NAPERVILLE, Ill. – The Elmhurst men's basketball team was unable to hold onto a 13-point halftime lead as a poor second half doomed the Bluejays in an 82-70 road loss at North Central College.
 
The loss snapped Elmhurst's four-game winning streak and dropped the Bluejays to 9-5 overall and 4-1 in the CCIW. North Central upped its record to 12-3 overall and 4-2 in league play with the win.
 
Elmhurst started quickly, opening the game on a 14-6 run over the first five minutes of action. Elmhurst led by 11 with 8:30 to play in the half before North Central used a 9-0 run to pull to within two with seven minutes remaining. Elmhurst responded by closing the half on a 17-6 run to build a 43-30 lead at the half. The Bluejays shot 56.7 percent (17-of-30) in the opening half, including 53.8 percent (7-of-13) from three-point range. Meanwhile, the Cardinals struggled, hitting just 38.7 percent (12-of-31) from the field and connecting on just 1-of-11 attempts (9.1 percent) from three-point distance.
 
The Cardinals stormed out quickly in the second half pulling even at 45-45 after opening the half on a 15-2 run over the first six minutes of play. Elmhurst pushed its lead back to five points at 50-45, but North Central countered with a 15-1 run to open up a nine-point cushion with seven minutes left to play. Elmhurst brought the lead down to five points with 5:47 left on the clock, but the Cardinals outscored the Bluejays 22-15 for the remainder of the contest to pull away for the 12-point win.
 
Elmhurst struggled in the second half hitting just 9-of-29 attempts (31.0 percent) to finish the contest at 44.1 percent (26-of-59). The Bluejays shot just 1-of-8 from downtown in the second half to finish at 38.1 percent (8-of-21) for the game. Jake Rhode led Elmhurst in the loss with a game-high 25 points while also adding five assists. Jeremy Ireland added 12 points and five rebounds while Nick Perry and Jay Militello added nine points apiece. Militello and Lavon Thomas pulled down seven rebounds apiece for Elmhurst.
 
North Central hit 15-of-29 shots (51.7 percent) in the second half, including 6-of-12 (50.0 percent) from downtown. The Cardinals finished the contest shooting 45.0 percent (27-of-60) from the floor, including 30.4 percent (7-of-23) from three-point range. Five players finished in double figures for North Central. Connor Raridon totaled 17 points and nine assists while Aaron Jones added 16 points. Tommy Koth and Will Clausel scored 14 points while Blaise Meredith finished with 10 points.
 
Elmhurst hosts Augustana College on Wednesday, January 9.