DePere, Wis. – Poor shooting at the start of the second half doomed the Elmhurst men's basketball team in an 84-75 loss to the University of Northwestern (Minn.)  in the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament.
 
Elmhurst carried a 35-32 lead into the start of the second half, but the Bluejays struggled with their shooting to start the second half. Northwestern opened on a 9-0 run to take a 41-37 lead and things only snowballed for Elmhurst after that. The Bluejays went ice cold from the floor, missing their first 13 shots in the second half as the Eagles pulled away for a 16-point cushion with just under eight minutes left to play.
 
"I think we just ran out of gas early in the second half," said Elmhurst head coach John Baines. "We got some good looks but just couldn't hit our shots. Northwestern also seemed to generate some more second chance points on the offensive glass and that hurt us as well."
 
A pair of free throws from Bryant Ackerman brought the Bluejays to within 14 and Peyton Wyatt broke a 13-minute drought without a bucket by splashing home a three-pointer to slice the lead down to 11. Elmhurst continued to chip away, closing to within seven after a three-point play from Erik Crittenden with 3:21 remaining.
 
"This team worked hard all weekend," said Baines. "They never gave up and kept fighting and they made it a game, but playing 95 minutes over the weekend took its toll on us."
 

A three-pointer from Michael Carney with 2:29 left put the Eagles back up by 10. Elmhurst brought the lead back down to seven with 1:13 left and the Bluejays cut the deficit down to six with 52 seconds left after a Kyle Wuest bucket, but Elmhurst came no closer as the Eagles hit 8-of-10 free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
 
In a similar fashion to its upset win over #3 St. Thomas yesterday, Northwestern opened the first half quickly, hitting five of its first six shots while racing out to a 26-16 lead midway through the opening half. Elmhurst surged right back with a 15-2 run, grabbing a 31-28 lead after Wyatt drained a three-pointer from the corner.
 
The Eagles broke an eight minute drought without a field goal to go back in front at 32-31 after a Porter Morrell jumper. Kyle Wuest hit a pair of free throws with 1:16 left and then had a steal and a layup to give the Bluejays a 35-32 lead at the break.
 
Elmhurst finished the contest shooting 38.2 percent (26-of-68), hitting just 33.3 percent (12-of-36) in the second half. The Bluejays struggled from long distance, hitting 4-of-18 from beyond the arc (22.2 percent).
 
Northwestern, which won its 18th consecutive contest with the victory, shots 38.3 percent (23-of-60) from the floor, including 28.6 percent (8-of-28) from three-point range. The Eagles hit 30-of-40 attempts (75 percent) from the foul line.
 
Wuest led Elmhurst in the loss with 21 points. He added seven rebounds and four assists. Erik Crittenden registered a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds while Wyatt also reached double figures in scoring with 13.  Will Nixon added nine points and eight boards while Bryant Ackeman totaled eight points.
 
Porter Morrell paced Northwestern with 20 points in the win. Michael Carnery added 17 points and seven rebounds while Will Gisler and Cody Sprenger finished with 13 points apiece.
 
Elmhurst closed out the season with a 20-8 overall record. The squad also reached all of Baines' preseason goals.
 
"We set goals of reaching the conference tournament and being in contention for a CCIW title and reaching the NCAA Tournament," he said. "We accomplished all of those things and having this NCAA Tournament experience will be a valuable lesson for this team. Obviously, next year, our goals will likely change, but we will be returning a team stocked with experience and leadership. I think we're going to be in a position to be a good team for a long time to come."