ELMHURST, Ill. – The Elmhurst men's basketball team rallied from a 15-point first half to deficit before coming up short in a 90-80 loss to ninth-ranked Augustana College at R.A. Faganel Hall.
 
Elmhurst slid to 10-6 overall and 3-4 in the CCIW with the hard-fought loss. The Vikings upped their record to 13-3 overall and 5-2 in the CCIW with the victory.

Augustana couldn't miss in the opening half as the Vikings raced out to an early 15-point advantage. The Vikings knocked down 70.8 percent (17-of-24) of their shots in the first 20 minutes, including a whopping 75 percent of their three-point attempts (9-of-12). Augustana led by as many as 15 points (50-35) with 1:21 left to play in the half and carried a 13-point lead (54-41) into the locker room at halftime. Elmhurst did its best to keep pace with the Vikings, shooting 56.7 percent (17-of-30) in the opening half, including 54.5 percent (6-of-11) from three-point distance.
 
Elmhurst turned the momentum in the second half as Augustana cooled off. Elmhurst opened the first four minutes of the second half on a 14-4 run fueled by a pair of three-pointers from Jake Rhode and five points from Lavon Thomas. The run brought Elmhurst to within three points at 58-55. The Vikings led by five at 70-65 following a Nolan Ebel three-pointer with 10:30 left on the clock. Elmhurst rattled off the next eight points  on four points from Rhode and four points from Lance Gardner. Gardner capped the run with a breakaway dunk to give Elmhurst a three-point cushion at 73-70 with 7:45 remaining.
 
Nebel quickly tied the game with a three-pointer, but Pavlos Marakis' jumper with 6:39 gave Elmhurst the lead back. Elmhurst went cold over the next four minutes as the Bluejays missed two shots and turned the ball over four times. Augustana took advantage of the cold streak, scoring 10 straight points to surge back in front 83-75 with two minutes remaining. A Rhode three-pointer with 1:41 left brought Elmhurst back to within five. Augustana missed its next shot, but the Vikings collected the offensive rebound leading to a pair of free throws from Crishawn Orange. Elmhurst brought the deficit back down to five with 48 seconds left, but the Vikings hit three free throws and a layup in the final seconds to pull away for the 10-point win.
 
Elmhurst finished the contest shooting 51.8 percent (29-of-56) from the field, including 47.8 percent (11-of-23) from three-point range. Four players reached double figures in scoring for Elmhurst with Rhode leading the way with a team-best 22 points. Rhode shot 7-of-13 from the floor, including 4-of-7 from downtown. Jeremy Ireland added 17 points before fouling out while Gardner (13 points) and Derek Dotlich (11 points) also reached double digits in scoring.
 
After their strong first half, Augustana cooled off in the second half but finished the contest shooting 54.5 percent from the field (30-of-55) and 57.1 percent (12-of-21) from beyond the arc. The Vikings won the rebounding battle 31-22 and limited Elmhurst to just seven offensive rebounds. Ebel paced Augustana with a game-high 23 points. Orange added 18 points and seven rebounds while Dylan Sortillo scored 14 and Brett Benning totaled 12. 
 
Elmhurst hosts North Central College on Saturday, January 20.