ELMHURST, Ill. – The Elmhurst men's basketball team overcame a sluggish opening half to pull away from the Illinois Institute of Technology in the second half for an 83-61 win at R.A. Faganel Hall.
 
Elmhurst (2-0) struggled at the start of the opening half, falling behind IIT (0-2) 21-12 at the midway point of the half. Elmhurst ripped off a 9-0 run keyed by a pair of Derek Dotlich three-pointers and a three-point play from Ebrahim Jobe to pull even at 21-21. IIT moved back in front at 26-23, but the Bluejays answered back with an 8-0 run to grab a 31-26 lead with 2:30 remaining. Back-to-back three-pointers put IIT up 32-31 with 90 seconds left in the half, but it would mark the Scarlet Hawk's last lead of the game. A Jay Militello bucket with just over a minute remaining put Elmhurst back in front and Jake Rhode added a free throw before the half to give the Bluejays a 34-32 lead at the break.
 
IIT cut Elmhurst's lead down to one early in the second half. Elmhurst led by three at 40-37 before ripping off a 9-0 run to open up a 12-point cushion with 14 minutes left. IIT brought the lead back down to 10 at the midway point, but Elmhurst rattled off 10 points in the next 1:20 to double its lead to 20 points at (65-45). Rhode scored seven of the Bluejays' 10 points in the run. IIT came no closer than a 17-point deficit for the remainder of the contest. Elmhurst led by as many as 24 points before coasting to the 22-point victory.
 
Elmhurst finished the contest shooting 47.4 percent (27-of-57) from the floor, including 56.7 percent (17-of-30) in the second half. The Bluejays shot 30.0 percent (6-of-20) from beyond the arc. Elmhurst led the battle on the glass, outrebounding IIT 37-34. Elmhurst also outscored IIT 38-24 in the paint and took advantage of 23 Scarlet Hawk turnovers to score 29 points.
 
Four players reached double figures for the Bluejays in the win. Rhode led the Bluejays with 20 points, shooting 7-of-13 from the floor. He added six rebounds, three assists and three steals in the win. Dotlich finished with 13 points while Lavon Thomas and Militello totaled 11 points apiece. Jobe came off the bench to score nine points and block two shots. Nick Perry added six points and four assists for the Bluejays.
 
IIT shot 39.0 percent (23-of-59) from the floor, including 30.0 percent (6-of-20) from downtown. Miles Curry led IIT in the loss with 20 points and seven rebounds. Otis Reale added 13 points while Ahmad Muhammad finished with 11.
 
Elmhurst plays at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh on Saturday, November 23.