BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – For the second time in three seasons, the Elmhurst University men's basketball team has reached the CCIW Tournament Championship game after the Bluejays defeated Wheaton College 74-68 at Illinois Wesleyan University.
 
Elmhurst improved to 21-6 overall and moved one step closer to the NCAA Tournament with the victory. Wheaton fell to 20-6 overall with the loss.
 
After falling behind by five points with eight minutes left in the first half, the Bluejays took over the remainder of the half. Elmhurst held Wheaton to without a field goal for the remainder of the half while using a 17-5 run to open up a 37-30 lead at the half.
 
Wheaton cut the deficit down to five early in the second half, but Elmhurst began to pull away as the Thunder went cold. The Bluejays ripped off a 17-3 run over the next 5:30 to open up a 62-43 lead with 9:30 remaining. The Thunder made only two buckets in a 17-minute stretch spanning back to the first half.
 
Elmhurst led by 17 with eight minutes to play when Wheaton began to heat up. The Thunder trimmed the deficit down to 10 points with 5:42 remaining only to have Elmhurst push it back to a 14-point lead (70-56) a minute later. Wheaton was able to pull to within single digits in the final minutes, coming as close as five points with three seconds left, but the Bluejays held off the surge for a six-point victory.
 
Elmhurst pounded the ball at the basket all night long, outscoring the Thunder 40-26 in the paint and finishing with a 42-36 edge on the glass. The Bluejays attempted just seven 3-pointers for the entire contest. The Bluejays shot 39.7 percent (25-of-63) from the floor and 76.7 percent (23-of-30) from the foul line.
 
Lavon Thomas led the way for the Bluejays, pumping in a career-high 27 points while shooting 10-of-21 from the floor and 7-of-9 from the foul line. He added five rebounds in the victory.
 
With his fifth point in the opening half, Jake Rhode became the first Elmhurst player in school history to score 2,000 points in a career. Rhode, already the Bluejays' all-time leader in assists and points, finished with 12 points, five rebounds and four steals.
 
Ocean Johnson and Wesley Hooker also reached double figures in scoring for the Bluejays. Johnson finished with 14 points along with six rebounds while Hooker tallied 11 points and even rebounds. Jonathan Zapinski added four points and six rebounds off the bench for Elmhurst.
 
Cade Alioth paced Wheaton in the loss, finishing with a double-double of 24 points and 11 rebounds. Tyson Cruickshank added 14 points, six boards and five assists. Elmhurst limited Wheaton's leading scorer Nyameye Adom to only 11 points on the night.
 
Elmhurst will take on the winner of the Illinois Wesleyan/North Central match-up in the CCIW Tournament Championship game tomorrow night (February 26). Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in Bloomington with the winner receiving the CCIW's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.