ELMHURST, Ill. – The Elmhurst men's basketball team rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit before falling to Wheaton College 98-85 in double overtime.
 
Elmhurst slipped to 5-2 on the season and 2-1 in the CCIW while Wheaton improved to 6-2 overall and 2-1 in league contests.
 
Leading by just one point with five minutes remaining in the opening half, the Thunder scored eight straight to take a nine-point cushion with 2:28 remaining. Elmhurst trailed by seven (35-28) at the half.
 
The Bluejays cut the Wheaton lead down to five with 17:25 remaining, but the Thunder answered back with a 13-5 run over the next three minutes fueled by four three-pointers from Aston Francis. The Bluejays trailed by 11 with nine minutes remaining before mounting their rally. A 10-1 run by Elmhurst cut the deficit to just two points with 5:42 left to play. Elmhurst tied the contest with two minutes remaining on a Lavon Thomas bucket, but the Thunder answered back with a jumper from Francis to lead by two. After a Wheaton miss, Jeremy Ireland hit two free throws to pull the Bluejays level at 73-73 with 1:13 remaining. Both teams missed potential game-winning jumpers in the final minute to send the game to overtime.
 
Wheaton surged in front in the first overtime, building a four-point cushion after a three-pointer from Jay Spencer and a free throw from Luke Peters. Jake Rhode drained a trey with 1:47 left to cut the Thunder's lead down to one. After a pair of free throws from Francis put the Thunder back up by three, Rhode was fouled attempting a three. Rhode hit all three free throws to knot the game at 84-84 with 1:10 left. Francis delivered again for the Thunder, knocking down a jumper to put Wheaton back up with less than a minute remaining. Rhode had the answer for Elmhurst, hitting a jumper in the lane to even the score at 86-86. Wheaton could not get off a shot in the final 27 seconds, sending the game to a second OT.
 
A three-pointer from Francis gave Wheaton a four-point lead with three minutes left in the second OT. Elmhurst missed its next two shots and added a turnover leading to a layup from Francis to give Wheaton a six-point lead with just 1:16 left on the clock. A pair of free throws and a tip-in from Jeremy Ireland sandwiched around a free throw from Wheaton brought Elmhurst to within three with 19 seconds left. After two Wheaton free throws, Derek Dotlich drained a three to slice the lead down to two points (97-95) with eight seconds left. Francis split two free throws with six seconds remaining to give Wheaton a three-point cushion. The Bluejays had one last shot to tie the game, but Rhode's three-point attempt bounced out, sealing the win for Wheaton.
 
Elmhurst shot 43.4 percent (36-of-83) from the floor, but struggled from downtown, hitting just 4-of-20 attempts (20.0 percent) from three-point range. The Bluejays dominated under the basket, outscoring Wheaton 54-26 in the paint while also outrebounding the Thunder 54-35.
 
Rhode led Elmhurst with a double-double 26 points and 10 assists. Jeremy Ireland added a double-double of his own with 19 points and 15 rebounds. Lavon Thomas came off the bench to score a season-high 16 points to go allowing with eight rebounds. Ryan Patton added 13 points while Just Fox scored eight.
 
After limiting Francis to only seven points in the first half, Elmhurst could not slow the Thunder's leading scorer after halftime. Francis exploded in the second half and overtime periods, scoring 38 of his career-high 45 points after the half. He hit 14-of-29 shots, including 8-of-18 from three-point range. Spencer Peterson added 12 points while Luke Peters scored 11 for the Thunder.
 
Elmhurst hosts Buena Vista University on Monday, December 18.