ELMHURST, Ill. – For the first time in school history, the Elmhurst men's basketball team wrapped up its non-conference schedule with an unbeaten record after defeating Principia College 89-64.

Elmhurst (10-1), ranked 16th in the latest D3hoops.com poll, finished its non-conference schedule with a 9-0 record.
 
Principia (1-8) scored the game's first four points and held an 8-7 lead 4:30 into the contest, but Elmhurst quickly took control. The Bluejays rattled off 12 straight points over a three minute span to open up a 19-8 cushion. Principia pulled back even at 22-22 with a 14-3 run, but Elmhurst answered back with a 27-6 run over the next eight minutes to blow the game open and take a 49-28 lead with 2:20 remaining. Elmhurst led 51-32 at the half.
 
Elmhurst continued to pull away in the second half, leading by as many as 31 points before coasting to the 25-point win.
 
Elmhurst shot 44.0 percent (37-of-84) from the floor, including 27.3 percent (9-of-33) from three-point range. The Bluejays dominated the game inside, outscoring Principia 52-28 in the pain and outrebounding the Panthers 53-34. Elmhurst also scored 25 points off of 21 Principia turnovers.
 
Lavon Thomas led Elmhurst in the win with 19 points and six rebounds. Jake Rhode added 17 points and five boards while Derek Dotlich scored 12 for the Bluejays. Dominic Genco came off the bench to score nine for Elmhurst. In total, 12 different players put points on the scoreboard for the Bluejays.
 
Principia shot 43.4 percent (25-of-53) from the floor, including 38.1 percent (8-of-21) from downtown. The Panthers struggled from the foul line, hitting just 10-of-25 free throw attempts (40.0 percent). AJ Byrd led Principia in the loss with 17 points while Payton Sellers scored 14.
 
Elmhurst (1-1 in the CCIW) resumes conference play on Saturday, January 4, when the team travels to Carroll University.