ELMHURST, Ill. - The Elmhurst University men's basketball team fell to the North Central Cardinals 79-71 Saturday evening inside R.A. Faganel Hall.

Elmhurst (7-3, 1-3 CCIW) led just once in the game and shot just 42% from the field, while leading scorer Ocean Johnson was held to just three points. Reigning CCIW Student-Athlete of the Week John Ittounas tallied 11 points for the Bluejays, while Tagen Pearson notched a career-high 21 points on 6-for-8 shooting, including four from beyond the arc. Jonathan Zapinski and Matt Woloch both grabbed nine rebounds, while Myles Thomas and Jaiden Malichi each had three assists in the game.

North Central (5-5, 2-2 CCIW) had four players tally double-digit points, with Mitch Lewis leading the way with 19 points on 8-for-10 shooting from the field, while John Blumeyer tallied 15 points and Shea Cupples knocked down five points from the charity line en route to 14 points. 

The game was tight in the first ten minutes, with the Cardinals lead never growing past seven points. With the score standing at 26-19 in favor of the visitors with seven minutes to go, North Central the Cardinals finished the half on an 11-6 run behind hot shooting behind-the-arc to open an 11-point halftime lead. 

The Cardinals continued their run into the second half, opening with a 12-2 run to extend the lead to 21 with 16 minutes to go. With 3:48 to go in the game, the Cardinals led 72-58 and looked to close out the Bluejays after Blumeyer knocked down a triple, but the Bluejays would not go out quietly. Pearson began to heat up from the field, hitting a pair of free throws and a triple to bring the Bluejays within nine points with less than three to go. Woloch then provided a spark for the Bluejays, hitting a pair of jumpers and a three-pointer to cut the Cardinal lead to four with 16 seconds to go. The Cardinals, however, were solid at the free-throw line, hitting a trio of charity baskets to close out the 79-71 victory.

UP NEXT

The Bluejays will head east next week to Charlotte, N.C. to play in the first Jay Bilas Classic. Elmhurst will take on top-ranked Christopher Newport on Tuesday, Dec. 20 at 5:00 p.m. CT and will wrap up the trip on Wednesday, Dec. 21 against the University of Lynchburg at 5:00 p.m. CT.

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