WHEATON, Ill.  – The Elmhurst men's basketball team led by as many as eight points in the second half, but the Bluejays could not hold off a late rally, falling 58-55 at Wheaton College.
 
Both teams struggled with their shooting in the low-scoring contest as each squad shot under 35.0 percent from the floor. Elmhurst dropped to 11-10 overall and 6-6 in the CCIW with the loss while Wheaton improved to 16-6 and 9-4 in league play.
 
Both Elmhurst and Wheaton went through stretches in the opening half without buckets as the two teams traded leads eight times in the opening 20 minutes. Elmhurst led 25-24 at the half.
 
The two squads continued to trade buckets early at the start of the second half as the lead changed hands eight more times in the first six minutes of action. Trailing 34-33, the Blujeays rattled off a 9-0 run to open up an eight-point cushion with 10:45 left to play. Wheaton sliced the lead back to three points, but the Bluejays reestablished the eight-point cushion with just seven minutes remaining. Wheaton answered back with a 9-2 run to move in front with four minutes left. A Jeremy Ireland three-pointer put the Bluejays up 55-53 with just 90 seconds left, but two free throws from Aston Francis tied the score at 55-55 with 1:20 left to play. Elmhurst had two chances on its next possession, but Wheaton came up with a rebound and Francis drilled a three-pointer with 35 seconds left to give the Thunder a 58-55.
 
The Bluejays had two chances to tie the game in the final seconds, but a three-pointer came up short with 15 seconds. After a free throw miss from Wheaton, Luke Peters blocked a potential game-tying three-pointer with just three seconds left, allowing the Thunder to preserve the win.
 
Elmhurst shot 333 percent (22-of-66) in the loss, including 18.5 percent (5-of-27) from downtown. Wheaton hit just 32.2 percent of its shots (19-of-59), but connected on 9-of-29 attempts (31.0 percent) from downtown. The Bluejays outscored Wheaton 22-14 in the paint and scored 10 points off of 11 Wheaton turnovers.

Ireland paced Elmhurst in the loss with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Pavlos Marakis added 11 points and seven boards while Derek Dotlich finished with 10.
 
Francis paced the Thunder with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Nyameye Adom and Anajuwon Spencer chipped in with nine points apiece while Peters totaled eight points and nine boards for the Thunder.
 
Elmhurst plays at North Park University on Wednesday, February 6.