ELMHURST, Ill. – All five starters reached double figures in scoring to lead the Elmhurst men's basketball team to a 96-81 win over North Park University at R.A. Faganel Hall.

Elmhurst, ranked 11th in the latest D3hoops.com poll, improved to 13-1 overall and 4-1 in the CCIW with the victory. North Park slid to 2-12 overall and 0-5 in league play.
 
The Bluejays scored the opening bucket of the game and never trailed, leading wire-to-wire. The Bluejays opened with an 18-6 run over the first eight minutes of action to take a quick 12-point lead. Elmhurst pushed its lead up to 17 points (27-10) with nine minutes remaining before North Park closed the half on a 24-15 run to cut Elmhurst's lead down to just eight (42-34) at halftime.
 
Elmhurst started quickly in the second, using a 23-11 run over the first 6:30 to open up a 20-point cushion. North Park brought the lead down to 10 with 10 minutes remaining, but the Bluejays answered back with a 9-0 run to push their lead back to 19. North Park chipped the deficit down to nine points with 2:35 remaining, but Elmhurst scored the next five points before closing out the contest at 96-81.
 
Elmhurst finished the contest shoot 53.2 percent (33-of-62) from the floor, including 47.8 percent (11-of-23) from downtown. The Bluejays outrebounded the Vikings 40-34 and outscored North Park 40-32 in the paint.
 
Jake Rhode paced Elmhurst with 24 points and six rebounds, shooting 7-of-14 from the floor. Derek Dotlich added 19 points, hitting 5-of-9 from beyond the arc. Lavon Thomas and Jay Militello both recorded double-doubles. Thomas totaled 18 points and 10 rebounds while Militello scored 10 and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds. Nick Perry added 12 points and five assists for the Bluejays. Perry finished 3-of-3 from three-point distance.
 
North Park shot 47.1 percent (33-of-70) from the floor, including 44.0 percent (11-of-25) from long distance. Toby Marek paced the Vikings with 18 points while Karl Polk recorded a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Elmhurst plays at Carthage College on Wednesday, January 15.