ELMHURST, Ill. - The 15th-ranked Elmhurst University men's basketball team dropped their first CCIW contest of the season Wednesday evening, falling in overtime to Carroll University inside R.A. Faganel Hall.

Elmhurst (13-2, 5-1 CCIW) struggled to keep the Pioneers (9-6, 2-4 CCIW) bench at bay, allowing 50 points from Carrol's reserves in the loss. Elmhurst controlled the fast break with 22 points, but shot just 36.2-percent from the field and 26.1-percent from beyond the arc.

Despite the low shooting percentage, all five Bluejay starters recorded double-digit points. John Ittounas led with a game-high 23 points, including a 10-for-12 mark from the free throw line, while also adding seven rebounds, and Ocean Johnson tallied 16 points. Jonathan Zapinski recorded a 12 point, 10 rebound double-double while also adding four blocks, with Quinn Pemberton matching Zapinski's 12 points and Tagen Pearson scoring 13.

Just one Carroll starter reached double figure scoring in the game (Kobe Simpson, 18 points), while a trio of reserves led the Pioneers in scoring including a team high 19 from Lamar Smith.

Both teams struggled shooting from the field to open the game, with Pemberton notching the first Bluejay basket at the 15:26 mark to give Elmhurst the early 7-2 lead. From there, both teams traded scoring runs, eventually giving the Bluejays a 36-32 lead heading into halftime.

Elmhurst grew their lead to seven to begin the second half, but a hot streak from Carroll gave the Pios a narrow lead. The score would remain a one possesion game all through the second half, with the score tied at 74 with two minutes to go. The Bluejay defense stood strong, keeping the Pioneers off the board and using a layup from Johnson to take a two-point lead with 40 seconds left. Carroll would knot the game at 76 with a layup of their own at the 18 second mark, and a turnaround jumper from Johnson nearly fell but did not go in the closing seconds of the period, sending the game to overtime.

Elmhurst opened a five-point lead with two minutes left in overtime, but allowed another Pioneer run to tie the game at 83 with 1:13 left. Both teams traded turnovers and a missed trey from Carroll gave Elmhurst the ball back with less than 30 seconds to go, but another Bluejay turnover allowed Carroll to set up the game-winning shot, with Aaron Wafford hitting a step back three-pointer to sink the Bluejays.

UP NEXT

The Bluejays look to regain momentum this Saturday, Jan. 13 with a game at Wheaton at 7:15 p.m.

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