NAPERVILLE, Ill. - The Elmhurst University men's basketball team extended their win streak to four, downing the North Central College Cardinals 72-61 Saturday evening.

Elmhurst (15-6, 7-5 CCIW) used a strong second-half, outscoring the Cardinals 41-27 in the second period, to grab their fourth consecutive victory and move the team into a tie for third place in the conference standings. John Ittounas powered the offense with 21 points on 7-for-13 shooting from the field, knocking down a trio of three-pointers, while Ocean Johnson tallied 15 points and four takeaways in the contest.

Jonathan Zapinski had a quiet night scoring with six points, but made up for it on the boards with a game-high 13 rebounds and denying five shots. Wesley Hooker knocked down three treys on his way to 11 points in the game, while Tagen Pearson notched his seventh double-digit scoring game with 10 points.

North Central (11-10, 6-7 CCIW) was led by Mitch Lewis' 20 points, while Matt Helwig tallied 12 points and seven rebounds.

Elmhurst was able to outpace the Cardinals on offense, shooting .406 from the field compared to North Central's .364. The Bluejays were able to hold the home team to just 27 percent shooting in the second half, with the Cardinals recording just eight field goals compared to the Bluejays' 14. 

North Central jumped out to an early lead before a three-pointer from Hooker moved the Bluejays to a six-point advantage. The Cardinals ended the first-half outscoring Elmhurst 14-5 to take a three-point lead into the halway mark.

A quick three-pointer from Ittounas out of the half knotted the game at 34, and the Bluejays were able to scatter three baskets while holding the Cardinals to no field goals for the first seven minutes of the second half to build a nine-point lead with 13 to go.

North Central closed the lead to two for the visitors, keeping the game within two scores until a 16-4 offensive burst from the Bluejays turned a two-point game into a 14-point game and ultimately end the game with an 11-point victory for the road team.

UP NEXT

The Bluejays will look to extend their win streak next Wednesday, Feb. 8 when the team travels to Waukesha, Wis. to take on the Carroll University Pioneers. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. CT. 

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