BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Elmhurst men's basketball team closed out its regular season with a 96-66 loss at Illinois Wesleyan University.

Elmhurst (19-6, 9-5 CCIW) led 11-6 just seven minutes into the contest, but Illinois Wesleyan used a 21-6 run over the next eight minutes to open up a 10-point cushion. The Titans led by 13 (41-28) at the half.

The Bluejays closed to within nine points early in the second half, but Illinois Wesleyan,(18-7, 10-4 CCIW) scored the next 11 points to open up a 20-point cushion. Elmhurst came no closer than a 17-point deficit for the remainder of the contest as the Titans pulled away for the 30-point victory.
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Elmhurst struggled with its shooting, hitting just 37.5 percent (21-of-56) of its shots. The Bluejays hit 4-of-11 (36.4 percent) from downtown and 20-of-24 (83.3 percent) from the free throw line. Illinois Wesleyan shot 51.4 percent (36-of-70) from the floor, including 40.0 percent (12-of-30) from beyond the arc. The Titans also won the battle on the glass, outrebounding Elmhurst 39-34. The Titans pulled down 13 offensive rebounds, resulting in 18 second-chance points.

Illinois Wesleyan made the most of Elmhurst's mistakes, converting 14 Bluejays' turnovers into 20 points. The Titans committed just four turnovers in the contest.

Bryant Ackerman led the Bluejays with 14 points while Brandon Schwebke added 12. Kyle Wuest added 10 points for Elmhurst.

Five players reached double figures in scoring for Illinois Wesleyan, with Pat Sodemann scoring a game-high 18 points. Dylan Overstreet and Mike Marietti scored 15 points apiece for the Titans.

Elmhurst and Illinois Wesleyan will face each other in next weeks CCIW Tournament at Augustana College. Illinois Wesleyan earned the number two seed while Elmhurst will be the number three seed. The two teams will play on Friday, February 27, at 5:00 p.m. North Central earned the fourth seed and will face Augustana at 7:00 p.m.,