WHEATON, Ill. – The Elmhurst men's basketball team recorded its ninth straight victory by scoring an 82-75 road win at Wheaton College.
 
Elmhurst, ranked 10th in the latest D3hoops.com poll, ran its record to 15-1 overall and 6-1 in the CCIW with the win. The Bluejays moved into a tie at the top of the CCIW standings with their 6-1 CCIW mark. The victory was the Bluejays' first win at Wheaton since the 2008-09 season.
 
The Bluejays jumped out to an early 10-3 lead before Wheaton (10-6, 4-3 CCIW) answered back with a 15-5 run to take a three-point lead following a three-point play from Luke Anthony. Trailing 23-22 with 8:30 left in the half, Jake Rhode knocked down a three-pointer to put the Bluejays in front by two. Elmhurst would not trail for the remainder of the game. The Bluejays carried a 37-35 lead into the locker room at halftime.
 
Elmhurst opened the second half with a 10-0 run over the first three minutes. Back-to-back three-pointers from Rhode and Derek Doltich helped spark the 10-0 run. Elmhurst maintained a double-digit lead for the next 15 minutes, leading by as many as 17 points in the process. The Bluejays led 76-65 with just over two minutes remaining, but Wheaton stormed back late. The Thunder scored six straight points to cut the deficit down to just five points with 1:06 remaining. Elmhurst pushed its lead back to eight with 14 seconds remaining. Nyameye Adom hit a three-pointer with 10 seconds remaining to pull Wheaton back to within five. After an Elmhurst turnover, Wheaton had a chance to pull to within two, but Anthony missed three straight free throws. Dotlich sealed the game with two free throws in the closing seconds.
 
Elmhurst finished the contest shooting 43.1 percent (25-of-58) from the floor including 47.1 percent (8-of-17) from beyond the arc. The Bluejays took advantage of 24 fouls, hitting 24-of-35 attempts from the free throw line.
 
Rhode led the way for Elmhurst, finishing with 24 points and three assists. Rhode shot 8-of-18 from the floor, including 4-of-8 from downtown. Dotlich finished with 20 points, hitting 12-of-13 from the free throw line. Lavon Thomas added another double-double, totaling 14 points and 10 rebounds to go along with four assists. Dominc Genco came off the bench to score nine while Jay Militello finished with eight points. Nick Perry added seven points and four assists.
 
Wheaton shot 44.9 percent (31-of-69) from the field, including 33.3 percent (11-of-33) from three-point range. Anajuwon Spencer led the Thunder in the loss, finishing with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Adom and Anthony finished with 18 points apiece for the Thunder.
 
Elmhurst plays host to Illinois Wesleyan University on Wednesday, January 22.