ELMHURST, Ill. – The Elmhurst men's basketball team withstood a late second-half charge from Concordia University-Chicago to score an 88-68 victory in the Bluejays' home-opening contest.
 
Elmhurst picked up its first win of the season with the victory, moving to 1-3 on the year. Concordia-Chicago slipped to 1-2 with the loss.
 
Elmhurst led by 16 points with 9:39 remaining, but Concordia responded with a 15-2 run over the next four minutes to close to within three points at 69-66. Mitch Pelissier helped ignite the run for the Cougars by scoring eight straight points, including a pair of three-pointers. The Bluejays withstood the rally from Concordia and responded by closing the game on a 19-2 run to pull away for the 20-point victory. Elmhurst held Concordia without a field goal for the final 5:30 of the contest.
 
The two teams traded leads six times in the early portion of the opening half before the Bluejays broke a 12-12 tie with a 14-2 run. Concordia came no closer than a five-point deficit for the remainder of the opening half as the Bluejays carried a 42-33 lead into the locker room at the break. The Bluejays slowly built their second-half lead up to 16 points before Concordia's run.
 
Elmhurst finished the contest shooting 44.4 percent (28-of-63) from the floor, but just 27.3 percent (6-of-22) from downtown. The Bluejays shot a season-high 70.3 percent (26-of-37) from the foul line and dominated the Cougars on the glass, finishing with a +16 rebounding margin (53-37). Elmhurst turned 16 offensive rebounds into 18 second chance points.
 
Four players reached double figures in scoring to pace the Bluejays in the win. Caleb Mowry led the way with a  double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds. Derek Dotlich chipped in with nine points while Nathan Rogers finished with eight points, eight rebounds and a team-leading five assists. Michael Plunk totaled seven points while grabbing a season-high 11 rebounds.
 
Concordia shot 37.3 percent (25-of-67) from the floor, but only 19.2 percent  (5-of-26) from long range.  The Cougars made the most of Elmhurst's mistakes, converting 23 turnovers by the Bluejays into 29 points.
 
Pelissier and Mike Walmer combined to carry the load for the Cougars. Walmer finished with a team-high 18 points while Pelissier scored 17 for the Cougars.
 
Elmhurst travels to Alma on Sunday, November 27.