BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The Elmhurst men's basketball team erased a nine-point halftime deficit, but Illinois Wesleyan used a 9-0 run over the final few minutes to rally past the Bluejays 79-76.
 
Elmhurst (12-11) slipped to 7-7 in league play and fell a game-behind Illinois Wesleyan (15-8, 8-6 CCIW) in the race for the fourth-seed and the right to host a first-round CCIW Tournament game. The Titans also earned the tiebreaker between the two teams by virtue of the two-game series sweep.
 
Illinois Wesleyan scored the game's first eight points and never trailed in the opening half. The Titans slowly pushed their lead up to nine points and carried a 42-33 lead into the locker room at halftime.
 
Elmhurst surged back in the second, chipping away at the Titans lead and pulling to within two points six minutes into the half. The Titans pushed their lead back to five, but an 8-0 Elmhurst run fueled by six points from Jeremy Ireland gave Elmhurst its first lead of the contest at 54-51 with 11 minutes remaining.
 
The lead changed hands four times over the next six minutes until the Bluejays used an 8-0 run sparked by a pair of three-pointers from Derek Dotlich to build a 69-62 lead with 5:30 remaining. Elmhurst led by five with just under three minutes remaining when the Titans mounted their final run. Back-to-back three-pointers gave IWU a one-point cushion with just over a minute left. After an Elmhurst turnover, the Titans scored the game's next three points, opening up a 77-73 lead with 21 seconds remaining. A three-point play from Jake Rhode brought Elmhurst to within one. IWU hit a pair of free throws with 12 seconds left to extend their lead back to three. Elmhurst had one last look with a corner three-pointer, but the shot came up short, giving the Titans the win.
 
Elmhurst finished the game shooting 54.5 percent (30-of-55) from the floor in the loss, including 52.9 percent (9-of-17) from three-point distance. Ireland and Dotlich powered the Bluejays in the loss. Ireland scored a game-high 21 points, shooting 9-of-15 from the floor while also collecting eight rebounds. Dotlich splashed down 6-of-8 three-point attempts to finish with 20 points. Rhode added 12 points and five assists while Pavlos Marakis scored eight points and pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds.
 
IWU finished the game shooting 46.9 percent (30-of-64) from the floor, including 35.7 percent (10-of-28) from beyond the arc. The Titans turned 13 offensive rebounds into 17 second chance points, outscoring the Bluejays 17-8 on second chance opportunities. Four Titans reached double figures in scoring. Doug Wallen led the way With 18 points while Jason Gregoire scored 14. Brady Rose added 12 points and seven assists while Colin Bonnett added 10 points for IWU.
 
Elmhurst hosts Carroll University on Wednesday, February 13.