ELMHURST, Ill. – The Elmhurst men's basketball team had its two-game winning streak snapped in an 82-69 loss to Wheaton College.
 
Elmhurst slipped to 2-4 on the season and 0-1 in the CCIW while Wheaton moved to 4-2 overall and 1-0 in league play after winning the conference-opening contest for both teams.
 
Wheaton started strong, building a quick 12-3 lead through the first 3:15 of action. Elmhurst pulled to within four points on two occasions, but Wheaton answered each time, pushing their lead back to eight points at 29-21 with 7:30 left in the half. Elmhurst chipped the lead down to three points at 31-28 following a Jalen Loving bucket with four minutes remaining, but the Thunder closed the half on a 13-2 run to build a 44-30 lead at the half.
 
Elmhurst brought the lead down to 10 points early in the second half, but Wheaton responded with an 11-1 run over the next 3:30 to open up a 20-point cushion at 55-35. Elmhurst brought the deficit down to 16 points with 14 minutes remaining, but the Thunder answered back again, using a 10-2 run over the next four minutes to open up a 24-point cushion at 65-41. The Bluejays managed to whittle the lead down to just 13 points when the final horn sounded. The pace of the second half was slow as the two teams were whistled for a combined 36 fouls in the second half and attempted a combined 47 free throws.
 
Elmhurst shot 40.7 percent (24-of-59) from the floor but struggled from three-point range, hitting just 26.3 percent (5-of-19) of its attempts from beyond the arc. The Bluejays also struggled from the foul line, hitting just 16-of-33 attempts (48.5 percent). Elmhurst won the rebounding battle 43-34 and scored 16 second-chance points off of 17 offensive rebounds.
 
Caleb Mowry led the way for Elmhurst with 17 points, shooting 7-of-10 from the floor. Devin Tennant came off the bench to score 13 while knocking down 6-of-7 shots. Derek Dotlic added 10 points while Michael Plunk pulled down a team-leading 11 rebounds to go with six points. Jalen Loving finished with nine points and seven rebounds.
 
Wheaton shot 51.8 percent (29-of-56) from the floor, including 31.8 percent (7-of-22) from the field. The Thunder also struggled from the foul line, shooting just 54.8 percent (17-of-31). Wheaton made the most of Elmhurst's mistakes, converting 23 Bluejay turnovers into 23 points.
 
Aston Francis led the way for Wheaton with 24 points, six rebounds and six assists. Kobe Eichelberger added 18 points while Ricky Samuelson scored 17 and Reagan Jones totaled a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds. The Thunder's starting five contributed 77 of the team's 82 points.
 
Elmhurst travels to Augustana College on Wednesday, December 7.