ELMHURST, Ill. – The Elmhurst men's basketball team closed out its regular season by upending Carroll University 62-59 at R.A. Faganel Hall.
 
Elmhurst (20-5, 11-5 CCIW) overcame a poor shooting night from the outside to hold off Carroll (11-13, 4-11) and score its 20th victory of the season.
 
The back-and-forth contest featured 10 lead changes and 12 ties with neither squad leading by more than seven points.
 
Elmhurst led 19-15 with nine minutes remaining in the opening half, but Carroll responded with a 14-4 run to grab a 29-23 lead with three minutes remaining. Dominic Genco drained a three-pointer with 1:19 left to cut Carroll's lead in half. After a Jay Militello free throw brought Elmhurst to within two, Genco hit a driving layup at the buzzer to pull Elmhurst even at 29-29.
 
Neither team led by more than four points for the first 17 minutes of the second half. Elmhurst led by four early but Carroll kept the game close before moving in front at 46-43 on a Tarren Hall three-pointer with 6:42 left to play. Elmhurst answered back with a 10-2 run over the next three minutes to move in front at 53-848. The Bluejays pushed their lead up to six points with 2:20 left and led by seven (60-53) with 23 seconds to play. Carroll hit a bucket the buzzer to make the final score 62-59 in favor of the Bluejays.
 
Elmhurst shot 40.0 percent (22-of-55) from the floor and just 20.0 percent (4-of-20) from three-point distance, but the Bluejays were a solid 82.4 percent (14-of-17) from the foul line. Elmhurst also cashed in 14 offensive rebounds for 20 second chance points.  Carroll shot 42.9 percent (24-of-56) from the floor and also struggled from outside, hitting just 4-of-17 shots (23.5 percent) from downtown. Elmhurst outrebounded the Pioneers 41-29.
 
Genco came off the bench to lead the Bluejays with 14 points. Jake Rhode added 11 points, six rebounds and three assists while Lavon Thomas totaled 10 points and seven rebounds while Derek Dotlich scored eight for the Bluejays.
 
Kale Maupin paced Carroll in the loss with 19 points and eight rebounds. Blake Williams added 12 points and six boards while Charlie Soule scored 11 for the Pioneers.
 
With the win, the Bluejays have secured no lower than the fourth-seed for next week's CCIW Tournament. Elmhurst currently sits in third-place in the CCIW standings, but the Bluejays could end up as the No. 3 or No. 4 seed depending on the final standings following Saturday's CCIW schedule. The #3 and #4 seeds will host CCIW Tournament quarterfinal matchups on Tuesday, February 25. The No. 1 (North Central) and No. 2 seeds earn a quarterfinal bye and will move into the semifinals on Friday, February 28.