ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – A sluggish start in the second half doomed the Elmhurst men's basketball team in an 80-67 loss to Illinois Wesleyan University in the opening round of the CCIW Tournament.
 
Elmhurst led for much of the first half, scoring the game's first seven points and leading by as many as eight points early in the contest.  The Bluejays led 22-18 with nine minutes remaining in the half, but Illinois Wesleyan (19-7) used a 15-6 run over the next eight minutes to take a 33-28 lead.  A jumper by Bryant Ackerman just before the buzzer cut the Titans' lead down to three (35-32) at the half.
 

Illinois Wesleyan started quickly in the second half, scoring six straight points to take a nine-point lead. The Titans quickly extended their lead to double digits, building a 12-point cushion just 4:30 into the second half. A bucket from Kyle Wuest and a three-pointer from Peyton Wyatt helped bring the Bluejays to within seven points with nine minutes remaining, but the Titans responded with five straight points to take a 66-54 lead with seven minutes remaining. The Titans padded its lead up to 15 points with 3:30 remaining before five straight points brought Elmhurst back to within 10 points with three minutes remaining. Elmhurst came no closer the rest of the way as the Titans pushed their lead back to 15 before coming away with the 13 point victory.
 
Elmhurst struggled with its shooting, hitting just 35.9 percent (23-of-64) of its shots. The Bluejays connected on 6-of-19 attempts (31.6 percent) from downtown. Illinois Wesleyan finished the contest shooting 49.1 percent (26-of-53) from the floor. The Titans surged in the second half, hitting 60.9 percent (14-of-23) of its shots. Illinois Wesleyan hit 7-of-17 (41.2 percent) three-point attempts and 21-of-28 (75.0 percent) free throw attempts.
 

Despite turning the ball over more than Elmhurst (14-12), Illinois Wesleyan made the most of the Bluejays' mistakes, converting the 12 turnovers into 21 points. Elmhurst scored just six points off the 14 Titans' turnovers.
 
Erik Crittenden paced Elmhurst in the loss, scoring a game-high 24 points, shooting 9-of-14 from the floor before fouling out. Wuest added 10 points and five rebounds while Eric Leonard came off the bench to reach double figures with 10. Bryant Ackerman finished with nine points for the Bluejays while Brandon Schwebke collected a team-leading seven rebounds.
 
Trevor Seibring led Illinois Wesleyan's offense, scoring a team-best 21 points while shooting 8-of-10. Bryce Dolan added 12 points for the Titans while Dylan Overstreet finished with 11 points and six assists. Mike Marietti added eight points for Illinois Wesleyan.
 
Elmhurst (19-7) will have to wait until Monday for word on a potential at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The selection show will be streamed live at www.ncaa.com at 11:30 a.m.