ELMHURST, Ill. – The Elmhurst men's basketball team slipped to 1-2 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin following an 88-57 loss to Illinois Wesleyan University.
 
Elmhurst slipped to 3-5 overall while Illinois Wesleyan moved to 6-2 overall and 1-2 in league play with the win.
 
Illinois Wesleyan scored the game's first five points on a bucket from Andy Stempel and a three-pointer from Brady Rose and the Titans never looked back. IWU started the game on a 14-4 run to build a quick 10-point lead just 5:21 into the contest. The Bluejays cut the deficit down to six points midway through the half, but the Titans responded with a 23-9 run over the next seven minutes to take a commanding 20-point lead at 41-21. The Titans carried a 41-25 lead into the locker room at halftime outshooting Elmhurst 56.7 percent (17-of-30) to 37.0 percent (10-of-27) and owning a 19-12 edge in rebounding.
 
Elmhurst kept the deficit near the 15-point mark for the first 10 minutes of the second half before Illinois Wesleyan began to pull away. Leading 61-46 with 9:42 remaining, the Titans closed the half on a 27-11 run to pull away for the 31-point win.
 
Elmhurst struggled with its shooting, hitting just 33.8 percent (22-of-65) from the floor, including 26.1 percent (6-of-23) from three-point range.
 
Nathan Rogers led the Bluejays with 13 points and four assists in the win while Ryan Patton added nine points. Marquis Carter and Jalen Loving chipped in with seven points apiece for the Bluejays.
 
IWU shot 51.7 percent (31-of-60) from the floor and outscored Elmhurst 30-20 in the paint. The Titans also controlled the glass, outrebounding Elmhurst 45-32. Illinois Wesleyan also received contributions from its bench as the Titans' reserves scored 32 points.
 
Brady Rose and Trevor Seibring scored 15 points apiece while Stempel and Collin Bonnett added nine points each. Jaylen Beasley totaled eight points in the win for the Titans.
 
Elmhurst hosts Buena Vista University next Saturday, December 17.