ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Lavon Thomas finished with a season-high double-double of 24 points and 13 rebounds to power the Elmhurst University men's basketball team to an 89-73 road win over Augustana College.
 
The victory was the fifth consecutive win for Elmhurst, upping its record to 5-1 in the process. Augustana slipped to 5-3 overall with the loss.
 
After a back-and-forth opening 10 minutes at the start of the game, Elmhurst seized control. Trailing 23-21 with nine minutes left in the opening half, the Bluejays ripped of a 12-0 run, fueled by a pair of three-pointers from Ocean Johnson, a triple from Thomas and a three-point play from Dominic Genco. The Bluejays pushed their lead up to 11 points in the opening half and carried a 42-35 lead into halftime.
 
After trailing by 11 early in the second, Augustana sliced Elmhurst's lead down to just five points with 6:36 remaining, but Elmhurst used a 12-2 run to open up a 15-point cushion after a Bryce Drews' three-pointer. The Vikings came no closer than nine points for the duration of the contest as the Bluejays led by as many as 18 points before cruising to the 89-73 victory.
 
Elmhurst shot 46.5 percent (33-of-71) from the floor, but were red hot from downtown, hitting 51.9 percent (14-of-27) from three-point distance. Elmhurst controlled the game inside, outrebounding Augustana 43-28, including a 17-5 edge in offensive rebounds. The Bluejays outscored the Vikings' 14-3 in second chance points.
 
Thomas led the way for Elmhurst with season-highs in points (24) and rebounds (13) while shooting 9-of-16 from the floor. He connected on all four of his three-point attempts and added four assists in the win. Jay Militello added a double-double of his own, totaling 17 points and 10 rebounds to go along with five assists. Genco added 15 points, five assists and three steals while Johnson totaled 13 points while shooting 4-of-6 from downtown. Hunter Merritt and Drews added six points apiece off the bench.
 
Augustana shot 46.4 percent (26-of-56) from the field, including 41.7 percent (10-of-24) from three-point range. Daniel Carr paced the Vikings in the loss, totaling a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds. Carter Duwa scored 15 points and Justin Bottorff totaled 10 points in the loss.
 
Elmhurst hosts Carthage College on Thursday, February 25.