ELMHURST, Ill. – The Elmhurst men's basketball team erased an eight-point deficit with less than two minutes remaining to stun Manchester College 80-74 in the Bluejays' season-opening contest.
 
Trailing by eight (74-66) with just 1:42 remaining, Elmhurst (1-0) ripped off nine straight points in the span of 52 seconds to surge in front with just under a minute remaining. The Bluejays tacked on five more points in the final minute to pull away for the six-point victory.
 
Jeremy Ireland started the Bluejays' rally with just 90 seconds left, tipping in a bucket to slash the Spartans' lead down to six. Ireland then stole the inbound pass that lead to a Lance Gardner layup with just 1:22 remaining, bringing the Bluejays to within four point. A Manchester turnover gave Elmhurst the ball back. Jake Rhode was fouled with 59 seconds remaining. Rhode hit the first free throw but missed the second. Gardner collected the rebound and was fouled, hitting both free throws to bring Elmhurst to within a point with 58 seconds left on the clock.
 
Peyton Sampson came up with a steal and then scored the go-ahead bucket off a feed from Gardner with 51 seconds left.  Manchester had a chance to tie and possibly take the lead, but the Spartans missed two free throws. Rhode spit two free throws with 29 seconds left to double Elmhurst's lead to two points at 76-74. After a missed layup from Manchester (0-1) and a pair of missed free throws from the Bluejays, the Spartans had a chance to tie the game again, but Rhode poked the ball free for a steal. Free throws from Rhode and Ireland in the game's final seconds helped the Bluejays pull away for the six-point win.
 
The game was a back-and-forth affair for the first 30 minutes with neither team leading by more than six points. Manchester led 37-33 at the half, but Elmhurst answered back quickly at the start of the second half, tying the score at 39-39 on a bucket from Ireland. The lead would change hands seven times and the score would be tied six times over the next seven minutes before Manchester slowly built an eight-point lead following a bucket from Adrian Johnson. The Spartans led by nine points (68-59) with just over five minutes, before Elmhurst ripped off seven straight points to pull to within two with 3:14 remaining. The Spartans scored six straight points over the next 90 seconds to push their lead up to eight and set up the dramatic finish.
 
After sitting out last season due to conference transfer rules, Ireland made a huge impact in his debut game for the Bluejays. The junior center posted a game-high double-double of 24 points and 12 rebounds while shooting 10-of-14 from the field. Derek Dotlich added 13 points and five rebounds while Rhode chipped in with 12 points, five assists and four steals. Justin Fox came off the bench to score 11 in his collegiate debut while Sampson totaled eight points, four rebounds and three steals in just 14 minutes of action.
 
Elmhurst shot 42.4 percent (28-of-66) from the floor, while struggling from downtown, hitting just 2-of-12 attempts (16.7 percent) from three-point range. Elmhurst dominated the game on the glass, outrebounding Manchester 50-31 and turning 21 offensive rebounds into 20 second-chance points.
 
Manchester hit 48.5 percent (33-of-68) of its shots for the contest while also connecting on just two attempts (2-of-9) from three-point distance. The Spartans struggled from the free throw line, converting just 6-of-13 attempts (46.2 percent).
 
Johnson paced Manchester in the loss with 21 points and five assists. Enis Becirevic added 15 points and seven rebounds while Kenny Doss totaled 14 points. Brody Kirby also reached double figures in scoring, finishing with 13.
 
Elmhurst travels to Blackburn College on Tuesday, November 21.