WHEATON, Ill. – Derek Dotlich scored a career-high 29 points, but it wasn't enough as the Elmhurst men's basketball team bowed out of the CCIW Tournament with an 85-75 loss at Wheaton College.
 
Elmhurst, seeded sixth in the tournament, jumped out to a nine-point halftime lead behind the hot hand of Dotlich. Dotlich drilled six three-pointers in the opening half, scoring 20 points as Elmhurst raced out to an early lead. The Bluejays led by nine with 8:30 left in the half thanks to an 8-0 run sparked by back-to-back threes from Dotlich. Wheaton pulled to within two points with 2:41 left, but back-to-back buckets from Jeremy Ireland and a three-pointer from Jake Rhode put Elmhurst up 42-33 at the half.
 
The Bluejays shot 53.1 percent (17-of-32) form the floor in the opening half, including 43.8 percent (7-of-16) from beyond the arc.
 
Wheaton quickly surged back in the second half as Elmhurst went cold. The Thunder hit three straight three-pointers to open with a 9-0 run and pull even at 42-all. Wheaton opened up a five-point cushion after three free throws from Aston Francis with 10:30 remaining, but Elmhurst responded, tying the game at 66-66 after a Nick Perry three-pointer with 5:30 left. A Rhode three-pointer gave the Bluejays a 71-68 lead with 4:30 left, but Elmhurst went cold for the remainder of the game, scoring just four points on four free throws as Wheaton closed the game on a 17-4 run to pull away for the 10-point lead.

Elmhurst shot 35.7 percent (10-of-28) from the floor in the second half, including just 28.6 percent (4-of-14) from three-point range. The Bluejays finished the contest at 45.0 percent shooting (27-of-60), including 36.7 percent (11-of-30) form long distance.
 
Dotlich finished with 29 points, shooting 9-of-14 from the floor, including 7-of-11 from three-point range. Dotlich's seven three-pointers was one shy of tying Elmhurst's single-game record. Rhode added 21 points and five assists while Jeremy Ireland scored 11 and collected eight rebounds.
 
Wheaton elevated its game in the second half, shooting 56.5 percent (13-of-23), including 52.9 percent (9-of-17) from three-point range in the final 20 minutes of action. Aston Francis took over for the Thunder in the second half, scoring 22 of his game-high 32 points in the second half. Francis finished the game shooting 8-of-18 from the floor, including 6-of-15 from deep and 10-of-11 from the foul line. Luke Anthony added 14 points while Anajuwon Spencer and Spencer Peterson scored 10 points apiece.
 
Elmhurst finished the season with a 12-14 overall record.