CHICAGO, Ill. – Jay Militello scored 16 of his career-high 23 points in the second half while helping the Elmhurst University men's basketball team upend North Park University 80-68.
 
Elmhurst recorded its second straight victory with the win, upping its record to 2-1 on the season.
 
The Bluejays started the contest cold as North Park (1-8) raced out to an 11-point lead (19-8) just eight minutes into the contest. Mike Osborne powered the Vikings' start, scoring 12 of the team's first 19 points.
 
Elmhurst responded with a 20-8 run over the next eight minutes, taking its first lead of the game on a Jonathan Zapinski putback. The Vikings moved back in front before the half to carry a 35-32 lead into the locker room at halftime.
 
North Park extended its lead to five early in the second half, but Elmhurst responded with an 8-0 run to open up a 43-39 lead. The two teams traded leads four times over the next five minutes before the Bluejays moved in front for good. The Bluejays led by two with 6:30 remaining before ripping off a 12-0 run over the next five minutes to open up a 14-point cushion before putting the game away.
 
Elmhurst finished the contest shooting 45.2 percent (28-of-62) from the floor, including 33.3 percent (6-of-18) from three-point distance. The Bluejays held a 40-34 edge on the glass. North Park finished the contest hitting 41.3 percent of its shots (26-of-63), but only 26.1 percent (6-of-23) from downtown.
 
Militello paced Elmhurst in the win, finishing one rebound shy of a double-double with 23 points and nine rebounds. He hit 9-of-19 shots, including a pair of three-pointers. Ocean Johnson, Bryce Drews and Zapinksi added 14 points apiece for Elmhurst. Zapinski shot 6-of-7 form the floor while collecting six rebounds. Johnson hit 4-of-9 shots while grabbing five rebounds. Drews came off the bench to shoot 5-of-10 from the field while adding three assists.
 
Osborne led North Park in the loss, totaling 25 points and six rebounds while shooting 11-of-18 from the floor. Toby Marek added 17 points while Jordan Boyd scored 10 for the Vikings.
 
Elmhurst travels to Millikin University tomorrow (February 18) for a 7:00 p.m. contest.