DECATUR, Ill. - The Elmhurst men's basketball team slipped to 0-2 on the season after coming up short in a 110-98 loss to Greenville College in its opening game of the CCIW/SLIAC Challenge at Millikin. 

The game featured 10 ties and 13 lead changes as the Bluejays' matched up against Greenville's fast-paced, shoot as many three-pointers as possible offense. The score was even at 93-93, but Greenville closed the final three minutes of the game with a 17-5 run to earn the 12-point victory. 

The two squads traded buckets and leads for much of the first half before Greenville built a 33-31 lead with five minutes remaining. The Panthers used a 14-5 run over the next three minutes to open up an 11-point cushion following a three-pointer from DeAndre Brown. Elmhurst closed to within nine points (47-38) at the half. 

Elmhurst fell behind by 12 points at the start of the second half, but the Bluejays answered back with 11 straight points over a two-minute span to pull to within a point. The Bluejays recaptured the lead at 57-55 following a trey from Jake Rhode. Greenville pulled even at 73-73 with 11 minutes remaining. The Panthers followed with a 9-0 run over the next two minutes to build an 82-73 lead. 

The Bluejays rallied back, pulling even at 93-93 with 2:51 left after Caleb Mowry knocked down a jumper. Elmhurst went cold from the field over the next two minutes as Greenville used a 14-1 run to build a 107-94 lead with just 26 seconds remaining before pulling away for the 12-point victory.

Elmhurst outshot Greenville 47.4 percent to 42.1 percent. The Bluejays knocked downed 36-of-76 shots from the field, but hit just 4-of-19 (21.1 percent) from downtown. Greenville connected on 40-of-95 attempts from the floor and hoisted 46 three-point attempts, knocking down 16 (34.8 percent). Elmhurst struggled from the foul line, shooting just 53.7 percent (22-of-41) from the charity stripe. The Bluejays won the battle on the glass, outrebounding Greenville 65-43. Elmhurst struggled with Greenville's full court pressure defense, committing 37 turnovers, resulting in 30 points for the Panthers. 

Mowry led the Bluejays in the loss, finishing one rebound shy of a double-double with 29 points and nine rebounds. Mowry hit 12-of-18 shots from the floor. Rhode, Ryan Patton and Michael Plunk totaled 14 points apiece in the loss. Plunk finished with a double-double, pulling down a game-high 15 rebounds in the loss. Derek Dotlich also reached double-figures in scoring with 10. Jalen Loving finished with eight points and seven rebounds for Elmhurst.

Shane Smith paced Greenville in the win, finishing with 29 points and nine rebounds while shooting 11-of-18 from the floor. Elmo Smith added 19 points while Kenny Greene scored 17. 

Elmhurst takes on Westminster College (Mo.) tomorrow (November 19).