ELMHURST, Ill. - In a battle of unbeatens, the No. 15 Elmhurst University men's basketball team came out on top with an 81-74 victory over 19th-ranked Trine University Wednesday evening inside R.A. Faganel Hall.

Elmhurst (10-0, 3-0 CCIW) started slow and were down 11 at halftime, but a 51-33 scoring advantage in the second half allowed the Bluejays to pick up their third win over a ranked opponent this season. The Bluejays now stand as one of 14 teams in NCAA Division III to still be unbeaten.

John Ittounas surged to a game-high 26 points on 9-for-14 shooting from the field, with a trio of three-pointers to go with five rebounds. Jonathan Zapinski recorded a 16 point, 13 rebound double-double, while Ocean Johnson and Quinn Pemberton tallied 14 and 13 points, respectively. Kyran Mitchell provided four assist to the Bluejay offense that shot .586 in the second half, scoring 40 points in the paint. Elmhurst also dominated on the glass, picking up 41 rebounds to their opponent's 25. 

Trine (8-1, 0-0 MIAA) had four scorers in double-digits, with Cortez Garland and Aidan Smylie leading the way with 15 points each, but were unable to slow down the second half surge of the Bluejays after leading for almost all of the first period.

The Thunder came out hot, opening a 15-2 lead four minutes into the game, but a Bluejay scoring run highlighted by a trey from Johnson brought the game back within one. The game remained even until a late surge from Trine put the visitors up 11 heading into the intermission.

Trine continued to maintain their lead in the beginning of the second half, but Elmhurst fought back to tie it at 47-all with 13 to go in the game. Both teams would trade the lead twice in the ensuing minutes, but Trine again surged ahead by four with nine to go. It was the Bluejays' turn to surge, as a pair of free throws form Ittounas and a jumper from Pemberton again evened the score at 55. A pair of jumpers from Ittounas and Zapinski gave Elmhurst the lead, and a quick five points from Johnson put Elmhurst up by seven with 4:18 left in the game.

From there, Elmhurst would maintain a seven point lead after answering each Trine score with a bucket of their own, with the lead growing as high as nine with under a minute left. Trine kept within striking distance thanks to a few late baskets, but the Bluejays would stand strong at the free throw line and pull out another signature win in the 2023-24 season.

UP NEXT

Elmhurst will break for the holidays before taking a trip out west for a pair of road games, beginning next Thursday, Dec. 28 with a matchup against Whitman College. Tipoff is set for 9:00 p.m. CT.

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