ELMHURST, Ill.- The Elmhurst University men's basketball team downed the 11th-ranked Calvin University Knights 84-80 Friday evening inside R.A. Faganel Hall.

Elmhurst (9-4, 1-3 CCIW) never gave up the lead throughout the contest, and rode a hot offensive first half to grab their second ranked victory of the season. John Ittounas continued his hot scoring streak, leading the Bluejays with 22 points on 6-for-9 shooting, the junior's seventh-straight game scoring in double digits. After scoring just 11 points in the past four games, Ocean Johnson bounced back with 20 points and eight rebounds in the victory, while Jonathan Zapinski tallied 15 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks in the contest. Wesley Hooker also added 10 points for the Bluejays.

Calvin (8-3, 0-0 MIAA) was led by Uchenna Egekeze who scored a game-high 25 points on 10-for-21 shooting from the field, also tallying eight rebounds and six steals. Marcus Bult added 15 points while Jalen Overway added 13 points for the Knights.

Elmhurst wrapped up the non-conference schedule with the victory, finishing with an 8-1 record outside of CCIW play this season.

The Bluejays struck early in the contest, holding Calvin to just six points in the first 12 minutes of the contest to open a 24-8 lead, tallying five treys from five different players in the opening run. The Knights didn't get to double-digits until the seven minute mark in the first half and started to find their groove, but the Bluejays continued their effective scoring to ride a 20-point lead into halftime.

The Knights began the second half with a quick eight-point scoring burst, but effective shooting from Ittounas kept the Bluejay lead at 21 nearly halfway through the second half. After a free throw by Johnson extended the lead to 21, the Knights went on a 21-8 scoring run to cut the Elmhurst lead to seven with 3:48 still left to play.

A layup from Ittounas brought the lead back to 10 2:14 to go, but another burst from the Knights tightened the game to single digits with less than two minutes to go. With the Knights fouling to keep the clock stopped, Zapinski and Matt Woloch nailed a pair of free throws before two thunderous dunks from Johnson sealed the Bluejays' four-point victory.
 

UP NEXT

The Bluejays will begin the CCIW portion of their schedule on Wednesday, Jan. 4 traveling to Decatur, Ill. to faceoff against Millikin University. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. CT. 

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