ELMHURST, Ill. – A poor start to the second doomed the Elmhurst men's basketball team in an 87-70 loss to Millikin University at R.A. Faganel Hall.
 
Elmhurst dropped its fifth straight contest with the loss, slipping to 11-11 overall and 4-9 in the CCIW. Millikin evened its record at 11-11 on the season while improving to 4-9 in league play.
 
Millikin scored the game's first seven points and raced out to a 15-5 lead after just five minutes of action. Elmhurst cut the deficit in half with 6:41 left to play in the half before Millikin used a 10-2 run to open up a 35-22 lead with five minutes remaining in the half. Elmhurst surged back, ripping off a 13-0 run over the next 1:47 to pull even at 35-35. Ryan Patton fueled the run with eight consecutive points for the Bluejays. Millikin led by two (39-37) at the half.
 
The Big Blue started the second half on a 14-4 run, quickly taking a double-digit lead in the process. Leading by 11 points with 13 minutes remaining, the Big Blue scored the next eight points to open up a 62-43 lead and take command of the game. Elmhurst came no closer than 16 points for the duration of the contest as Millikin led by as many as 25 points before coasting to the 17-point victory.
 
Elmhurst struggled with its shooting for much of the contest, finishing the game hitting just 38.3 percent (23-of-60) from the field, including 30.0 percent (6-of-20) from three-point distance. Patton led the Bluejays in the loss, finishing with a team-best 19 points while shooting 6-of-12 from the floor. Jeremy Ireland added 12 points for the Bluejays while Brandon Auker came off the bench to score nine. Pavlos Marakis added eight points and six rebounds for the Bluejays.
 
Millikin finished the contest shooting 58.9 percent (33-of-56) from the floor, including a blistering 64.3 percent (18-of-28) in the second half. The Big Blue hit 8-of-12 three-point attempts and outrebounded Elmhurst 36-26. Zach Fisher carried the Big Blue, finishing with a game-high 33 points while shooting 13-of-17 from the floor, including 6-of-8 from downtown. Elijah Henry added a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds while Michael Beaty came off the bench to score 17.
 
Elmhurst hosts Carthage College on Saturday, February 10.