ELMHURST, Ill. – The freshmen of the Elmhurst men's basketball team scored over 60 percent of the team's points as the Bluejays snapped a two-game skid with an 89-81 victory over Blackburn College.
 
Elmhurst led from wire-to-wire and never trailed in the contest, upping its record to 4-6 overall with the victory.
 
The Bluejays scored the game's first five points and never trailed in the opening half. Elmhurst led by as many as nine points on a pair of occasions only to have Blackburn trim the deficit down to just two points with 2:18 remaining in the half. Leading 27-25, the Bluejays closed the half on a 9-4 run to carry a 36-29 lead into the locker room at halftime.
 
Elmhurst quickly pushed its lead to double digits early in the second half on a quick three-pointer by Jake Rhode, but Blackburn answered back, trimming the lead down to just three points at 50-47 with 14:30 left to play. Elmhurst responded with a 14-4 to push its lead to 13 points midway through the half. Blackburn would not go away, cutting 14-point Elmhurst leads down to six points on two occasions, pulling to within six at 82-76 with 1:35 remaining. The Bluejays hit 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch to come away with the 89-81 victory.
 
The Bluejays finished the contest shooting 53.6 percent from the field, including 43.5 percent (10-of-23) from beyond the arc. The story of the game was the combined play of six Elmhurst underclassmen who combined for 54 of the team's 89 points and 18 of the squad's 22 assists. Jake Rhode led the way for the Bluejays, finishing with 17 points and five assists. Ryan Patton added 15 points and three assists while shooting 6-of-12 from the floor. Derek Dotlich scored all 13 of his points in the second half while shooting 5-of-8 from the floor. Devin Tennant finished the contest with seven points, six rebounds, seven assists and four steals. Marquis Carter chipped in with two points. Junior Michael Plunk scored 12 points while the Bluejays' senior trio of Jalen Loving, Caleb Mowry and Nathan Rogers combined for 23 points. Loving finished one rebound shy of a double-double, finishing with 13 points and nine rebounds. 
 
Blackburn finished the contest shooting 41.2 percent (26-of-68) from the floor, including 31.3 percent (10-of-32) from downtown. Jake Maestranzi led the Beavers in the loss with 20 points while Willie Orange chipped in with 14 and Tommy Childs scored 13. DeAndre Manuel finished with a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Elmhurst travels to Texas to play in the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Tournament on December 29-30.