BELTON, Texas – Jake Rhode pumped in a career-high 38 points, but it wasn't enough as the Elmhurst men's basketball team fell 108-93 at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.
 
Elmhurst (4-7) dug itself an early hole, falling behind 38-18 just 12 minutes into the contest. The Bluejays trailed by as many as 23 points in the half before the Bluejays ripped off a 25-12 run, fueled by 11 points from Rhode, to pull to within 11 points with a minute remaining in the half. Elmhurst trailed 58-45 at the break.
 
Mary Hardin-Baylor (7-3) quickly pushed its lead back over 20 points in the second half, pushing its lead to 22 (86-64) midway through the second half.  Rhode helped ignite another Elmhurst run to bring the Bluejays to within eight points with four minutes remaining. Rhode scored 16 off Elmhurst's 23 points in a 23-9 run to give Elmhurst a chance near the end of the contest. Elmhurst remained eight points down with 1:40 left and Mary Hardin-Baylor hit 6-of-6 free throws down the stretch to help pull away for the 15-point victory.
 

Elmhurst shot just 38.5 percent (30-of-78) from the floor, including 39.3 percent (11-of-28) from three-point distance. The Bluejays were solid from the free throw line, shooting a season-best 84.6 percent (22-of-26).  Elmhurst also won the battle on the glass, outrebounding Mary Hardin-Baylor 47-36.
 
Rhode was on fire for Elmhurst, dropping in a career-best 38 points while shooting 12-of-24 from the floor. He hit 7-of-13 attempts from beyond the arc, the second-highest single-game total in school history. He added six assists and four rebounds in the loss. His 38 points were the most scored by a Bluejay since Chris Martin scored 40 during the 2005 season.
 
Jalen Loving came off the bench to finish with a double-double, scoring a season-high 21 points while collecting a team-leading 13 rebounds. Nathan Rogers added 11 rebounds and five points while Caleb Mowry totaled nine points and six rebounds for Elmhurst.
 
Elmhurst struggled to stop Mary Hardin-Baylors duo of Aubrie King and Braden Hammond. The pair combined to score over half of their team's points, finishing with 61 combined points. Hammond led the way with 32 points and eight rebounds while King totaled 29 points and nine rebounds. Demarius Cress finished with 19 points and eight assists while Daniel Mills scored 12.
 
Elmhurst takes on Sul-Ross State University tomorrow (December 30).