ELMHURST, Ill. – Aided by a 21-0 run in the opening half, the Elmhurst men's basketball team won its 10th straight contest, defeating Illinois Wesleyan University 89-72 at R.A. Faganel Hall.
 
Elmhurst, ranked fourth in the latest D3hoops.com poll, improved to 16-1 overall and 7-1 in the CCIW with the victory.

The Bluejays started slowly out of the gate, missing their first six shots from the floor and going without a field goal for the first five minutes of the contest. Illinois Wesleyan (11-6, 5-3 CCIW) failed to take advantage of the Bluejays' slow start, leading by only four at 6-2 after the first five minutes of action.

Elmhurst picked up its offense, grabbing its first lead of the contest at 12-11 after a Jay Militello bucket with 11 minutes to play in the half. Illinois Wesleyan moved back in front on a Doug Wallen basket with 10 minutes to play, but Elmhurst took over after that. Trailing 13-12, the Bluejays rattled off 21 consecutive points over the next seven minutes to blow the game open and take a 33-13 lead with 3:21 left on the clock. IWU pulled to within 17 points with 20 seconds remaining, but Derek Dotlich banked home a three-pointer before the horn to give the Bluejays a 43-23 lead at the half. Elmhurst held the Titans to just 25.7 percent (9-of-35) shooting in the opening half.
 
The Bluejays added to their lead in the second half as Nick Perry knocked down a three-pointer on Elmhurst's first possession of the half. Jake Rhode added back-to-back treys to extend the Bluejays' lead to 29 points at 52-23. The Bluejays led by 27 points with eight minutes remaining before Illinois Wesleyan made one last late run. The Titans used a 16-5 run over the next three minutes to chip Elmhurst's lead down to 16 points, but IWU came no closer as Elmhurst quickly pushed its lead back over 20 points before coasting to the 17-point victory.
 
Elmhurst finished the contest shooting 55.4 percent (31-of-56) from the floor, including 42.9 percent (9-of-21) from downtown. The Bluejays hit 18-of-25 attempts (72 percent) from the foul line. The Bluejays' bench outscored the Titans' reserves 24-10 in the win.
 
Four players reached double figures in scoring for Elmhurst. Rhode led the way for the Bluejays, finishing with 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Dotlich added 20 points while hitting 5-of-10 shots from the floor. Militello totaled 11 points and three assists while Lavon Thomas finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and a team-best six assists. Ebrahim Jobe came off the bench to finish with nine points and six rebounds while Dominic Genco chipped in with eight points and four assists. The Bluejays finished with 21 assists on 31 baskets.
 
Illinois Wesleyan finished the contest shooting 39.7 percent (29-of-73) from the floor. The Titans struggled from deep hitting just 5-of-22 attempts from three-point range. Matthew Leritz led the Titans with a game-high 22 points. Leritz shot 10-of-16 and added eight rebounds. Luke Yoder finished with 12 points while Wallen and Peter Lambesis scored 10 points apiece for the Titans.
 
Elmhurst travels to North Park University on Saturday, January 25.