ELMHURST, Ill. – The Elmhurst men's basketball team dropped to 5-11 overall following an 58-69 loss to #20 Augustana College.
 
Elmhurst battled with the Vikings for the first five minutes before Augustana (13-3, 6-1 CCIW) opened up a 12-points cushion with a 15-8 run. Elmhurst (1-6 CCIW) to surged back over the next two minutes, using a 7-0 run sparked by four points from Devin Tennant and a three-pointer from Marquis Carter, pulling to within five with 5:30 remaining in the half.
 
Augustana responded by closing the half with a 19-6 run to carry a 47-29 lead into the locker room at the half. Dylan Sortillo sparked the final run of the half for the Vikings with 11 points, including three three-pointers to finish with 19 at the half.
 
Augustana opened up a 24-point lead in the second half before Elmhurst started to pull back into the contest. Trailing by 24 midway through the half, the Bluejays scored eight straight to pull to within 16 with six minutes remaining. Elmhurst came as close as 14 points with three minutes to play, but came no closer as the Vikings came away with the 16-point win.

Elmhurst outscored the Vikings 40-38 in the second half. The Bluejays finished the contest shooting 35.2 percent (25-of-71) from the floor, including 55.0 percent (11-of-20) from beyond the arc. Elmhurst won the rebounding battle 43-34.
 
Ryan Patton sparked Elmhurst in the loss, pouring in a team-high 18 points while shooting 7-of-15 from the field. He knocked down 4-of-8 attempts from three-point distance. Carter added 12 points in the loss, hitting a perfect 4-of-4 attempts from three-point range. Michael Plunk came off the bench to finish with 12 points while Devin Tennant scored eight.
 
Augustana finished the game shooting 55.6 percent (35-of-63) from the floor, including 61.5 percent (8-of-13) from beyond the arc. The Vikings dominated the inside scoring game, outscoring Elmhurst 46-20 in the paint. Sortillo led the way with a game-high 24 points for the Vikings. Chrishawn Orange added 19 points while Pierson Wofford came off the bench to score 12.
 
Elmhurst hosts North Central College on Saturday, January 21.