ELMHURST, Ill. - The Elmhurst men's basketball team opened CCIW play with a 78-64 win over Illinois Wesleyan University in front of a packed house at R.A. Faganel Hall.

Elmhurst, ranked sixth in the latest D3hoops.com Top-25 poll, improved to 11-1 overall and won their eighth straight game in the process. Illinois Wesleyan fell to 6-6 overall and 0-1 in league play. 

The two teams traded buckets and leads for the majority of the opening half. The lead changed hands nine times in the first 15 minutes before Elmhurst broke a 24-24 tie with a Bryant Ackerman bucket. Peyton Wyatt followed with a three-pointer to give Elmhurst a 29-24 lead. The Titans closed to within three with 2:44 left, but back-to-back three-pointers from Ackerman gave the Bluejays a nine-point cushion with 1:46 left. The Titans closed to within six after a three-point play from Trevor Seibring cut the lead down to six with 1:24 remaining. A layup from Brandon Schwebke and a bucket from Ackerman gave Elmhurst its biggest lead of the game at 41-31 just before the half. A three-pointer from Joel Pennington cut the Bluejays' lead to 41-34 at the break. 

Elmhurst started quickly in the second half, opening with a 10-4 run to take a 13-point lead (51-38) after Ackerman's third three-pointer of the contest. Illinois Wesleyan refused to go away, using a 10-4 run to close to within five with 8:41 left on the clock. Elmhurst pushed its lead back to 10 points with seven minutes to go following a jumper from Will Nixon, but four straight points from the Titans brought them to within six with 5:44 left. A dunk from Nixon gave the Bluejays an eight-point cushion with 5:30 remaining. 

Both teams went cold for the next three minutes as the Titans missed several opportunities to cut into Elmhurst's lead and the Buejays missed chances to extend their cushion. A steal and a layup from Kyle Wuest ended the drought with 2:30 remaining and gave Elmhurst a 10-point lead in the process. After missing their first five free throws of the game, the Bluejays sealed the game from the foul line, hitting 9-of-13 free throws down the stretch to earn the 14-point victory.

Elmhurst shot 48.4 percent (30-of-62) from the floor, including 45.0 percent (9-of-20) from beyond the arc. Elmhurst won the battle on the glass, outrebounding the Titans 44-35. Wuest led Elmhurst's balanced attack with a game-high 19 points, shooting 6-of-12 from the floor, including 3-of-5 from downtown. He added seven rebounds and four assists in the victory. Nixon added a double-double, finishing with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Ackerman added 15 points while shooting 6-of-11 from the field and dishing out five assists. Pat Coleman added nine points while Peyton Wyatt scored six. 

Illinois Wesleyan finished the contest shooting 36.7 percent (22-of-60) from the field, including 36.0 percent (9-of-25) from downtown. Bryce Dolan led the way for the Titans with 17 points while Seibring added 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Joel Pennington totaled 11 points in the loss.

Elmhurst hosts top-ranked Augustana on Wednesday, January 6 at 7:00 p.m.