ELMHURST, Ill. – The Elmhurst men's basketball team remained undefeated in CCIW play by scoring an 89-59 win over North Park University at R.A. Faganel Hall.

Elmhurst ran its overall record to 5-3 with the win and moved to 3-0 in the CCIW. North Park slid to 3-8 overall and 2-2 in league play. The win was Elmhurst's third straight victory. 
 
Elmhurst led wire-to-wire in the contest, jumping out to a quick lead by scoring the game's first eight points. North Park answered back with five of its own, but the Bluejays responded with an 11-3 run to open up a 19-8 cushion and force the Vikings to burn their second timeout. After starting the game shooting 8-of-9, the Bluejays cooled off, allowing the Vikings to pull to within four points (25-21) with 5:49 left in the half. The Bluejays answered back, closing the half of a 13-4 run. Jay Militello added the exclamation point with a steal and a buzzer-beating layup to give Elmhurst a 38-13 lead at the half.
 
Elmhurst matched its hot first-half start in the second half. The Bluejays opened the second on a 22-7 run, extending their lead to 28-points with just over 13 minutes remaining. Elmhurst continued to pull away, leading by as many as 38 points before cruising to the 30-point victory.
 
Elmhurst shot 50.7 percent (16-of-37) from the floor while hitting just 23.1 percent (6-of-26) from three-point distance. The Bluejays dominated the game inside, outscoring North Park 58-20 in the paint. The Bluejays scored one less point in the paint than North Park scored for the entire game. Elmhurst also won the rebounding battle 45-29. The Bluejays turned 14 offensive rebounds into 18 second-chance points.
 
Jeremy Ireland led the charge for Elmhurst, shooting 12-of-15 from the floor to finish with a game-high 25 points. Jake Rhode added 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists in the win. Pavlos Marakis also reached double figures in scoring, finishing with 10. Derek Dotlich added eight points and six rebounds while Ryan Patton and Millitello totaled six points apiece. In total, 12 different Bluejays scored point in the victory.
 
North Park finished the contest shooting 37.9 percent (22-of-58) from the floor, including 25.98 percent (7-of-27) from three-point distance.  Matt Szuba was the only Viking to reach double figures in scoring, finishing with 11. Toby Marek added nine points for North Park.
 
Elmhurst plays at Manchester University on Monday, December 17.