ELMHURST, Ill. – Jake Rhode topped 1,000 points for his career by scoring 17 points to lead the Elmhurst men's basketball team in a convincing 75-50 season opening win over St. Norbert College at R.A. Faganel Hall.
 
Elmhurst (1-0) used a 14-2 run late in the first half and a pair of big runs in the second half to coast to the 25-point victory over St. Norbert (0-2).
Both teams were sluggish with their shooting to open the contest. Elmhurst led 13-8 six minutes into the contest, but the Bluejays went scoreless over the next six minutes as St. Norbert crept in front at 17-13 with a 9-0 run with eight minutes left in the half. Elmhurst surged in front with a 10-0 run over the next three minutes. Derek Dotlich connected on a pair of three-pointers and Jay Militello added two buckets to fuel the Bluejays' run.
 
The Green Knights cut the deficit down to three with just under five minutes remaining, but Elmhurst responded with a 14-2 run over the next 4:45 to extend its lead to 15 points (37-22) following a pair of free throws from Militello. St. Norbert hit a bucket at the buzzer to trail 37-24 at the half. Elmhurst shot an even 50.0 percent (14-of-28) from the field in the opening half. Both teams struggled from the three-point arc in the opening 20 minutes. Elmhurst hit 4-of-14 attempts (28.6 percent) while St. Norbert knocked down just 2-of-9 (22.2) from downtown.
 
St. Norbert cut Elmhurst's lead down to eight points on two occasions early in the second half, but the Green Knights came no closer as Elmhurst quickly pulled away. Leading by nine (44-35) with 12 minutes remaining, the Bluejays rattled off an 11-0 run over the next two minutes to open up a 20-0 points lead. Ebrahim Jobe had a pair of dunks and Jake Rhode added five points to ignite the run. St. Norbert cut the deficit down to 16 points with eight minutes remaining, but the Bluejays responded with a 10-0 run over the next four minutes to open up a 28-point cushion and put the game away.
 
Elmhurst finished the game shooting 45.9 percent (28-of-61) from the floor while St. Norbert shot 37.7 percent (20-of-53). The Bluejays finished 7-of-25 (28.0 percent) from downtown while the Green Knights hit only 5-of-27 attempts (18.5 percent) from downtown. St. Norbert turned the ball over 18 times leading to 28 points for the Bluejays. Elmhurst gave the ball away just five times. The Bluejays also outscored St. Norbert 29-4 on fast break points and 38-24 on points in the paint.
 
Three players reached double figures to lead a balanced Elmhurst scoring attack. Rhode led all scorers with a game-high 17 points. With his 17 points, Rhode eclipsed the 1,000 point mark for his career becoming the 26th player in Elmhurst history to join the 1,000 points club. He now stands at 1,002 points for his career. Dotlich added 15 points and five rebounds while Militello finished with 10 points and a game-high six assists and four steals. Lavon Thoms and Jobe totaled nine points apiece. Thomas pulled down a game-high nine rebounds in the win. Wesley Hooker added six points and two steals for the Bluejays. Nine different Bluejays put points on the scoreboard in the victory.
 
Joe Ciriacks led St. Norbert with 14 points while Connor Curtis added 12 points and six rebounds.
 
Elmhurst hosts the Illinois Institute of Technology on Tuesday, November 19.