ROCK ISLAND, Ill. - The Elmhurst men's basketball team led for over 27 minutes of action, but the Bluejays came up just shot in a 78-73 road loss at second-ranked Augustana College.

Elmhurst (9-9, 4-5 CCIW) led 37-30 at the half and led by as many as 12 points in the second half before Augustana (18-1, 10-0) rallied back for the win. A pair of free throws from Chishawn Orange with five seconds remaining put the Vikings up 74-73. Derek Dotlich took the inbound pass and raced to the basket on the other end of the court but was whistled for charging with 0.8 seconds left. Augustana hit four free throws down the stretch to put the game away. 

Elmhurst started quickly, shooting 52.4 percent (11-of-21) from the floor in the opening half. The Bluejays were hot from beyond the arc, splashing home 7-of-12 attempts (58.3 percent) from three-point distance. Leading by just a point at 27-26 with three minutes remaining in the half, Elmhurst rattled off a 10-0 run to open up an 11-point cushion with less than a minute remaining. The Vikings scored the final four points of the half to trail 37-30 at halftime. 

The Bluejays extended their lead to 12 points early in the second half only to see Augustana rally back. The Vikings cut Elmhurst's lead down to six with 13 minutes remaining, but the Bluejays pushed their lead back up to nine points and led 61-53 with 7:21 left to play. The Vikings responded with a 10-0 run to take their first lead off the half at 63-61 with 5:22 left. A pair of free throws from Jay Militello tied the score and Jeremy Ireland knocked down a three-pointer to put the Bluejays up 66-63 with four minutes remaining. 

Augustana pulled to within a point twice over the next two minutes, but Elmhurst answered back each time to reestablish a three-point cushion. The Bluejays led 70-67 with 1:26 left to play, but Nolan Ebel tied the game at 70-all with a three-pointer. Nick Perry's driving layup put the Bluejays back up by two with 40 seconds left, but Orange scored the equalizer on Augustana's next possession, tying the game at 72-72 with 30 seconds left. Jake Rhode was fouled with 17 seconds left and split two free throws to give Elmhurst a 73-72 lead. Orange was fouled with five seconds remaining, hitting both free throws for Augustana and setting up the wild finish to the contest. 

Elmhurst finished the game shooting 47.9 percent (23-of-48) from the floor, including 44.0 percent (11-of-25) from three-point range. Rhode led Elmhurst with a game-high 33 points in the loss, shooting 9-of-14 from the floor and 6-of-10 from downtown. Ireland added 16 points while Militello chipped in with nine points. 

Augustana finished the game shooting 40.7 percent from the field (24-of-59), including 33.3 percent (9-of-27) from three-point range. The Vikings took advantage of 17 Elmhurst turnovers to score 20 points, outscoring the Bluejays 20-2 in points off of turnovers. Ebel led the way with 28 points while Orange scored 13 for the Vikings. Pierson Wofford added 10 points and six assists for Augustana.

Elmhurst hosts Millikin University on Saturday, January 26.