ELMHURST, Ill. – Five players reached double figures in scoring to guide the Elmhurst men's basketball team to a 77-63 win over North Park University.
 
Elmhurst led from wire-to-wire, leading by as many as 27 points before holding on for the 14-point victory. The Bluejays upped their record to 13-11 overall and 6-9 in the CCIW with the win while North Park slipped to 5-18 overall and 1-13 in league play.
 
Elmhurst wasted little time pulling in front of the Vikings. The Bluejays scored the game's first eight points to put North Park in an early hole. The Vikings pulled to within four points five minutes into the half, but Elmhurst responded with a 19-0 run. Brandon Auker scored eight points and Derek Dotlich added seven to ignite Elmhurst's run. The Bluejays led by as many as 27 points at 39-12 before North Park closed the half with a 15-6 run to pull to within 18 points (45-27) at the half. Elmhurst shot 51.4 percent (18-of-35) in the half while limiting North Park to just 28.6 percent shooting (10-of-35) in the half.
 
Elmhurst pushed their lead back over 20 points early in the second half before North park slowly chipped awa. The Vikings closed to within 14 points with eight minutes remaining, but a tip-in from Jeremy Ireland and a three-pointer from Derek Dotlich pushed the Bluejays' lead back to 19 with just under six minutes remaining. North Park scored seven straight to cut the deficit down to 12 points, but the Vikings came no closer as Elmhurst cruised to the 14-point victory.
 
Elmhurst cooled off in the second half but finished the game shooting 42.9 percent (30-of-70) from the floor, including 35.7 percent (10-of-28) from downtown. The Bluejays dominated the game on the glass, outrebounding the Vikings 50-35 while also outscoring North Park 36-22 in the paint.
 
Justin Fox poured in a season-high 20 points to pace the Bluejays' in the victory. Fox shot 8-of-14 from the field and collected eight rebounds in the victory. Ryan Patton added 12 points, five rebounds and five assists. Senior Brandon Auker made the most of the most of his final game at R.A. Faganel Hall by scoring 11 points and hitting three three-pointers. Ireland finished with a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds while Dotlich came off the bench to finish with 10 points and three assists. Jake Rhode dished out a team-best seven assists in the victory.
 
North Park shot 34.3 percent (23-of-67) from the floor, but just 22.2 percent (8-of-36) from long distance. Colin Lake, the Vikings' leading scorer finished with 16 points, seven points below his per game average. Lake was held to just 28 percent shooting, hitting 6-of-21 attempts. Vergard Tangen added 14 points and six rebounds while Jack Gurvey totaled 12 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
 
Elmhurst wraps up its 2017-18 season next Tuesday, February 20, by traveling to Augustana College.