KENOSHA, Wis. – Five Bluejays reached double figures in scoring to lead the 10th-ranked Elmhurst men's basketball team to a hard-fought 88-84 road win over Carthage College.
 
Elmhurst, ranked 10th in D3hoops.com's latest national poll, upped its record to 14-1 overall and 5-1 in the CCIW with the victory.
 
Carthage (10-5/2-4 CCIW) jumped out to a fast start as the Red Men scored 12 of the game's first 14 points to open up a 12-2 lead just four minutes into the contest. The Red Men led by as many as 13 points in the opening seven minutes before Elmhurst answered back. The Bluejays used a 15-4 run over a five-minute span to cut the deficit down to just two points with eight minutes remaining in the half. The Bluejays' bench ignited the run, scoring 13 of the team's 15 points. Jonathan Zapinski scored seven points for Elmhurst in the run. The Red Men pushed their lead back to four points with six minutes left, but Elmhurst rattled off a 15-3 run over the next four minutes to open up an eight-point cushion at 43-35. The Bluejays led 45-42 at the half.
 
The start of the second half featured four lead changes and three ties over the first six minutes of action. With the score even at 59-59, Deterk Dotlich and Jay Militello drained back-to-back three-pointers to put Elmhurst back up by six. Elmhurst pushed its lead up to 10 points with 7:42 left in the contest, but Carthage used a 13-3 run over the next four minutes to pull even at 79-79. A three-point play from Jake Rhode put the Bluejays up for good with 3:29 left. Rhode followed with a pair of free throws following a Carthage miss, giving the Bluejays an 84-79 cushion with 2:30 remaining. Carthage's Jordan Kedrowski hit a three-pointer with one minute left to trim Elmhurst's lead down to just two. After Elmhurst missed a pair of free throws, Carthage missed a layup with 15 seconds remaining. Dotlich was fouled and hit both free throws to push the Bluejays' lead back to four points. With fouls to give, Elmhurst deliberately fouled Carthage to run time off the clock. The Red Men missed one final jumper in the closing seconds as the Bluejays held on for the four-point win.
 
Both teams shot over 50 percent from the floor and 40 percent from downtown in the contest. Elmhurst shot 50.8 percent (33-of-65) from the field, including 42.3 percent (11-of-26) from downtown. Carthage finished the game hitting 55.6 percent (35-of-63) from the floor, including 40.9 percent (9-of-22) from beyond the arc.
 
Rhode led Elmhurst in the win, finishing with 17 points and 14 assists. His 14 assists ties the third-highest single-game total in school history. Dotlich tallied 14 points while hitting four three-pointers while Militello scored 13. Lavon Thomas added a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds. The Bluejays' bench added 33 points in the win. Dominic Genco scored 12 while Zapinski, Brad Hubly and Ebrahim Jobe all totaled seven points apiece.
 
Carthage was led by Brad Perry's 19 points and 11 rebounds. Crishawn Cook added 15 points while Kienan Baltimore came off the bench to score 14. Filip Bulatovic (12 points) and Kedrowski (11 points) also reached double figures in scoring for Carthage.
 
Elmhurst travels to Wheaton College on Saturday, January 18.