ELMHURST, Ill. – The Elmhurst men's basketball team upped its record to 18-2 on the season by holding off a second-half rally from Wheaton College to score an 80-69 victory at R.A. Faganel Hall.
 
Elmhurst (18-2, 9-2 CCIW) led for 39 minutes and led by as many as 17 points before Wheaton (12-7, 6-4 CCIW) closed the gap in the final few minutes.
 
The Bluejays moved in front at 5-3 early in the contest and never trailed for the remainder of the game. Leading by three (17-14) with 14 minutes left in the half, the Bluejays used a 23-11 run over the next seven minutes to open up a 40-25 lead with five minutes remaining. Wheaton finished the half on a 12-5 run to pull to within eight points (45-37) at halftime.  Elmhurst shot 61.5 percent (8-of-13) from beyond the arc in the opening half.
 
Elmhurst started quickly in the second half, opening up a 17-point cushion (61-44) with 12 minutes remaining. Wheaton slowly chipped away at the Elmhurst lead, closing to within eight points with eight minutes remaining. The Thunder continued to fight their way back, slicing Elmhurst's lead down to four points with 3:52 left and again at 2:37 remaining. The Thunder came no closer as Elmhurst put the game away from the foul line hitting 8-of-12 free throws in the final minutes while limiting Wheaton to only one point in the final 2:30.
 
The Bluejays shot 48.3 percent (28-of-58) from the floor, including 44.4 percent (8-of-18) from three-point distance. The Bluejays hit 16-of-23 attempts from the foul line. Elmhurst won the battle on the glass, outrebounding the Thunder 40-30.
 
Derek Dotlich led Elmhurst in the win, totaling 20 points and seven rebounds. Jake Rhode added 19 points, five boards and six assists. Lavon Thomas finished with 12 points and six rebounds. Jay Militello chipped in with nine points and seven rebounds. Dominic Genco and Ebrahim Jobe came off the bench to score six points apiece.
 
Wheaton shot 45.2 percent (28-of-62) in the contest, including 21.4 percent (6-of-28) from deep. Tyson Cruickshank paced Wheaton with 25 points and six rebounds awhile Nyameye Adom totaled 16 points. Cade Alioth totaled 12 points and seven rebounds while Anajuwon Spencer scored 10.
 
Elmhurst hosts Carthage College on Wednesday, February 5.