ELMHURST, Ill. – The 25th-ranked Elmhurst men's basketball team secured a trip to the CCIW Tournament by blowing out North Park 89-49 at R.A. Faganel Hall.
 
Elmhurst (18-5, 8-4 CCIW) doubled up North Park (14-9, 5-7 CCIW) in the opening half, building a 46-23 lead at the break. Trailing 13-11 five minutes into the contest, Elmhurst erupted for a 24-5 run over the next nine minutes, building a 17-point cushion in the process. A trio of three-pointers from Brandon Schwebke and treys from Kyle Wuest and Tucker Harlan helped ignite the Bluejays' run. Elmhurst led by 16 with 3:23 left in the half and scored the final seven points of the half to build a 23-point lead at the half.
 

Elmhurst hit six three-pointers in the opening half while also dominating inside the lane. The Bluejays outscored the Vikings 16-8 in the paint and held a 27-12 rebounding edge at the half.
 
Elmhurst continued to pull away in the second half. Leading by 20 five minutes into the half, the Bluejays used a 14-4 run to build a 30-point cushion before cruising to the 40-point victory. Elmhurst limited North Park to only 13 points for the final 15 minutes of the game.
  
The Bluejays shot 49.3 percent (33-of-67) from the floor, including 40.7 percent (11-of-27) from three-point range. Elmhurst finished the contest with a 52-24 edge in rebounding. Elmhurst outscored North Park 40-14 in the paint.
 
Schwebke led Elmhurst with a season-high 17 points, connecting on 5-of-6 shots, including 4-of-5 from downtown. Wuest, Bryant Ackerman and Kenny Payonk chipped in with 11 points apiece in the win. Pat Coleman, Will Nixon and Erik Crittenden each scored six for Elmhurst. In total, 12 different Bluejays put points on the scoreboard in the victory.
 
North Park struggled with its shooting, hitting just 17-of-54 shots (31.5 percent) and only 4-of-20 (20.0 percent) from downtown. Juwan Henry and Colin Lake scored 13 points apiece to pace the Vikings in the loss.
 
Elmhurst hosts North Central on Saturday, February 14.