ELMHURST, Ill. – The Elmhurst men's basketball team could not overcome a sluggish opening half, falling to North Central College 78-71 in the Bluejays final home game of the 2018-19 season.
 
Elmhurst slipped to 12-13 overall and 7-9 in the CCIW with the loss while North Central improved to 20-5 overall and 12-4 in league play. With the loss, the Bluejays secured the sixth seed in the upcoming CCIW Tournament.
 
The Bluejays struggled out of the gate, missing their first seven shots and turning the ball over four times while North Central raced out to a 12-0 lead. The Bluejays went over six minutes without a bucket before a Jake Rhode three-pointer put Elmhurst on the scoreboard. The Cardinals continued to have a hot hand, opening up a 20-point cushion with 6:35 left in the half and carrying the 20-point lead into the locker room at halftime (46-26). Elmhurst shot just 30.8 percent (8-of-26) in the half while the Cardinals hit 19-of-30 attempts (63.3 percent).
 
Trailing by 21 early in the second half, the Bluejays ignited a massive rally, using a 23-7 run over the next eight minutes to pull to within five points at 57-52 and forcing the Cardinals to burn a timeout. North Central answered back with a run of its own. The Cardinals used a 13-2 run over the next four minutes to push their lead back to 16 points at 70-54 with 6:24 remaining. Elmhurst made last one push, closing to within seven points with 22 seconds remaining, but the Bluejays came no closer as North Central sealed the seven-point win.
 
Elmhurst finished the contest shooting 40.4 percent (23-of-57) from the floor compared to North Central's 51.8 percent (29-of-56). The Bluejays hit 13-of-30 (43.3 percent) from beyond the arc.
 
Jake Rhode led Elmhurst in the loss , finishing with a team-high 18 points to go along with five assists. Derek Dotlich added 14 points while Jeremy Ireland scored nine and p ulled down seven rebounds. Austin Brown chipped in with eight points for the Bluejays.
 
Tommy Koth paced the Cardinals in the win with 23 points, shooting 9-of-16 from the floor. Connor Raridon finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds and six assists while Will Clausel scored 16 for NCC.
 
Elmhurst will be the #6 seed in next week's CCIW Tournament. The Bluejays will travel to Wheaton on Tuesday, February 19, for a first-round matchup with the third-seeded Thunder.