WHEATON, Ill. –  The Elmhurst University men's basketball team rallied from a double-digit second-half deficit, but the Bluejays came up one-point short in an 84-83 road loss at Wheaton College.
 
Elmhurst erased a 12-point second-half deficit, moving in front of the Thunder 83-82 with 13 seconds remaining after Lavon Thomas connected on a hook shot. Wheaton took the lead back on Nyameye Adom's driving layup with just over five seconds left. Elmhurst had a chance to win it at the horn, but Jake Rhode's 3-pointer rimmed off at the buzzer.
 
Elmhurst, ranked 12th in the latest D3hoops.com poll, slipped to 12-4 overall and 4-3 in the CCIW while Wheaton, ranked 14th, improved to 14-4 overall and 6-3 in league play.
 
The opening half featured six lead changes and three ties as the two teams went back-and-forth for the first 14 minutes of action. Wheaton held an early six point cushion while Elmhurst held a five-point advantage early. Leading by two (30-28) with six minutes remaining in the half, Wheaton finished strong, using a 20-10 run to open up a 50-38 lead with 34 seconds left in the half. A Jake Rhode 3-pointer cut Wheaton's lead down to 50-41 at the half.
 
The Thunder stretched their lead to 12 points six minutes into the second half, but back-to-back triples from Rhode sliced the deficit in half. Wheaton pushed its lead back to 11 with just over 10 minutes remaining before Elmhurst began its rally. The Bluejays ripped off nine straight points, cutting the deficit down to just two with six minutes left. Rhode's sixth 3-pointer of the night put the Bluejays in front 81-80 with four minutes left. Tyson Cruickshank put the Thunder back in front with a layup with 3:22 remaining. The score remained a one-point Wheaton lead until the final seconds and the dramatic finish.
 
Both teams finished the game shooting 49.2 percent on the night, hitting 31-of-63 attempts. Both teams also hit 11 3-pointers.
 
Rhode led the way for Elmhurst in the loss, finishing with a game-high 23 points after shooting 6-of-11 from beyond the arc. Lavon Thomas came off the bench to score 19 points while Ocean Johnson added 15 points and six rebounds. Jay Militello also reached double-figures in scoring, finishing with 11. Wesley Hooker added seven points and seven rebounds for the Bluejays.
 
Wheaton was led by Cruickshank's 21 points and five assists. Cade ALioth scored 17 and collected 11 rebounds to finish with a double-double. Adom scored 14 and Collin Uvegas added 11 for the Thunder.
 
Elmhurst plays at North Central College on Monday, January 24.