WHEATON, Ill. - The Elmhurst University men's basketball team downed the sixth-ranked and top-seeded Wheaton Thunder, 72-58, Friday evening in King Arena to advance to the CCIW Championship game.

Elmhurst (18-9, 8-8 CCIW) never trailed in the contest, shooting 54.5 percent from three in the first-half and 47.7 percent from the field on the evening to beat the Thunder for the second time this season.

Ocean Johnson and John Ittounas led the way for the Bluejays, each tallying 18 points with Ittounas going 4-for-5 from beyond the arc and Johnson grabbing nine rebounds on the evening. Wesley Hooker tallied 12 points on 3-for-4 shooting from three, while Tagen Pearson added nine for the Bluejays.

Wheaton (22-4, 14-2 CCIW) shot just 38 percent from the field, and 21 percent from three, with four players (Andrew Williams, Tyson Cruickshank, TJ Askew, Nick Schiavello) all tallying 12 points for the Thunder. 

Elmhurst started the game on a 14-4 scoring run, with Ittounas knocking down treys left and right. Wheaton would not back down, using a 13-5 scoring run to bring the game within two with less than ten to go in the first half. The Bluejays again got hot with Ittounas and Hooker knocking down jumpers, pushing the lead to 12 with 5:39 to go in the first half. A six-point burst in the final minutes of the half extended the halftime lead to 15 for the Bluejays.

In complete control of the game, Jonathan Zapinski knocked down a trey to extend the lead to 18, but a flurry of treys from Wheaton kept the home team in the fight down the stretch. However, with each Thunder basket the Bluejays were able to respond, with Pearson knocking down a pair of jumpers and ayet another three from Ittounas extended the lead to 19 with five minutes left. A pair of baskets from Reece Taylor put the icing on the cake for the Bluejays, and a double-digit victory over the sixth-ranked team in the nation.

UP NEXT

Elmhurst advances to tomorrow night's CCIW Championship game scheduled for 7:00 p.m. CT against the second-seeded North Park Vikings. The game will take place in King Arena on the campus of Wheaton College, and Elmhurst students receive free admission with a valid student ID.

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