ELMHURST, Ill. – The Elmhurst men's basketball team erased a 16-point first-half deficit and outscored North Central College by 30 points over the final 23 minutes of action to stun the Cardinals 91-77 at R.A. Faganel Hall.
 
Elmhurst upped its record to 11-6 on the season and stayed in the CCIW Tournament hunt by improving to 4-4 in league play. North Central slipped to 12-5 overall and 5-3 in league play after being outscored 47-30 in the second half.
 
Elmhurst and North Central traded buckets to start the opening half before North Central ripped off an 11-2 run to open up a 26-17 lead with 9:34 left in the half. Elmhurst cut the deficit down to six points 90 second later, but the Cardinals, who started the game shooting over 70 percent from the floor, used a 19-9 run over the next five minutes to open up a commanding 47-31 lead with 3:30 left in the half.
 
Elmhurst surged back before the half, closing the half of a 13-0 run capped by a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Derek Dotlich, cutting the deficit to just three points (47-44) at the half. Both teams were red hot in the opening half, as Elmhurst shot 57.6 percent (19-of-33) while North Central shot 59.4 percent (19-of-32) from the floor.
 
The Bluejays carried the momentum into the start of the second half as Elmhurst scored four quick points to take the lead at 48-47 just one minute into the half. Alex Sorenson's layup put the Cardinals back in front at 49-48, but it would be the last time North Central led in the contest.
 
Ryan Patton put Elmhurst back in front on the Bluejays' ensuing possession by drilling a three-pointer from the wing. Elmhurst would never trail for the remainder of the contest as the trey kick off an 18-7 run by the Bluejays. A Lance Gardner three-pointer with 10:43 left gave Elmhurst a 66-56 lead. North Central cut the deficit down to eight points with 9:48 remaining, but five straight points from Jake Rhode and a Jeremy Ireland layup gave Elmhurst its biggest lead of the night at 15 points (76-61) with 8:15 remaining.
 
North Central managed to chip the deficit down to nine points with 1:33 left, but free throws from Ireland, Rhode, Patton and a breakaway dunk from Lance Gardner sealed the 14-point win for the Bluejays.
 
Elmhurst shot 54.8 percent from the floor in the victory, knocking down 34-of-62 shots. The Bluejays connected on 13-of-27 attempts from three-point range (48.1 percent). The 13 three-pointers was the most the team has made in one game since an 85-82 win over Millikin during the 2010-11 season. The Bluejays committed just seven turnovers in the victory while also scoring 14 points off of 10 North Central turnovers.
 
Elmhurst's starters did the heavy lifting for the Bluejays with all five finishing in double figures. Playing against his former team, Ireland led the way with a team-best 21 points and six rebounds while shooting 8-of-12 from the floor. Rhode added 18 points, five assists and four steals while Lavon Thomas finished with 17 points, including three three-pointers. Gardner dropped in 15 points while dishing out four assists while Patton pumped in 11 points for the Bluejays.
 
North Central cooled off in the second half, shooting just 41.7 percent (10-of-24) to finish the contest shooting 51.8 percent (29-of-56) from the floor. Sorenson led the Cardinals with a game-high 22 points, six rebounds and four assists. Sorenson shot 9-of-12 from the floor in the loss. Connor Raridon and Erwin Henry scored 15 points apiece for the Cardinals in the loss. Raridon flirted with a triple-double finishing with nine rebounds and seven assists
 
Elmhurst hosts Illinois Wesleyan University on Wednesday, January 24.