ELMHURST, Ill. - The Elmhurst men's basketball team outscored Millikin 47-18 in the opening half en route to a convincing 85-48 win over the Big Blue.
 
Elmhurst improved to 7-17 overall and 3-12 in the CCIW with the victory while Millikin slipped to 3-20 on the year and 1-13 in league play.
 
Elmhurst was on fire in the opening half, shooting 55.9 percent from the floor while building a commanding 29-point advantage at the half. With the game tied at 6-6 just three minutes in the contest, Elmhurst ripped off a 19-0 run over the next six minutes to build a 25-6 lead. Derek Dotlich helped ignite the run with three three-pointers. The Big Blue cut the deficit down to 17 points with just under seven minutes, remaining but the Bluejays closed the half with a 20-8 run to open up a 47-18 lead at the half. Elmhurst's defense forced 11 turnovers in the opening half leading to 19 points for the Bluejays. The 47 points scored in the opening 20 minutes surpassed Elmhurst's entire point total from when the Bluejays faced Millikin in January.
 
Elmhurst continued to pull away in the second half, limiting the Big Blue to just six points for the first 10 minutes of the half. While the defense held the Big Blue in check, the offense continued to sizzle as the Bluejays pumped in 31 points in the first 10 minutes to open up a 54-point lead at 78-24. Trailing by 52 with 7:35 remaining, Millikin (3-20, 1-13 CCIW) closed the contest on a 24-7 run to make the final score 85-48 in favor of the Bluejays.
 
The Bluejays finished the contest shooting 47.8 percent (32-of-67) from the floor, including 38.7 percent (12-of-31) from downtown. Elmhurst finished with a 39-28 edge on the glass and converted 17 Millikin turnovers into 26 points. The Bluejays committed just eight turnovers while dishing out 19 assists.
 
Four players reached double figures in scoring Dotlich leading the way with 22 points. He shot 6-of-10 from the floor, including 5-of-8 from downtown. Ryan Patton added 19 points, shooting 8-of-15 from the floor while Jalen Loving finished with 14 points and seven rebounds. Caleb Mowry added 11 points and six rebounds. Nathan Rogers finished with seven points, five rebounds and six assists.
 
Millikin finished the game shooting 37.5 percent (18-of-48) from the field, including 35.7 percent (5-of-14) from beyond the arc. Leighton Lark came off the bench to score seven to lead the Big Blue.
 
Elmhurst closes out the 2016-17 season by hosting Carroll University next Tuesday, February 21.