ELSAH, Ill. - Six Bluejays reached double figures in scoring to help the Elmhurst University men's basketball team cruise to a 107-77road victory at Principia College.
Elmhurst (2-0), ranked 10th in the D3hoops.com Preseason poll, earned scored the game's first basket and never looked back, leading from wire-to-wire. Elmhurst opened the contest with a 16-4 lead to lead by a dozen after five minutes of action. Principia cut the deficit down to four with 12 minutes remaining, but the Bluejays responded with a 16-6 run over the next five minutes to open up a 15-point cushion. The Bluejays led by 14 (51-37) at the half. Elmhurst shot a blistering 55.6 percent (20-of-36) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes of play.
The Bluejays scored the first eight points of the second half to extend their lead to 22 points. The Bluejays led by as many as 36 points before coasting to the 30-point victory.
Elmhurst finished 60.6 percent from the floor, hitting 43-of-71 shots. The Bluejays hit 8-of-21 (38.1 percent) from 3-point range. Elmhurst dominated the game inside, outscoring Principia 62-26 in the paint. Elmhurst finished with a 37-21 edge in rebounding and turned 15 offensive rebounds into 24 second chance points.
Dominic Genco led Elmhurst with 19 points, finishing 9-of-12 from the floor.
Lavon Thomas added 18 points and six rebounds, hitting 7-of-9 shots in the victory.
Hunter Merritt came off the bench to score 14, connecting on three 3-pointers.
Wesley Hooker added 12 points and six rebounds while
Jay Militello and
Ocean Johnson scored 10 points apiece in the victory. Militello added a team-high four assists for the Bluejays. In total, 13 different Bluejays scored points in the victory.
Principia shot 50 percent (25-of-50) from the floor in the contest, including 40 percent (12-of-30) from beyond the arc. Payton Sellers led the Panthers with 28 points, shooting 9-of-13 from the field, including 5-of-9 from downtown. AJ Byrd added 18 points while Kevin Wingert scored 17.
Elmhurst travels to the Illinois Institute of Technology on Wednesday, November 17.
