BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Returning to the court for the first time in over two weeks, the Elmhurst University men's basketball team dropped a tightly-contested 80-76 contest at third-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University. 

Elmhurst, ranked 13th in the latest D3hoops.com poll fell to 11-3 overall and 3-2 in the CCIW while the Titans improved to 12-2 overall and 5-1 in league play. 

The Bluejays and Titans went back-and-forth in the opening half, exchanging leads four times and knotting the score six times. The Titans lead by as many as five points while Elmhurst led by as many as eight in the half. The Titans carried a 39-37 lead into halftime. 

Elmhurst came out strong in the second half, opening with a 21-9 lead over the first 10 minutes of action to open up a 58-48 cushion midway through the half. The Titans slowly chipped away before a pair of Matthew Leritz free throws gave IWU a 74-73 lead with two minutes remaining. Elmhurst moved back in front following a three-pointer from Wes Hooker, but the Titans quickly scored the equalizer with one minute left. 

After an Elmhurst turnover, the Titans missed three straight free throws, but an offensive rebound by Cody Mitchell led to a pair of Titan points on free throws. After Elmhurst missed a three-pointer with just five seconds left, Leritz hit a pair of free throws to seal the win for the Titans. 

Elmhurst finished the contest shooting 40.6 percent (26-of-64) from the floor, including 46.7 percent (14-of-30) from downtown. The Bluejays converted 14 offensive rebounds into 19 second chance points and cashed in 23 IWU turnovers for 27 points.

Jake Rhode led all scorers with a season-high 30 points, shooting 11-of-21 from the floor. Rhode finished 8-of-14 from 3-point range, tying an Elmhurst single-game record for 3-pointers in a contest. Rhode added seven rebounds, five assists and five steals in the loss. Wesley Hooker added 20 points, shooting 6-of-8 from the floor and 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. Ocean Johnson added seven points while Jonathan Zapinski and Lavon Thomas scored six points apiece.

The Titans were led by Leritz and Luke Yoder as each player scored 27 points in the win. Leritiz shot 10-of-12 from the floor and added 10 rebounds while Yoder shot 9-of-11 and added six boards and five assists. Ryan Sroka came of the bench to score 16 for the Titans. 

Elmhurst travels to Augustana College on Wednesday, January 19.