit 20-of-27 free throws (74.1 percent) while outrebounding Elmhurst 39-37.
 
Griffin and TJ Sims powered the Big Blue in the loss. Sims scored a game-high 27 points while shooting 9-of-16. Griffin added 17 points for the Big Blue while Nathan Biggs came off the bench to total eight points and 12 rebounds. 

Elmhurst travels to Carthage College on Wednesday, February 4. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.